RIM announces virtual "Port-a-thon" for BlackBerry; Promises $100 per approved app port
RIM is pulling out all stops in its bid to regain its place in the battle of the Smartphone OSs with this latest initiative. With the tentative release of the BB10 OS, RIM looks to make sure that the potential consumers have a rich database of app to choose from with the Portathon. On Jan 11, 2013, two
Portathon will be held simultaneously and virtually. RIM has extended its invitation to mobile app makers across many platforms. One Portathon is specifically for Android app developers and the other platforms, such as Appcelerator, Maramalade, Sencha, jQuery, PhoneGap and Qt.The incentives for the non-Android Portathon are as follows -
- Port one (1) – five (5) approved apps – $100 per eligible app –to a maximum of 20 paid applications per Vendor
- Port five (5) – ten (10) approved apps – THE FIRST TWO HUNDRED (200) QUALIFIED PARTICIPANTS receive one (1) BlackBerry Dev Alpha Device plus $100
- Port ten (10) or more approved apps - THE FIRST TEN (10) QUALIFIED PARTICIPANTS one (1) paid trip to BlackBerry Jam Europe to celebrate the launch of BlackBerry 10 with us plus a Dev Alpha Device as well as $100.
- Additionally for those that did not receive a BlackBerry Dev Alpha, or Trip to BlackBerry Jam Europe, we will be conducting a random draw for one hundred (100) BlackBerry 10 Dev Alphas and ten (10) trips to BlackBerry Jam Europe. All those who meet the criteria for a Dev Alpha Device or the Trip but were not one of the firs 200 or 10 , respectively, to qualify, are eligible for the respective draws.
More information here.
The incentives for the Android Portathon are as follows -
- Port one or more approved apps –and get $100 per eligible app to a maximum of 20 paid applications per Vendor
- Additionally; submit five (5) or more apps and be eligible for a random draw for one (1) of one hundred (100) BlackBerry 10 Dev Alpha Devices. Receive one (1) additional entry for every eligible app that you submit over 5.
More information here.
Limitations and Opportunities
This port should be fairly straightforward for simple apps on other platforms which aren't using anything specific to a phone's hardware (Eg. Games and other apps using sensors specific to a phone). RIM has announced a whopping $500,000 in this event as the total prize money to be won.
With a maximum limit of 20 apps per person, this provides a great opportunity for developers to cash in on their already existing apps through the Port-a-thon. More incentives seems to have been given to app makers from other platforms, which could be because of the abundance of apps available on the Android platform. But to capitalize on this abundance, RIM has also allowed one extra entry for every approved app after 5 apps. Clever stuff!
This is a great strategy by RIM to get more apps. Firstly by creating a platform to which apps from other platforms can be ported makes sure that a new user on BB10 wouldn't miss much coming from another platform and secondly, by adequately incentivizing developers for porting existing apps to BB10 is a very effective way to get all the popular apps onto the platform.
A great idea according to us. Will it translate? We've got to wait for Jan 11th.
Interested to port your app to BB10 in return for money and amazing prizes? Will you take part in the Port-A-Thon? Tell us what you think.
