BlackBerry today announced its series of “Port-A-Thon” events, where developers can port their apps and games to BlackBerry 10 from other platforms, has come to a close. The Canadian company also noted that the number of apps submitted by developers “greatly surpassed our expectations” and that the total rewards exceeded $4 million.
BlackBerry says all emails regarding rewards have been sent out, contacting recipients for payment or shipping details. The company is also promising that developers who provide their details before the end of the month will receive their rewards as soon as possible: “Pending payments and shipments will continue after June 30. However, we will not initiate any new payments or shipments after June 30, 2013.”
Port-a-Thon events began in late 2012 but continued well into 2013. Developers were given $100 for each app (maximum 20) that was approved for the BlackBerry World app store; those that submitted five or more apps were entered a draw for a Limited Edition BB10 device. The initiative appears to have been a great success, though if we exclude the BlackBerries, the company got only about 40,000 apps for its cash.
Every single event in the series understandably resulted in thousands of BlackBerry 10 apps being submitted to the company. One of the last ones saw just over 19,000 submissions, according to Alec Saunders, RIM VP of Developer Relations.
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In fact, the number of submissions pushed BlackBerry to extend the deadline for some of its developer incentive programs. While the Port-A-Thons are done, the company says it has more “innovative developer programs” coming later this year, including its first virtual event focused on making games more successful (details to follow). The battle for third place, against Microsoft’s Windows Phone, continues.
See also – BlackBerry World hits 120,000 apps, as Skype launches on the Z10 along with 10.1 firmware update and US Department of Defense approves BlackBerry 10 smartphones and PlayBook tablets for use on its networks
Top Image Credit: Justin Sullivan / Getty Images
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