On a recent chore weekend, I found myself with a list of things to fix, pictures to hang, stereo components to rewire, and spaces to measure. I thought about digging through my garage for all the necessary tools, then I decided to have another cup of coffee and check my sports’ scores. I pulled out my BlackBerry Z10 to load my sports app when it hit me: is there an app to help me with my weekend chores? That’s when I found Gadget Box.

Gadget Box is the handyman’s dream. In one application you have a flashlight, speedometer, protractor, level, compass, ruler, Morse Code generator, height estimator, and units converter.  First on my list was to hook up a cables to my TV box for my upstairs TV.

Of course, the TV box was inside a very dark cabinet. No worries. Using the transform hard shell on my BlackBerry Z10, I could prop up the device, turn on the Flashlight and have a steady source of light on my subject. I connected the cables and was done. Since Gadget Box is a Built for BlackBerry application I knew that it followed the BlackBerry UI/UX guidelines for gestures. A simple swipe with my thumb and the flashlight was gone and I was back at the main screen.

Next on the list: hang a new antique, land-line phone on my wall. This chore required me to put two screws in the wall that were in line with each other. I’m told they need to be “plumb”. I guess I need something other than a hammer. So with a couple of self-drilling screws and my BlackBerry Z10, I was ready to go. I put the first screw into the wall, then used the app’s ruler to measure to where the next screw would go. A really groovy thing about Gadget Box’s ruler is that it slides. So I could put my finger on the app’s ruler to “hold it in place” and then slide the Z10. This allows you to measure distances greater than the height of the phone. Very handy.  To make sure the hole was plumb with the other screw; I used the level in Gadget Box. The initial screen had a typical bubble level that I wasn’t too keen to use in this situation. No worries, I clicked the overflow menu where I could select a Plumb Bob and I was all set. Made the mark on the wall, set the screw, and the new land-line phone was hung perfectly straight. Kind of ironic, I used a mobile phone to help hang a land-line phone.

I could go on about my day and how I used Gadget Box, but that probably wouldn’t be the best use of your time. The important take away from this story is that Gadget Box is a Built for BlackBerry application. And because it is, I knew how to use it before I even installed it. The application felt familiar to me from the very first swipe to the last interaction. I also knew that it would provide me more functionality than just a simple single function application. Instead of one app for a flashlight, another for the level, and third for measuring, I had a multi-function application that provided me with enhanced productivity; another key criteria for a Built for BlackBerry application.

The only thing Gadget Box is missing is a duct tape application and a hammer – the two tools I already have. (I don’t recommend using your BlackBerry Z10 as a hammer). So if you’re like me, a weekend handyman, check out Gadget Box and discover the enhanced productivity it can bring to your BlackBerry Z10.

We love working with developers from all around the world and especially if they make cool games that we can play on our new BlackBerry 10 devices! Right after BlackBerry Jam Asia 2012, we had an amazing opportunity to work with incredibly talented game developers from the Asia Pacific Region. To give you an idea on the amount of travelling it took: 16 days, 8 cities, 39800 miles per head!  The best part was we found 260 happy game developers at the end of the trip.  The GotGame Port-a-thon event comprised of locations spanning six Asia Pacific countries including Thailand, Singapore, Australia, Indonesia, India, Hong Kong and China.  During these intense one-day events, we got a chance to work with some amazing talent from the gaming industry.  As a result, almost 800 high quality game titles were submitted over a span of just three weeks!

We would like to give a BIG Thank you to all the game developers who participated in these events and made GotGame Port-a-thon LIVE a huge success!

I’m looking forward to next week’s Game Developers Conference in San Francisco (Mar 25-29).  With the global launches of BlackBerry 10, there’s never been a more exciting time to be a game developer on BlackBerry.

I’ve lived and breathed gaming for a very long time. Prior to joining BlackBerry, I was the founder and CEO of game development company SouthEnd Interactive between 1998-2010 and was Lead Game Designer and Senior Producer on games such as Deathrow (Xbox), R-Type Dimensions (XBLA), Lode Runner (XBLA) and Ilomilo (XBLA/WP7) on Xbox/360, PlayStation 3, Android, Windows Mobile, Windows Phone 7 and other platforms.

