October is here and that means we’re only a few weeks away from the BlackBerry Developer Conference, which is running from October 20-22nd. Not only is the BlackBerry Cool staff excited to make time with all the BlackBerry Developers out there, we’re also participating in an official capacity.
- As part of the BlackBerry Partners Fund Developer Challenge, I’m one of the judges for the “Most Innovative Web Application” category.
- I’ll also be participating on the What Makes a Great Mobile Application? Panel with Rick Segal (BlackBerry Partners Fund), Mike Kirkup (RIM’s Manager of Developer Relations), Kevin from CrackBerry and Hayden from Pinstack!
Our boy Kevin from CrackBerry also broke some exciting news yesterday when he reported that the BlackBerry Developer Conference is going to be littered with free BlackBerrys for attendees! I know for a fact that BlackBerry Developers are always in need of a few extra BlackBerrys for testing, so this should make everyone happy (oh please let them be BlackBerry Storms!). I’ve also heard a rumor floating around that the two Best of Show $150,000 Developer Grand Prizes might be doubled!! That’s over half a million in prizes, folks, and that doesn’t even include the prize money for the individual Developer Challenge categories!
UPDATE: Just got an email from Rick Segal of the BlackBerry Partners Fund. He loves the idea, and is going to sponsor us!! Still not sure about the name (post some suggestions, please), but for now the BLACKBERRY COOL 15 IS ON! More info to come!
There’s one more thing I wanted to float by you, though. Even though the BBDC is all about developers, with so many of them at the show, it’s going to be hard for many to get the exposure they need. BlackBerry Cool has been thinking about running an event during the BlackBerry Developer Conference… an event (maybe) called the BlackBerry Cool 15. Here’s the idea:
- We get about 15 registered developers all in one room with an audience.
- We’ll give them 1-2 minutes to pitch their idea or application, followed by 2-3 minutes of questioning by a judges panel.
- After all the developers have made their pitch, the audience members vote on what was the best BlackBerry application.
- We’ll film the whole thing and give all the developers great exposure, and some cool prizes to the winner.
What do you think BlackBerry Nation? Does it sound like a (ahem) ‘cool’ idea? Post a comment and let us know. We’ll see you in Santa Clara!
