RIM's BlackBerry 10 launch event may not be going down for another month and a half or so, but fans of the platform don't have to wait that long for something to be excited about. It was announced today that the BlackBerry 10 software development kit (SDK) has gone gold, meaning that developers now have access to the final version of the tools that they need to build apps for RIM's new OS. There are several different tools in the SDK for devs to use, such as BlackBerry Cascades for C/C++ and Qt folk, which will help devs to craft apps that are deeply integrated into core BB10 elements. Also included is BlackBerry WebWorks for HTML5 devs working on web apps and some items for anyone building with Adobe AIR and porting Android apps to BlackBerry 10.
The fact that the BlackBerry 10 SDK has reached gold status doesn't affect us non-developer folk that much, but it is an important milestone in BlackBerry 10's journey to a public launch. RIM has scheduled its official BlackBerry 10 launch event for January 30, and at that time the company will finally show off its first two BlackBerry 10-powered smartphones and announce their availability details. The company has said before that its first BB10 handset will be a full-touch unit and that a QWERTY-equipped model will follow shortly after. With the arrival of the gold build of the BlackBerry 10 SDK, though, devs don't need to wait until January 30 to sink their teeth into the tools that RIM has to offer for its new platform. They can be found at the BlackBerry Developer link below.
Via RIM, BlackBerry Developer