For the last three years, BlackBerry has been building the most accessible and most developer friendly platform for game developers -and here it is – BlackBerry 10!  Blackberry has also partnered will all the major game engine and middle ware companies such as Unity, Marmalade, Shiva to ensure that the tools you use today are available for you with BlackBerry 10 gaming.

Kick start your move to BlackBerry 10 by visiting www.github.com/blackberry where we have over 70 of the most used open source projects including cocos2d-x, box2D, bullit physics and Ogre3D.

Join many of the top gaming titles from top developers such as EA, Gameloft, Disney, Rovio, Halfbrick, AMA, SEGA, 10tons, Hexage, funkoi, PawPrint Games, Madfinger Games, zeptolab, … and the list just goes on and on!

Be sure to catch my session at Game Developers Conference and learn how BlackBerry 10 can be one of your primary profitable platforms that adds significant value to your game franchise.  The session is “Building your gaming strategy for BlackBerry 10” on Thursday March 28 at 5:30–6:30 pm West 3022.

I’d love to talk gaming with you! Please stop by the BlackBerry Booth 1216 at Game Developers Conference.

On January 30th, more than 200 developers got together to celebrate the launch of BlackBerry 10 at the Red Bull house in Recife, Brazil.

You can see all the 154 pictures on our #BBJamSessions Facebook Page

Let’s talk about one of the best parts of the Port-A-Thons; the rewards. Here’s an update on the reward process that highlights how and when things will happen.

Updated Timelines

For the All Aboard, Community, Android and Last Chance Port-A-Thon’s, we’re extending the deadline to get your app approved.

You will now have up to February 18, 2013 to get your apps approved. This fits nicely with the deadline to apply for the $10k Developer Commitment.

Please note: The Got Game Port-A-Thon is now closed.

Rewards Process

Rewards are distributed to vendors only after all the apps have been put “up for sale”. By default, apps are automatically put “up for sale” when approved.  If you chose otherwise, please take a moment to put them “up for sale” and ensure you take this step to receive your rewards.

Cash Rewards are distributed by our program partner Milestone. You will receive an email to confirm payment information from rimredemption@milestoneintegrated.com . If you live in a country serviced by PayPal, you will need to confirm your PayPal Account. If you live in a country not serviced by PayPal, you will need to provide wire payment details. After this information is provided you will receive your payment in 4-6 weeks. We are working hard to have the money transferred as quickly as possible.

Device rewards are distributed by Touchstone. You will receive an email to confirm shipping information from BlackBerryPlayBookOffer@tmgideas.com. After confirming your shipping details, the device(s) will be shipped as quickly as possible. Note that RIM pays all shipping costs and duties. If you are required to pay these fees, please contact BlackBerryPlayBookOffer@tmgideas.com with the details and you will be reimbursed.

Trip rewards are distributed by HRG. You will receive an email from A Thousand Words Marketing and HRG.

My apps are approved, when do I see reward emails?

To mirror the extension of the submission deadlines, the reward emails will extend as follows. We take a snapshot of approved apps at the end of day each Friday. Information is then provided to Touchstone (for cash), Milestone (for devices) and HRG/Thousand Words Marketing (for Trips) who then send out the reward emails on Tuesdays.

If you notice your apps are approved, please wait until the following Tuesday to get your reward emails.

What happens if you are not able to attend BlackBerry Jam?

Given the new deadline extensions, we realize that trip winners may have some logistical challenges getting to Amsterdam for the BlackBerry Jam Europe 2013.  For those that are unable to attend BlackBerry Jam Europe 2013, we will extend the trip offer to BlackBerry Live in Orlando on May 14-16, 2013 under the same conditions. Please note that the trips are non-transferrable.

When are the draws happening for Community Port-A-Thon?

The Community Port-A-Thon draw for Trips and devices will be held on February 18, giving participants additional time to get their apps approved and become eligible for the draw.

As the draw happens after BlackBerry Jam Europe, the trip will be for BlackBerry Live in Orlando on May 14-16, 2013. To make this even more exciting, we’re adding $500 USD spending money for the trip winners.

The draws for the All Aboard and Got Game Port-A-Thons have been drawn and winners have been notified.

