Developers have began warming up to BlackBerry. So much that more than 60 developers on Wednesday 20th March 2013 attended a BlackBerry® Jam Session for Kenyan Universities at Nairobi-based Mocca Hotel. This event follows that series of BlackBerry Jam Sessions that were held in Africa in 2012 and around the world as well with the largest being in Amsterdam, Holland in Feb 2013. The African event did however attract over 300 developers in JHB – South Africa, Lagos – Nigeria and Nairobi Kenya last year.

The Jam Session was an intense 10 hour programming session where developers in groups of 2-4 worked on transforming a social or business idea into a working App. At the end of the session, developers presented their apps to a panel of judges for a chance to win a BlackBerry® PlayBook™. Participants came from the following universities:

1. Inoorero
2. Strathmore
3. Jomo Kenyatta University
4. Kenyatta University
5. Mount Kenya University

All these participants are now expected to use the knowledge acquired from the hackatho Read more »

The Blackberry Z10 is the latest entry into the smartphone market by Canadian firm RIM, who now also renamed itself into Blackberry, the name of its core brand.

In recent years, RIM fell behind Apple, Nokia, Samsung and Google in the smartphone production market. Truth is, RIM has been struggling to regain its market share because of some late-to-market strategies that some would call ‘slow’ and unfortunately, the products did not succeed as much as we would all have liked in the cut throat market, like the Blackberry Playbook.

However, BlackBerry seems to have made their comeback with the BlackBerry 10. This is a new OS that powers their new flagship device, the Z10, a brand new phone with a completely redesigned exterior and running the Blackberry 10 OS, made specifically for the next generation of handsets. So what’s new? A device that has some fairly compelling features along with additional business Read more »

These are the points that will be tested to award the winner of the 17^th November 2012 BlackBerry Hackathon:

• The Business Model – 25%
• Design Quality – 25%
• Originality of Idea – 25%
• Functionality – 25%

Each team should comprise of no more than 6 team members (You can 1 guy or 6 guys max)

Everything you present on the App has got to have been done in the room. Do not bring your previous work to this event. All has to be done here.

End of coding is at 6.30pm and each team Read more »

Image Courtesy; BerryView

As you’ve likely heard, BlackBerry AppWorld is now accepting app submissions for BlackBerry 10! This means that apps submitted to the store starting October 2012 will be guaranteed to be reviewed and ready for launch.  This is a huge opportunity to be the first into the store and to capitalize on the app-hungry market.

The sooner you get your app into the store, the sooner it can be tested for the Built for BlackBerry program; and if it’s tested and is certified you then qualify for the 10k Developer Commitment.  And to top it off; they’re going to give you preferred carousel placements as a thank you to devs who get their apps into App World in October and November. How can anyone beat that?  Read more »

If you, like me, got the first version of the BlackBerry Dev Alpha from RIM then you most probably have gotten this error by now. It comes up when you manage to drain your device of power completely.

See the image above to find what this screen looks like.

So there fix is quite simple really:

Just restart your device. Not once; not twice; but 4 times minimum.

I hear from a reliable source that RIM actually put in an error reporting mechanism that sends back information to RIM Dev team on ways to improve the BB 10 Dev Alpha.

I have restarted mine 4 times. It is finally back up J

Ok Gang, back As You Were.

BlackBerry wants your App: Yes they Do. And you will get good rewards from it.

Do you think you have what it takes? Are you ready to show us what you got? It is quite simple really. Just create a BlackBerry® 10 app and get it approved through the Built for BlackBerry® program. If you earn a minimum of 1,000 USD from your app over 12 months on the BlackBerry AppWorld and you comply with the 10k Developer Commitment Terms and Conditions.

Some of the criteria for your App are:

Submission – Applications submitted to the Built for BlackBerry® program will be subject to a range of tests and evaluations which they must pass before receiving the Built for BlackBerry designation.

The Built for BlackBerry evaluation process begins after your app has successfully passed the BlackBerry App World™ Vendor Guidelines. Once submitted for Built for BlackBerry approval, your app will be reviewed by a testing team under the following criteria: User Benefits, User Experience, Performance and Security. Read more »

image courtesy, Crackberry

Samsung recently toppled Nokia as the best seller on the planet and word on the street is that this surprise attack and win has been fueled by Samsung’s rigorous marketing campaign and evident cutting edge technology. With the new Galaxy, Samsung could have potentially set another benchmark. They are huge on community which is a crucial driving force behind a successful product. Essentially, if you don’t have the numbers, you have nothing.

Well, what about BlackBerry? Blackberry could potentially be onto something new with BlackBerry 10.

Many are saying that this is BBs last great hope (lol). Others keep at it that BlackBerry is deader than alive (Even more LOL although I doubt that Grammar makes any sense). Point is, they couldn’t be more wrong. Developers and top brands alike are already beginning to commit to BB 10 platform for their (MAB) Mobile Application Development. Recently at BlackBerry World, RIM  revealed relevant endorsements who have already confirmed their excitement for the upcoming launch of the BlackBerry 10 platform. Read more »