Helex, a BlackBerry 10 developer, submitted his application – one that was originally rejected because it was missing some key criteria – for the Built For BlackBerry program. His application was ClipMan – according to Helex, it’s “a small clipboard manager. That’s it. It watches for changes in the Clipboard while opened and stores every text that appears in a small database. Such a clipboard history can be very handy while texting.”

ClipMan was a well-built and useful application; however, as per the Built For BlackBerry guidelines, it did not meet the criteria as it stood. In Helex’s words: “This single useful aspect is not enough for the Built for BlackBerry certificate. I tried, trust me. You will get: ‘basically only a single core function’.” In order to qualify for the Built For BlackBerry program, Helex had to update various aspects of his app to get approved.

Here’s a quick snapshot at some of the updates to the original version of the app that made ClipMan Built For BlackBerry certified:

1. Have a clear, functional design from the start. “The old version was for me, as the developer of the app, clear and understandable. The color was indicative enough, and all features worked. But as I learned in a session about good design in Amsterdam, the application should work for everyone, including color-blind people. Those user groups had an obvious handicap at the old version of ClipMan.”
2. Share app details. “The old version was very rudimentary. The new version is clear in the beginning and more detailed in the long text.”
3. Provide a context menu. “It was not really needed since in the old version, every function was available by simply opening an item. But if I understadd the design guidelines correctly, every List View should have a context Menu. The user expects this behavior.”
4. Make it easily searchable. “I added a search function to the list. Personally, I have the list only filled with the stuff I’m currently using, but others may use this application in a different way. So, a search function was needed.”
5. Integrate to BlackBerry 10. “Built for BlackBerry means built especially for BlackBerry 10, and so the application should integrate itself in every aspect into the BlackBerry 10 system. I would say now that we’ve got the BlackBerry 10 flow.”
6. Make sure that it is shareable. “Since the share functionality was a selection criterion at the BFB checklist, ClipMan had a share button even at the first version.”
7. Create a positive store experience. “I had two versions of ClipMan in the store: a free version, and a paid version. Sadly, this is also a bad design. I got this explained at several places so I guess it played a role in it being rejected: ‘Bad store experience.’”
8. Make sure to check for bugs. “My app was unable to handle different text encoding correctly. I found the bug, and it is now able to store and handle Arabic, Chinese, Cyrillic, Greek, Japanese and many other character encoding.”

To read Helex’s full explanation (with screenshots) of how he got ClipMan accepted for the Built For BlackBerry program, click here.

What does this mean for you? It means that you can also build an app that is Built for BlackBerry certified. We’re here to help you achieve it, so please contact us if you have questions about your app. We want you to Build for BlackBerry!

A few weeks ago I was lucky to finally meet the CEO and Founder of Hedone Design, Branko Nikolic. Branko took the opportunity to create a BlackBerry Developer Group in his home region of the Balkans. Branko worked with our Developer Relations team to setup the first event for BlackBerry developers in the Balkans: a “mini” BlackBerry 10 Jam in Maribor, the second biggest town in Slovenia.

Why “mini”? Well, there is a reason for that… but it turned out to be everything but “mini”! The event took place at Feri, a local university, and everything was organized perfectly – from the invitations for developers, to the badges, to the video interviews, the sessions… everything. Over 170 developers were there to listen to our sessions about BlackBerry 10 architecture and development tools. A few local devs also showcased what they developed already, with also a presentation by a local dev company, Codeten. Also, it’s worth mentioning the great (and funny!) presentation made by Dennis Reumer, who runs another BlackBerry Developer Group in the Netherlands.

Last but not least, Branko organized a party for us and for the developers, transforming a popular club in Maribor into a fully-fledged BlackBerry club. Everything inside, from the waiter’s t-shirts to the DJ console (using a PlayBook, of course) was branded BlackBerry. Devs were more than happy and the first surveys demonstrate that now devs in Slovenia (mostly Android developers) are more willing to develop for the BlackBerry 10 platform than ever before.

In short: praises to Branko and his team for the incredible job! I am looking forward to looking at apps from developers in the Balkans showing up in BlackBerry World.

#BBGotGame Port-A-Thon Update
http://devblog.blackberry.com/2012/11/got-game-port-a-thon-update/

Using the Invocation Framework with BlackBerry Messenger
http://devblog.blackberry.com/2012/11/bbm-invocation-framework/

Be Bold and Vote: What’s Your Reason to Believe in BlackBerry 10?
http://blogs.blackberry.com/2012/11/blackberry-10-believe-poll/

Near Field Communication: Just a Payment Tool? Debunking a Common NFC Myth
http://bizblog.blackberry.com/2012/11/nfc-myths/

We’ve reached many key dates for developers building for BlackBerry® 10, and we want everyone to mark December 11th, 2012 in their calendars. On that date, we will release the gold version of the BlackBerry 10 SDKs. When the Gold SDK is released on December 11th, you can complete your final testing and tweaking and submit your app knowing it will run on the commercial release of BlackBerry 10 smartphone OS.

There will be one other important date before the tools come out of beta – November 29th, 2012. We will release a beta update on November 29th that includes bug fixes, but also an important update for Web developers as our BlackBerry® WebWorks™ HTML5 tools will be updated to offer more functionality and to draw closer to parity with our Native tools. We encourage developers to get their apps ready using this beta SDK release.

A quick recap on calendar:

November 29 – BlackBerry 10 SDK update
November 29-30 – BlackBerry® Jam Asia (in Bangkok, Thailand)
December 11 – BlackBerry 10 Gold SDK launch
January 21 – Deadline to have apps submitted to the BlackBerry App World™ storefront for the 10k Developer Commitment where we guarantee $10,000 USD revenue in the first year (1,2).
January 30 – BlackBerry 10 launch events
February 5-6 – BlackBerry Jam Europe (in Amsterdam)

1) “Earns” refers to the amount that consumers pay for both paid downloads and in-app payments using BlackBerry Payment Service less any refunds and less applicable taxes included in the amount consumers pay, multiplied by the proportion of sales owing to the Vendor as defined by the Vendor Agreement. “Earns” does not include any advertising revenue. See Terms and Conditions for complete details.
2) A maximum of $10,000,000USD will be distributed under this Offer. Limit one (1) payout per Vendor. Twelve month period to be determined by RIM.