Last Chance Port-A-Thon

If you participated in the Last Chance Port-A-Thon last weekend, expect to be notified of your eligibility by Friday, January 25. This email will inform you of the apps that were submitted during the Port-A-Thon and your eligibility for rewards. Please note that those apps must be “Up for Sale” on or before February 18, 2013 to be eligible to receive an award.

Thanks for all your apps!

This weekend during the BlackBerry Community & Android Port-A-Thons we witnessed something very special happen, something which can energize all our developer community!

We had over 1,000 people around the globe come together for 37.5 hours and submit over 15,000 apps for BlackBerry 10. After five hours we had over 4,000 apps submitted and after nine hours we had over 6,300 apps submitted. One of the developers put this into perspective when he tweeted

@lougazzola Impressive. I remember it taking over a year for AppWorld to get its first 6,300 apps…

— Eric Harty (@Ebscer) January 12, 2013

The Twitterverse was a buzz with over 1,200 #BB10Portathon mentions. 15,060 apps submitted shows that it’s easy to build a BlackBerry 10 app.

We’ve witnessed a huge transition of developers who now believe in the potential for success on the platform and take the time to create an incredible number of apps. The RIM team creating our developer SDKs and tools have made it easy for developers to bring their apps to BlackBerry 10 – in the language you like writing in. Here’s what our community is saying:

@lougazzola @leinir @4shelbysdevs I agree with this. I can even port my android app/webworks/phonegap in under 1 minute really.

— NemOry Oliver (@NemOry) January 14, 2013

@nemory @lougazzola @leinir @4shelbysdevs agreed.. I ported my Adobe Air app in around a minute packaged and signed.

— Stephen (@NZCoderGuy) January 14, 2013

Erik Oros (Application Development Consultant) fielded questions in his area of expertise (HTML5) and I (Lou Gazzola, Senior Marketing Manager) hosted the event. Both of us were on for the complete 37.5 hours. RIM had over 20 experts from around the world that helped developers and I am blown away by the community support with “Oliver”, “K Cheung” and “Michael K” spending most of the time porting apps AND helping the community.

We also had our partners available with representatives from Marmalade, AppendTo (jQuery), PhoneGap, and Appcelerator participating. After witnessing what was happening many of our partners stayed well beyond their scheduled hours.

What an incredible effort from the entire community!  I want to extend a very heart felt Thank You to everyone that participated!!

Last call for porting apps - Register now for the Last Chance Port-A-Thon!

When we decided to hold a series of Port-A-Thons to help our developer community port their apps over to BlackBerry 10 we had no idea how wildly successful they would be. This past weekend’s Port-A-Thons brought in more than 15,000 apps! It has been truly inspiring to see so much excitement and support for BlackBerry 10. So we’re going to do it one more time. All new BlackBerry 10 apps built using any type of development approach or the BlackBerry App Generator are eligible!

One more chance to get rewarded

The Last Chance Port-A-Thon will start at noon ET on January 18, 2013 and run for 36 hours straight. As with past Port-A-Thons, this will be a virtual event, which means you can log in from wherever you want to and our experts will be available to help you port your apps. The more apps you port, the greater your rewards*:

• Port one or more approved apps and you’ll receive $100 per eligible app, to a maximum of 20 paid applications per Vendor
• Additionally, submit five (5) or more apps and be entered into a random draw for one (1) of two hundred and fifty (250) BlackBerry 10 Dev Alpha devices. You’ll receive one (1) entry for the first five (5) approved apps and an additional entry for each approved app after that.

Get prepared ahead of time

Getting a few things prepared ahead of time means that you can get porting as soon as the event starts.

• Register as a Vendor at BlackBerry World if you haven’t already.
• Request signature keys. Make sure that you select for BlackBerry® PlayBook™ OS and BlackBerry 10 and higher. Downloading in advance is strongly recommended as the time involved to do so could prevent you from earning rewards.
• Load up your laptop BlackBerry tools and plug-ins. Make sure you have your full source code file readily available too.
  • Make sure you have your images and icons ready to go.
  • Last but not least, don’t forget to register for the event.

This is the final Port-A-Thon before BlackBerry 10 launches on January 30, 2013. Hope you can join us.

