The BlackBerry DEVCON 2010 team was really excited to partner with the fine folks at foursquare for the BlackBerry DEVCON foursquare Challenge. Judging by the amount of attendees that lined up at the Social Media desk to claim their limited edition tee shirt, you were too! I had the opportunity to sit down with Peter Nofelt, lead developer of the foursquare BlackBerry app, and talk about the Challenge, Peter’s DEVCON 2010 session, and the future of foursquare. Check out the video above and don’t forget to upgrade to the new version of foursquare that was released during the show!

One of the great experiences of BlackBerry DEVCON 2010 was getting to chat with various BlackBerry developers and learn what they’re working on, what they’re excited about and what they thought about the show. We did a series of brief one-on-ones with every developer kind enough to speak to us and compiled it into the above video. Post a comment and let us know about your own DEVCON 2010 experience, what you thought of all the announcements, and if you’re excited for BlackBerry PlayBook.

BlackBerry DEVCON 2010 has officially come to an end. Boy, what a trip. While we’ll have a few golden video nuggets from DEVCON up next week, we thought there was no better way to close off an amazing week than with (Inside BlackBerry Developer’s Blog blogger and) Director of Developer Relations Mike Kirkup and VP of Developer Relations and Alliance Tyler Lessard having an informal chat on some DEVCON beanbags. Mike and Tyler go over the week that was, highlight important announcements, and provide a special update at the end for those developers unfortunate to miss DEVCON 10. Enjoy, and we’ll see you all at #DEVCON11!

While some conferences have a tendency to tail off at the end, BlackBerry DEVCON 2010 went out with a bang: Developer Day. Developer Day is all about recognizing the BlackBerry development community, so we wanted to pay homage to that on the Inside BlackBerry Developer’s blog. Above you can watch Dev Blog blogger and Manager of Developer Programs at RIM, Ian McDonald, interview two prominent members of the BlackBerry development community, Peter Strange and Bryan Tafel, who have contributed to the community in different but important ways. If you’re interested in learning more about about starting your own BlackBerry Developer Group or our other community programs, hit the link below.

BlackBerry Developer Community Programs

Following this week’s BlackBerry WebWorks announcement, I thought it would be a good idea to speak with fellow Inside BlackBerry Developer’s Blog bloggers, Adam and Prosanta about WebWorks and the open source community initiative. Check out the links below to visit the webpages mentioned in the video and to download the (free!) Hollywood Bowl app demoed. REMINDER: We need your help to name our github community! Post your suggestions in the comments.

BlackBerry github Community
BlackBerry WebWorks Developer Page
Hollywood Bowl app

There’s a lot going on at BlackBerry DEVCON 2010, so attendees need resources to keep up with all the information. Other than constantly checking the Inside BlackBerry Developer’s Blog and our @BlackBerryDev Twitter account, you’re best bet is to download the official DEVCON 2010 Mobile Guide for your BlackBerry smartphone. We got Matt (@muerl) from Pyxis Mobile, developer of the app, to give us a walkthrough. Enjoy!

Those that have attended in the past know that Mike Kirkup, Director of Developer Relations at RIM (and Inside BlackBerry Developer’s Blog blogger!!), is the walking embodiment of BlackBerry DEVCON. We thought it would be a good idea to follow him around and have him show us some of the key locations to visit as you make your way through DEVCON 2010. It was also a great opportunity to get in a shameless plug of our Social Media desk and promote the BlackBerry DEVCON foursquare Challenge. Enjoy!

Hey guys! Welcome to the official BlackBerry DEVCON 2010 live chat. Starting at 12:30pm PST, the Inside BlackBerry Developer’s Blog team will be blogging the General Session Keynote, chatting with you and answering your questions! We’ll also be tweeting from @BlackBerryDev, so make sure to follow us on Twitter as well!

We’re super excited to kick off DEVCON 2010 with a bang and hope to see you there!!

As we all get in taxis, cars, trains, and planes (maybe boats too?) to travel to BlackBerry® DEVCON 2010, have you planned ahead and checked out all the special programs this year?!

Yes, not only do we have a MASSIVE catalog of over 100 sessions, but we’ve also lined up a panacea of special programs to suit the diverse passions and interests of the community.

These are my personal favorites!

• On Monday morning, various @BlackBerryDev team members – including yours truly – will be leading DEVCON tours to help new attendees get familiar with all the key activities and locations throughout the week – even an alumnus may discover something new! Find the tours by heading to the registration desk.
• Also on Monday morning, DEVCON Alumni will have access to an exclusive One-On-One event with Research In Motion® (RIM) experts in an informal setting. This event is taking place in Yerba Buena Ballroom 7 between 9:00-11:30am. Check out all the cool alumni benefits including VIP lounge, discounts, and an Alumni exclusive breakfast!
• Monday night is going to be huge too! After the welcome reception (another can’t-miss event, by the way), we will be holding a special Community Connection event all about celebrating the BlackBerry Developer Community. Join us to hear about highlights from the BlackBerry Partners Fund “Super Apps” Developer Challenge, learn about our new BlackBerry Developer Groups popping up all over the world, and cheer as we recognize community members for outstanding contributions. Get all the details here!
• The BlackBerry DEVCON foursquare Challenge starts with the first check-in at the DEVCON keynote Monday at 12:30pm.
• Tuesday night. DEVCON party! Enough said.
• Wednesday night, we have both an International Reception for our guests from outside the US and Canada, and the DEVCON Mobile Scavenger Hunt powered by AT&T. Head out into the city of San Francisco for an evening of adventure and fun! Passes will be handed out at the AT&T booth, so make sure you swing by!
• Are you a student or faculty? Make sure you check out the special Academic Program!
• …and don’t forget about Developer Day on Thursday! Find all the details here, and in my previous blog post.

Which of these DEVCON special programs will you be attending?

The BlackBerry® DEVCON 2010 experience is your opportunity to get answers to your toughest development questions and champion your favorite feature requests directly to the development and product management experts from Research In Motion® (RIM).

But outside of the sessions, what are some of the ways to engage with all of the experts at the conference? How about Ask the Experts, Expert One-on-Ones or even Exclusive One-on-Ones? Read on for more!

Drop in to the Ask the Experts area where you can join RIM staff and your fellow attendees at a whiteboard to discuss the specific development topics you need to know more about. There are four main areas, and all are open Monday through Thursday throughout the conference:

• Java Development
• Web Development
• UI Design and Development
• Enterprise Applications

Expert One-on-One sessions are slightly different from the Ask the Experts area, in that sessions with subject matter experts need to be booked in advance. Sessions with experts will be available for the following topics:

• Graphics and Animation
• Data Storage
• Application Integration
• Multimedia
• Networking
• Location Based Services
• Security and Cryptography
• Debugging and Optimization
• BlackBerry Themes
• BlackBerry App World™
• Locate Service
• BlackBerry Push Service
• Commercialization Services
• BlackBerry Web Development Platform
• Go-to-Market
• BlackBerry Developer Program

Sessions can be booked at the DEVCON registration desk in front of the Ask the Experts area starting at 8:00 am Monday, September 27th through to Wednesday evening. The Expert One-on-One session schedule is below:

Last but not least, a new Exclusive One-on-One session taking place on Monday morning from 9:00 – 11:30 AM. This special session is a great opportunity for returning DEVCON attendees to kick off their conference experience by meeting with leading subject matter experts in an informal setting. This one is sure to become a classic.

For more information, please take a look at the DEVCON Access to the Experts section. Looking forward to seeing you all there!