I’m very excited to celebrate the five-year anniversary of BlackBerry World with our developer community!
A little over five years ago, I sat next to the team creating BlackBerry World and personally experienced the buzz and excitement associated with this new endeavor. This is when I realized that I wanted to be a part of the Developer Relations Marketing team, which means I’m also celebrating a milestone!
While many things have changed over the past five years, one thing remains constant: our deep commitment to our developers’ success.
One code base makes it easier to access more users
Over the past five years, we have provided many different options for creating apps for BlackBerry. We have evolved into an open standards-based platform to make it easier for developers to be successful in mobile, as opposed to being locked into a proprietary SDK.
I was very excited when we introduced Android™ support on BlackBerry PlayBook. It meant that a developer could extend the reach of their app with little-to-no code changes. Many developers told us they wanted more compatibility, and Android Native support was at the top of their wish list, so we listened. With the introduction of BlackBerry 10 OS version 10.2.1, we now provide Jelly Bean support and Android Native support. We also increased compatibility with Bluetooth, MapView, Spell Check, and Wi-Fi scanning.
Top-name apps port their Android apps
Many developers have successfully brought their Android apps to BlackBerry within hours, rather than months. A great example is Flipboard, which I use on a daily basis! I’m impressed with how well it runs on my BlackBerry Z30.
Always committed to cross-platform capabilities and open standards
Back when I joined the Developer Relations team, we introduced the BlackBerry WebWorks SDK, which enabled developers to reuse web assets and leverage their existing JavaScript and HTML skills. We have always strived to make it easy for developers to use one code base. Additionally, there has always been a commitment to open standards, and over the years we introduced support for C, C++, Qt4, Open GL, Open AL and HTML5. We even went one step further by partnering with cross-platform development tools and frameworks such as Unity 3D, Marmalade, Sencha, Appcelerator, Cordova and PhoneGap.
Easy app submission
We know that once your app is built, you still need to get it to your customers. To help you succeed, we removed all fees associated with getting your app in BlackBerry World and greatly expanded the number of countries in which BlackBerry World is available.
Here’s to many more
I view this as an anniversary for the entire developer ecosystem. From all of us here in Developer Relations, I want to thank the entire community for all their support. No matter what changes occur or how mobile evolves, our commitment to your success will never waver.