You heard it first from Alec during BlackBerry® Jam Americas, and today, we’re super psyched to be announcing the start of registration for BlackBerry Jam Asia 2012 (previously known as DevCon Asia)! And this time, we’re bringing the show to Bangkok, Thailand!

Two weeks ago at BlackBerry Jam Americas in San Jose, CA, our CEO, Thorsten Heins shared the vision and promise of BlackBerry 10 with developers. Now you can join us as you find out how to create apps and compelling content for BlackBerry 10 and have your apps ready to launch with BlackBerry 10 in the first calendar quarter of 2013.

Taking place on 29-30 November 2012 at Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre, BlackBerry Jam Asia will give developers access to RIM experts, hands-on tutorials, labs and in-depth sessions to help them build on the new BlackBerry® 10 platform.

Why Jam with us?

Carrying on with our commitment to the developer community, we are excited to provide a BlackBerry® 10 Dev Alpha testing device to qualified developers who attend BlackBerry Jam Asia! Introduced in Orlando in May, the BlackBerry 10 Dev Alpha testing device was created exclusively for developers for the purpose of testing and debugging BlackBerry 10 apps during development.

Not that you need more reasons, but we want to convince you 110%! Developers, designers, enterprise partners and industry leaders attending the conference will gain hands-on experience with the latest application development tools for the BlackBerry 10 platform. Did I mention we are delivering a wide range of sessions? We’re pleased to launch our session catalog today too – check it out here.

Even more reasons to Jam with us:

• Learn how to take advantage of the BlackBerry platform’s key differentiators – integration at deep levels of the OS, sharing through social APIs, and integration with other third party applications for smooth and seamless interaction between apps
• Collaborate with experts on code and finding a path to port or convert without learning new languages, a key benefit of the BlackBerry 10 platform’s open ecosystem
• The unique opportunity to explore the new BlackBerry 10 tools and application capabilities. The BlackBerry 10 platform leads in open source standards and offers features that can be built into apps that drive user engagement and loyalty, enthusiasm, and the ability to share apps and app experiences
• Dive into the new APIs and features through Sessions, Hands-on labs, and Expert meet and greets

Great conference at great rates

Discounted rates are available for attendees who register early:

• Early Bird Rate $99 USD Expires 02 November 2012
• Regular Rate $199 USD Expires 30 November 2012
• Student / Faculty Rate* $99 USD Expires 30 November 2012
• Faculty Member Rate $99 USD Expires 30 November 2012

* Student status and faculty member credentials must be verified in order to register at the Student or Faculty Member Rates. Find out more about the verification requirements.

Each package allows participants with the following benefits:

• Access to the BlackBerry Jam Asia Keynote
• Access to breakout sessions, Lab sessions and Ask The Experts
• Admission to the BlackBerry Jam Appreciation Event
• Admission to the BlackBerry Jam Space during open hours
• Lunch and breaks on conference days
• Complimentary access to Conference Wi-Fi® internet in the conference center
• Access to the online portal for conference content
• Registration gift

What’s your #BB10Believe?

What are you waiting for? Register now on the BlackBerry Jam Asia 2012 website!

* Qualified developers will be determined by RIM using applicant information from the registration system. If you have already received a BlackBerry 10 Dev Alpha device at a previous event or from RIM, you are not eligible for this offer. Quantities are limited.

The Research In Motion® (RIM®) Developer Relations team recently hosted a BBM™ Hackathon event in NYC. Developers were invited to apply for a chance to participate in the event, getting one-on-one time with BlackBerry® platform experts and network with other developers while working on integrating social elements into apps using the BlackBerry® Messenger (BBM) APIs.

Attendees told us that they found the direct contact with our social platform experts to be invaluable – and we liked hearing that so much that we’ve decided to host more of these hackathon events across the globe in the coming weeks.

The first of these events happened yesterday in our company hometown of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, with the second event happening today, September 29th. Following this, we’ll be hosting BBM Apps Hackathons in Toronto, Chicago, San Francisco, Boston, Jakarta, Amsterdam, London and more. Here are the scheduled dates:

Updated Dates!

• Toronto: October 6th and 7th
• Chicago: October 10th and 11th
• San Francisco: October 16th and 17th (just in time for BlackBerry DevCon Americas 2011!)
• Boston: November 3rd and 4th
• Jakarta: November 14th and 15th
• Bangkok: November 17th and 18th
• Amsterdam: November 24th and 25th (updated)
• London, England: November 28th and 29th (updated)

To enter for your chance to attend one of the BBM Apps Hackathon events, follow this simple process to apply: Visit the site bbmappshackathon.com and fill out an application, outlining among other things (i) why you feel social platform integration adds value to mobile applications; and (ii) give an example of previous mobile apps you have developed.

Developers who are selected to attend a BBM Apps Hackathon event will also receive a BlackBerry gift bag, which includes a BlackBerry® 7 OS device. In addition, those selected to attend the Toronto, Chicago and San Francisco Hackathon events will also receive a pass to attend BlackBerry DevCon Americas 2011 and three night accommodation at the San Francisco Marriott Marquis for the duration of the conference.

We definitely recommend that developers of any level apply to attend these collaborative events. The BlackBerry Social Platform gives developers a way to tie existing apps to BBM, or to build social apps from the ground up. One of the benefits to these social aspects is the added viral buzz that an app can gain from integrating with BBM. At these hackathons, developers will discover valuable strategies that will help them add social aspects to their apps.

Would you be interested in this type of event? Let us know which hackathons you’ll be applying to attend!