RIM Anounces Blackberry 10 Dev Alpha C With A Physical Keyboard

At BlackBerry Jam Asia this morning RIM announced a number of changes and additions that we can expect in the coming months. First, the BlackBerry App World, RIM’s app store, will be renamed when BB10 officially launches to simply “BlackBerry World.” This will feature more than apps as you’ll be able to purchase music, movies, TV shows and games.

Alec Saunders, RIM’s VP of Developer Relations, also revealed the new Dev Alpha C device – a BB 10 smartphone with a physical QWERTY keyboard. This BB10 is only for developers who are looking to test their BB10 apps. Similar to the all-touch Dev Alpha A and Dev Alpha B, there’s a limited amount to go around. In total, RIM has only produced 1,500 Dev Alpha C devices and interested developers need to qualify to score one. On their blog they noted scoring is based on a point system, specifically that “The top 1,500 people to submit two or more applications will be given priority seeding for the BB 10 Dev Alpha C.” Here’s the breakdown of the point system:

– 50 points for ported Android applications
– 250 points for all other applications (Native, BlackBerry WebWorks, Adobe AIR)
– 1,500 points for Built For BlackBerry certified application
– 200 points to start for BlackBerry 10 Dev Alpha A/B recipients
– 200 points to start if you are a BlackBerry Elite Member

Developers who received a BlackBerry 10 Dev Alpha device and who have submitted a “qualifying” BlackBerry 10 application are eligible to receive a free, limited edition final-release BlackBerry 10 smartphone shortly after the January 30 BlackBerry 10 launch event. More details on terms and conditions can be found on RIM’s developer blog.