A new developer version of the QWERTY-keyboard sporting Q10 with BlackBerry 10 has been revealed over at the BlackBerry Jam event in Amsterdam, and like the new red Z10, it’s exclusively for app developers.
BlackBerry will offer the phone to app developers to encourage new apps to be made that are compatible with the smaller screened Q10 as well as the 4.2-inch all touch Z10, which is currently selling well here in the UK.
We’ve seen the Dev Alpha A and Dev Alpha B before, which were developer previews of the Z10. The Dev Alpha C was also confirmed but never spotted in the flesh, until now. It looks a lot more akin to the Porsche Design BlackBerry P’9981 than the Q10 to us, with a much more flattened and square look to it.
It still rocks the same super-sharp 3.1-inch 720 x 720 touchscreen display as the Q10, along with both front and rear cameras. Although in the past the BlackBerry platform wasn’t particularly famed for its app selection, the company wants to change that going forward.
Developers will be able to apply for a Dev Alpha C phone in order to help them develop new apps and software for the Q10, which itself will go on sale to the public later in the year. BlackBerry hasn’t given any specific dates for either phone, although it says that devs will be able to register “later in the year”.
At present the only way you’ll be able to get your hands on a Dev Alpha C phone is to get yourself in to one of the hands-on lab sessions at the BlackBerry Jam event in Amsterdam. In order to be eligible for the phone you’ll need to submit two or more apps to be added to BlackBerry World. Different types of app earn different points, and obviously the more points you get the better chance you stand of getting a phone. For example, you get 50 points for porting an Android app to BlackBerry 10 or 1,500 for a Built For BlackBerry app.