App development for BlackBerry smartphones is set to explode with the launch of the new BlackBerry 10 operating system and smartphones and the BlackBerry World app store according to Simon Bestbier of leading mobile development company Realmdigital.
“The BlackBerry Z10 and BlackBerry Q10 smartphones powered by BlackBerry 10 are game changers,” says Bestbier.
“The BlackBerry ecosystem is very strongly embedded in South Africa – they are still the top selling smartphones in the country – and many of our top corporates have invested a lot in BlackBerry infrastructure. Now that the platform is even more attractive for external developers, there is a new sense of excitement. Our customers are sitting up and paying attention.”
Bestbier expects strong demand from customers that have not previously considered developing mobile apps at all.
“Many of our customers know from their site analytics that they get a lot of BlackBerry traffic,” he says.
“The BlackBerry 10 operating system makes the development task easier than ever before. The developer picture is starting to look very different.
“The new devices are slicker and more powerful, and have made it very easy to port apps between different platforms. BlackBerry has also provided very good documentation and workshops which have helped to create a lot of excitement in the developer community,” Bestbier concludes.