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RIM has clearly decided that one of the biggest issues it faces in making BlackBerry 10 a success is the number and quality of apps available for the operating system. That message went out loud and clear during today's RIM president and CEO Therston Hein's keynote when he showed off RIM's new BlackBerry 10 operating system. But if you thought RIM was going to take a half-hearted approach to wooing developers, think again.
During the BlackBerry 10 Jam developer keynote, RIM vice president of developer relations, Alec Saunders, said the company guarantees that developers will make at least $10,000 within the first year their BlackBerry 10 apps are available through the BlackBerry App World store.
So what happens if a developer's app doesn't reach that magic number? Well, according to Saunders, RIM will pony up and pay the developer the remaining cash. So say, for example, you create a BlackBerry 10 app and it makes it into the BlackBerry App World store, but only manages to generate $5,000. BlackBerry will then cough up the remaining $5,000.
Of course, there are certain limitations to the app incentive program. Developers will, obviously, have to get their apps certified for sale in the BlackBerry App World store and manage to generate $1,000 in sales on their own before they can qualify for the guarantee. Still for RIM make such a bold statement is indicative of the company's desire to draw developers to its next-generation ecosystem.
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