Developers submitted tens of thousands of applications for the BlackBerry 10 OS.  Many developers were working very hard to meet our January 21 deadline for BlackBerry World approval, Built for BlackBerry approval and ultimately to qualify for the BlackBerry Developer 10K Developer Commitment (“10K Program”).  This created a bit of a queue. You know that. I know that. In fact, I’ve read about it before, right here on the Inside BlackBerry Developer Blog http://devblog.blackberry.com/2013/02/built-for-blackberry-update-2/.

That backlog of applications in review had many people concerned that they would not meet the requirements and deadlines for the 10K Program, since apps must be approved in BlackBerry World and approved as Built for BlackBerry before they are eligible to apply for the 10K program.  So, here’s the scoop – if you submitted your app before the January 21 deadline, and your app was approved by BlackBerry World, you are still eligible for the 10K program; even if your approval notice came after the February 18 deadline to apply for the 10K program.  We will reach out to all vendors this applies to within the next week with further information and instructions.

Please note that you must, however, obtain your Built for BlackBerry approval sometime before March 3, 2014 to be eligible for the $10k Developer Commitment program in any fashion.

And if your app isn’t already up for sale on BlackBerry World, now is the time to publish it. Why? Because that is the date your app must be up for sale in BlackBerry World to qualify for the 10K program – even if you have not yet obtained Built for BlackBerry approval by March 4. Any earnings (as defined in the 10K program Terms and Conditions) acquired from March 4 on will be counted toward your total earnings for the $10k Developer Commitment program. The sales period will end as of March 3, 2014, so you would want to have every sale count!

So here’s the calendar of important dates you need to keep in mind:

• January 21 – Submission Deadline – (yes, it’s in the past, but still important to note) Your BlackBerry 10 app needed to be submitted to BlackBerry World by this date. As long as it was submitted, you met the first qualifier for the $10k Developer Commitment program.
• March 4 – Sale Period Start Date – Your BlackBerry World-approved app must be up for sale in BlackBerry World on or before this date. All earnings from this date, whether your app has been Built for BlackBerry approved yet or not, will be considered in calculating your total earnings for any payout under the $10k Developer Commitment program.
• March 3, 2014 – Sale Period End Date – Your app must have received Built for BlackBerry approval before this date to be eligible for the $10k Developer Commitment program.

Aside from the changes noted above, all other provisions of the $10k Developer Commitment program Terms and Conditions still apply.

Sound off below on my clarifying post! My team and I will work to help answer any questions.

Now that the dust is settling from this weekend’s Last Chance Port-A-Thon, we’re excited to announce that over 19,000 applications were submitted to BlackBerry World over the weekend. This continues to show an overwhelming level of commitment from developers to the BlackBerry 10 platform.

We’ve heard your questions and concerns about the Built for BlackBerry deadline. The fact is, the volume of apps being submitted for review and entry into the program has been remarkable. Due to that large volume of apps, we are extending the deadline:

• Apps that have been submitted on or before 8pm EST on January 21^st,2013 may qualify for the $10k Developer Commitment if the developer agrees to the official terms and conditions and passes Built for BlackBerry testing.
• Developers may apply for Built for BlackBerry review and the $10k Developer Commitment offer in the BlackBerry World Vendor Portal by 8pm ET Feb 18^th
• The qualifying sale dates for the 10k Commitment is 12:01am ET, March 4 2013 to 11:59pm ET, March 3 2014

Don’t forget to review the Built for BlackBerry criteria before you apply and just a friendly reminder that BlackBerry App Generator and Android apps do not qualify for Built for BlackBerry or the $10k Commitment.