* A total of $500,000 USD is available for distribution. To qualify for a Reward, you must register on the website at  http://developer.blackberry.com/offers/lastchanceportathon and submit your App into the BlackBerry World Vendor Portal between 12:00:01 pm on January 18, 2013 and 11:59:59pm ET on January 19, 2013. Any apps submitted outside this time frame are not eligible for this Reward program. Only those apps that have been approved through BlackBerry World and RIM will be considered towards a Reward. No purchase necessary to be eligible for the draw.  The odds of winning the draw depend on the number of eligible Vendors entered.  Skill-testing question applies to Canadian residents.  Limit one (1) Limited Edition BlackBerry 10 Device per person. Cash rewards limited to 20 per Vendor regardless of reward category.  See the Official Terms and Conditions for complete details.

The BlackBerry 10 Community Port-A-Thon will start on noon ET January 11, 2013 and run for 36 hours.  This is also going to be a virtual event, so it is up to you to decide where you would like to join us from.

Get Rewarded

The more you port and build the greater your rewards*:

• Port  one (1) – five (5) approved apps – $100 per eligible app –to  a maximum of 20 paid applications per Vendor
• Port five (5) – ten (10) approved apps – THE FIRST TWO HUNDRED (200) QUALIFIED PARTICIPANTS receive one (1) BlackBerry Dev Alpha Device plus $100
• Port ten (10) or more approved apps -  THE FIRST TEN (10) QUALIFIED PARTICIPANTS one (1) paid trip to BlackBerry Jam Europe to celebrate  the launch of BlackBerry 10 with us plus a Dev Alpha Device as well as $100!!!
• Additionally for those that did not receive a BlackBerry Dev Alpha, or Trip to BlackBerry Jam Europe, we will be conducting a random draw for one hundred (100) BlackBerry 10 Dev Alphas and ten (10) trips to BlackBerry Jam Europe.  All those who meet the criteria for a Dev Alpha  Device or the Trip but were not one of the firs 200 or 10 , respectively, to qualify, are eligible for the respective draws.

Get Ready to Port

Take advantage of the tips below to get a head start before you join the event.

Here’s what you need to get prepared ahead of time.

1. Register as a Vendor at BlackBerry World if you haven’t already.
2. Request signature keys. Make sure that you select for BlackBerry® PlayBook™ OS and BlackBerry 10 and higher. Downloading in advance is strongly recommended as the time involved to do so could prevent you from earning rewards.
3. Load up your laptop BlackBerry tools and plug-ins. Make sure you have your full source code file readily available too.
4. Make sure you have your images and icons ready to go.

Register

Submit your apps into BlackBerry World before BlackBerry 10 launches. Register for the Community Port-A-Thon for BlackBerry 10 today!

Have Questions? See our FAQ.

* A total of $500,000USD is available for distribution. To qualify for a Reward, you must register on the website at http://developer.blackberry.com/offers/communityportathon and submit your App into the BlackBerry World Vendor Portal between 12:00:01 pm on January 11, 2013 and 11:59:59pm ET on January 12, 2013. Any apps submitted outside this time frame are not eligible for this Reward program. Only those apps that have been approved through BlackBerry World and RIM will be considered towards a Reward. No purchase necessary to be eligible for the draw.  The odds of winning the draw depend on the number of eligible Vendors entered.  Skill-testing question applies to Canadian residents.  Limit one (1) Dev Alpha Device and one (1) Trip per person. Cash rewards limited to 20 per Vendor regardless of reward category.    See the Official Terms and Conditions for complete details.

The Android Port-A-Thon for BlackBerry 10 will start at noon ET on January 11, 2013 and run for 36 hours.  It is a virtual event, so you will be able to log in from the comfort of your home, your desk at work or even set up a porting party with your friends. As with the first events, the more apps you port the greater the reward for you.

Get Rewarded

The more you port and build the greater your rewards*:

• Port one or more approved apps –and get $100 per eligible app to a maximum of 20 paid applications per Vendor
• Additionally; submit five (5) or more apps and be eligible for a random draw for one (1) of one hundred (100) BlackBerry 10 Dev Alpha Devices. Receive one (1) additional entry for every eligible app that you submit over 5.

Porting Android apps to BlackBerry 10

Since more apps mean more rewards, you should take advantage of the tips below and get ready before you join the event.

Here’s what you need to get prepared ahead of time.

