Although developers are encouraged to submit multiple apps, there is a limit of one free BlackBerry PlayBook per registered developer in BlackBerry App World. For additional information on the offer, including the Terms and Conditions, visit www.blackberry.com/developers/blackberryplaybookoffer.

 

“Interest and momentum behind the BlackBerry PlayBook continues to build and we are thrilled with the positive response from both the developer community and our customers. With its groundbreaking performance and robust support for industry standard development tools, the BlackBerry PlayBook provides an exceptional platform that appeals to a wide range of mobile app developers, including Adobe AIR and Flash developers, HTML web developers, corporate developers and application hobbyists,” said Tyler Lessard, VP Global Alliances & Developer Relations at RIM. “We are very pleased to be working with developers in advance of the product launch and the opening of BlackBerry App World to accept BlackBerry PlayBook apps is an important next step.”

 

RIM also recently released an update to the Beta version of the BlackBerry Tablet OS SDK for Adobe AIR. The update now supports Flash Builder 4.5 (Burrito/Flex Mobile) with plug-ins that work with either Flash Builder 4.0 or the pre-release version of Flash Builder Burrito. Support for Flash Builder Burrito adds drag and drop capabilities, making it even easier and faster for developers to build applications for the BlackBerry PlayBook. The latest Beta of the SDK also supports Windows in 64-bit and includes a simulator for Linux.

 

A number of developers have already started developing for BlackBerry’s device and have been giving some good feedback. “Developing for the PlayBook has been a pleasurable experience. The APIs are straightforward and optimized for the device and the environment is cross-platform,” said Jerome Carty, president of JCX Systems, Inc. “The thing that impresses me the most is the potential for the hardware. The gestures for the PlayBook make the device feel as though you have unlimited surface area since they extend beyond the screen to the bezel. This will make for a fun and unique experience for developers and end-users.”

 

BlackBerry has recently announced an App World milestone in the form of more than 15 000 apps currently available. This figure is still some ways off the pace of Apple’s App Store with more than 280 000 apps available and Android’s Marketplace, which flew past the 100 000 mark a month ago.