RIM launches final BlackBerry 10 'Portathon' event
The company says this will be the last time it will offer developers the chance to earn cash by porting their apps to BlackBerry 10.
Research In Motion will hold its apparently final BlackBerry 10 "Portathon" this weekend.
Running from 9 a.m. PT today to 8:59 p.m. PT tomorrow, the event will allow developers to port their applications available on other mobile platforms to BlackBerry 10. Each approved app will net the developers $100, up to a maximum of 20 applications. To sweeten the pot even more, RIM will enter all developers who submit five or more apps into a drawing for a free BlackBerry 10 Dev Alpha device.
RIM has been running Portathon events for the last several weeks in an attempt to get as many mobile developers as possible to bring their products to the operating system. Last week, Alec Saunders, RIM vice president of developer relations, tweeted that the company netted 15,000 app submissions for BlackBerry 10 in a period of 37.5 hours. As with this weekend's event, that Portathon paid developers $100 per approved app.
RIM has made no secret of its belief that BlackBerry 10 is the future for the company, and if the operating system fails, so too could RIM. The company is expected to hold a major event on January 30 to unveil the long-awaited operating system. CNET will, of course, be there to cover every last detail.