BlackBerry 10 Jam affirms commitment to developers in Egypt
The BlackBerry® 10 Jam World Tour came to Egypt today, providing developers and students with an opportunity to learn more about the unique capabilities of BlackBerry® 10 and join the growing list of partners developing for the new platform. 250 developers attended the hands-on event, demonstrating the growing enthusiasm for the BlackBerry 10 platform among Egypt’s entrepreneurial developer community.
The Information Technology Institute (ITI), a leading national institute tasked with establishing training programs and helping the Egyptian technology community create relevant solutions for customers, hosted the event at its Smart Village offices.
Since its launch in the region in May 2011, BlackBerry App World™ has benefited from a strong pipeline of locally relevant content and mobile apps provided by Egyptian developers. Leading developers include Asgatech, developer of the Call to Pray and the Egyptian Elections Guide apps; ZeroWire Labs, who launched the interactive Sports Vibe app earlier this year; Tawasol IT, who recently launched a medical encyclopaedia app for the Saudi German Hospital Group, SGH; T-A-Telecom, developer of several Islamic apps such as Megakheir and Al Azkar; and Ketabi Arabic eBooks developer Froot Apps.
Developing for BlackBerry 10 has never been easier, with developers able to use different programming languages and the ability to leverage APIs that can integrate with core BlackBerry apps such as contacts, calendar, BlackBerry® Messenger, BlackBerry Hub and more. Applications created with any of the BlackBerry 10 tools will run on BlackBerry 10 smartphones as well as BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablets when the new platform becomes available for the PlayBook.
Ben Quirin, Regional Director, North Africa, RIM said, “Egypt has always been known as a regional hotbed of talented app developers and digital entrepreneurs. We are delighted by the turnout at our BlackBerry 10 Jam event today in Cairo, which reinforces the importance of the BlackBerry platform to this thriving developer community. In collaboration with organisations such as the ITI, we are committed to bringing the latest tools, training and resources to enable the Egyptian developer community to produce fantastic, locally- and globally-relevant apps and mobile content.”
As part of its drive to invest in the youth of the region and support the future growth of the mobile industry, RIM has been working with several Egyptian universities including the Arab Academy for Science and Technology, Pioneer Secondary Language School, Ain Shams University, Technical Institute and German University in Cairo, to bring the BlackBerry Academic Programme to students. The programme integrates information about BlackBerry platforms into students’ curriculum and provides resources, including smartphones and tablets, for students to learn on. RIM also worked with the Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurship Centre (TIEC) this year to hold developer training sessions and app development competitions for students.
Eng. Heba Saleh, Deputy Chairman ITI, said, “The Information Technology Institute and RIM share the same long-term vision of creating opportunities for app developers in Egypt. Through our work together, we want to enable opportunities for developers and provide them with the knowledge and skills which will make smartphone usage more relevant for customers in the nation and across the MENA region. We are proud to know that our developer community will play such an integral role in the BlackBerry 10 platform and we are committed to ensuring their success.”
BlackBerry 10 Jam World Tour will also be visiting Alexandria’s thriving developer community on Thursday 11th of October at the Alexandrian Business Association. To register, please visit http://mobitalk.eventbrite.com
The Information Technology Institute (ITI), a leading national institute tasked with establishing training programs and helping the Egyptian technology community create relevant solutions for customers, hosted the event at its Smart Village offices.
Since its launch in the region in May 2011, BlackBerry App World™ has benefited from a strong pipeline of locally relevant content and mobile apps provided by Egyptian developers. Leading developers include Asgatech, developer of the Call to Pray and the Egyptian Elections Guide apps; ZeroWire Labs, who launched the interactive Sports Vibe app earlier this year; Tawasol IT, who recently launched a medical encyclopaedia app for the Saudi German Hospital Group, SGH; T-A-Telecom, developer of several Islamic apps such as Megakheir and Al Azkar; and Ketabi Arabic eBooks developer Froot Apps.
Developing for BlackBerry 10 has never been easier, with developers able to use different programming languages and the ability to leverage APIs that can integrate with core BlackBerry apps such as contacts, calendar, BlackBerry® Messenger, BlackBerry Hub and more. Applications created with any of the BlackBerry 10 tools will run on BlackBerry 10 smartphones as well as BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablets when the new platform becomes available for the PlayBook.
Ben Quirin, Regional Director, North Africa, RIM said, “Egypt has always been known as a regional hotbed of talented app developers and digital entrepreneurs. We are delighted by the turnout at our BlackBerry 10 Jam event today in Cairo, which reinforces the importance of the BlackBerry platform to this thriving developer community. In collaboration with organisations such as the ITI, we are committed to bringing the latest tools, training and resources to enable the Egyptian developer community to produce fantastic, locally- and globally-relevant apps and mobile content.”
As part of its drive to invest in the youth of the region and support the future growth of the mobile industry, RIM has been working with several Egyptian universities including the Arab Academy for Science and Technology, Pioneer Secondary Language School, Ain Shams University, Technical Institute and German University in Cairo, to bring the BlackBerry Academic Programme to students. The programme integrates information about BlackBerry platforms into students’ curriculum and provides resources, including smartphones and tablets, for students to learn on. RIM also worked with the Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurship Centre (TIEC) this year to hold developer training sessions and app development competitions for students.
Eng. Heba Saleh, Deputy Chairman ITI, said, “The Information Technology Institute and RIM share the same long-term vision of creating opportunities for app developers in Egypt. Through our work together, we want to enable opportunities for developers and provide them with the knowledge and skills which will make smartphone usage more relevant for customers in the nation and across the MENA region. We are proud to know that our developer community will play such an integral role in the BlackBerry 10 platform and we are committed to ensuring their success.”
BlackBerry 10 Jam World Tour will also be visiting Alexandria’s thriving developer community on Thursday 11th of October at the Alexandrian Business Association. To register, please visit http://mobitalk.eventbrite.com