In conjunction with the WES 2009 Conference, taking place this week in Orlando, Fla., the BlackBerry Partners Fund announced the 2009 BlackBerry Developers Challenge, which seeks to honor not only compelling mobile products and services but also clearly defined value propositions, viable business models and entrepreneurs with the skills to execute their concepts. According to BlackBerry Partners Fund--a $150 million venture capital fund created in mid-2008 to invest in applications and services for the BlackBerry OS as well as rival mobile platforms--the contest is open to all working BlackBerry apps, although submissions must originate from startups, with firms that have received more than $1 million in outside investment ineligible to compete. A panel of judges will select 10 finalists, with the final judging taking place at the BlackBerry Developers Conference, scheduled for Nov. 9 to Nov. 11--the winning app will receive $25,000 in cash as well as a $25,000 value package including a RIM mentoring session, and a chance to pitch BlackBerry Partners Fund for a potential investment. All finalists will receive free admission to DevCon, and will be expected to present their app or service for Grand Prize consideration.
Programmers can submit their apps for the 2009 BlackBerry Developer Challenge between June 1 and Sept. 15, although pre-registration is taking place now at www.blackberrypartnersfund.com. Finalists will be notified by Oct. 15.
For more on the 2009 BlackBerry Developers Challenge:
- visit the pre-registration page
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