1. Register as a Vendor at BlackBerry World if you haven’t already.
2. Request signature keys. Make sure that you select for BlackBerry® PlayBook™ OS and BlackBerry 10 and higher. Downloading in advance is strongly recommended as the time involved to do so could prevent you from earning rewards.
3. Load up your laptop BlackBerry tools and plug-ins. Make sure you have your full source code file readily available too.
4. Make sure you have your images and icons ready to go.

We also have porting guides and tools you can use to get a head start.

Guides:

BlackBerry Runtime for Android apps Overview

Port your Android app from BlackBerry PlayBook OS to BlackBerry 10 OS

Tools:

ADT Plug-in Repackaging Tool

BlackBerry Packager for Android Apps

Join us

Submit your apps into BlackBerry World before BlackBerry 10 launches. Register for the Android Port-A-Thon for BlackBerry 10 today!

Have questions? See our FAQ.

* A total of $500,000USD is available for distribution. Eligible vendors who submit a minimum of five (5) eligible apps will be entered into a random draw for a BlackBerry 10 Dev Alpha Device. One hundred (100) Devices are available to be won. There is a limit of one (1) BlackBerry 10 Dev Alpha device per Vendor. To qualify for a Reward, you must register on the website at http://developer.blackberry.com/offers/androidportathon and submit your App into the BlackBerry World Vendor Portal between 12:00:01 pm on January 11, 2013 and 11:59:59pm ET on January 12, 2013. Any apps submitted outside this time frame are not eligible for this Reward program. Only those apps that have been approved through BlackBerry World and RIM will be considered towards a Reward. No purchase necessary to be eligible for the draw.  The odds of winning the draw depend on the number of eligible Vendors entered.  Skill-testing question applies to Canadian residents.  Cash rewards limited to 20 per Vendor.  See the Official Terms and Conditions for complete details

I met Imed Amri at the BlackBerry booth at Mobile World Congress 2012 in Barcelona, Spain. He is an engineer and professor at the Esprit engineering school in Tunis, Tunisia. He had strong interest in our upcoming BlackBerry 10 platform, with its focus towards Open Standards and Open Source. He appreciated our new developer commitment and expressed a strong will for cooperation between Tunisian mobile developers and RIM and thus was born the idea of creating the first BlackBerry Developer Group in Tunisia.

A few weeks later, I met Salma and Sana in Paris during the BlackBerry 10 Jam World Tour. They are both professors on Imed’s team. They agreed to lead the creation of the BlackBerry Developer Group in Tunis and, with our help, provide the local developers in Tunis with a BlackBerry 10 Mini-Jam. They returned home and with the help of my colleague Jean-Paul they managed to find a sponsor and were able to get t-shirts, badges, room decoration, catering, etc… financed, without the need to stress the school budget.

I arrived in Tunis on November 27^th and was picked up by Hamza, one of the BlackBerry Developer Group members. We drove to the venue and I found a large crowd of young people still very busy completing the decorations, testing the A/V setup. The next day we kicked off the Jam day with a short presentation by the school director who thanked BlackBerry for being his guest and stressed out the need for more international cooperation… we presented on the BlackBerry 10 Experience & Architecture and talked about the diversity and the openness of the BlackBerry 10 Platform. 200+ developers were very engaged by asking questions and enjoying live Cascades coding and demos. A very important agenda point of the day was the official declaration the the Tunis BlackBerry Developer Group was now open!

Before we went to the lunch break, we had a round of lighting pitches where people were asked to vote for the best app or app idea. There were a number of BlackBerry 10 apps presented, which was surprising as the Jam day was meant to inspire the devs to start implement for BlackBerry 10 but some of them were already ahead of that…

The afternoon sessions focused on Native SDK/Cascades, BlackBerry Android Runtime and @blackberryLuca’s BlackBerry WebWorks session streamed in to the room from Bangkok, Thailand WebEx as Luca was attending BlackBerry Jam Asia at that day. It went very well.

The closing was in a very family like atmosphere, Hamza showed a talent of playing on the keyboard and the conference room turned up to a big disco. I very much enjoyed that part of the conference.

A few days after the Jam day, I received this video.

They prepared it to show the best moments of the conference. Thank you very much and really well done @bbdevtunisia. I hope to see you soon with more successful events like this mini Jam. Though I feel the term “mini” is not really appropriate here!