BlackBerry to launch JamHack 2012 across Asia Pacific, prize worth $10,000

Research In Motion (RIM) has recently announced its first simultaneous Asia Pacific (APAC) wide Hackathon titled BlackBerry JamHack. This event is scheduled to take place in ten different cities across the APAC region over two consecutive weekends. The winning teams from each city will then get the chance to represent their countries at the JamHack finals that will take place at BlackBerry Jam Asia on 29 to 30 November 2012.    This 40-hour event will provide a chance for four-member teams of developers, user interface designers and/ or marketers to work on apps for the upcoming BlackBerry 10 operating system. To ensure that each team is properly equipped for the challenge, they will be assisted with continual support from RIM's Developer Relations team. JamHack 2012 across Asia Pacific During the event, the Research in Motion team will share market insights that are catered to the respective cities so developers can develop market-relevant as well as apps that can be received well the world over. The two-day event will also include community ‘sharing’ sessions aptly named JamBytes. During these sessions, participants have the chance to learn tips and tricks related to the upcoming BlackBerry 10 platform, get advice on how to improve their BlackBerry 10 applications, as well as commercial strategies for marketing apps through the BlackBerry App World.    BlackBerry JamHack 2012 happens in ten major Asia Pacific cities, such as Jammin’ on Oct 12-14, 2012, which will take place at Delhi, Bangalore, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Manila at GMT+5.5 to +8. Jammin’ on Oct 19-21, 2012 happens in Ho Chi Minh City, Bangkok, Melbourne, Shanghai and Jakarta at GMT+7 to GMT+10   More details of the location and timing of each session are available here.   The ten winning teams that come from each city’s event will receive an all-expenses paid trip to BlackBerry Jam Asia in Bangkok. At BlackBerry Jam Asia, the teams will have the opportunity to represent their city and compete at the Asia Pacific Finals. Each team be assessed by a panel of judges and attendees of BlackBerry Jam Asia will also be able to cast a vote to identify the deserved winner    The winning team identified at BlackBerry Jam Asia in Bangkok between 29 and 30 November will win the grand prize of US$ 10,000 in cash, an all-expense paid trip to BlackBerry 10 global launch, BlackBerry App World marketing for 2 months following the BlackBerry 10 launch in Asia, Middle East and Africa, and one week of marketing in North America, Latin America and Europe. The winning team will also receive dedicated technical and business consultancy for up to three months after the launch of BlackBerry 10 in the team’s market RIM is completely overhauling the operating system on its phones with its BB10 release and the new gesture-based user interface. The company is counting on BB10 to arrest a precipitous decline in market share over the past year and longer. In the end, the success or failure of the BB10 will hinge by how warmly it's embraced by consumers, many of whom have already switched to Apple's iPhone and Samsung's Galaxy, especially in North America and Europe. Test versions of the BB10 have won praise from carriers and developers, but the true test still hinges on RIM's ability to win back market share and the hearts of an ever growing base of touchscreen users.