$250,000 up for grabs

Blackberry calls for application developers to submit their best work

The official call for entries for the second annual BlackBerry Developers Challenge is underway; an announcement recently made by the BlackBerry Partners Fund.

Any new BlackBerry applications submitted to BlackBerry App World between June 1, 2009 and September 25, 2009 may be eligible to compete in this year’s challenge. The total prize package is valued at over US$250,000.

A total of 16 finalists will be selected from eligible applications submitted over the contest period. The finalists will each receive a prize package valued at more than US$5,000 and be invited to compete for a grand prize package valued at over US$100,000; and a runner up prize package worth more than US$25,000. Judges will be looking for the most compelling product or service, clearly defined value proposition, and technical execution.

“We are very excited to be able to leverage placement on the BlackBerry App World carousel for each of the16 finalists,” said Kevin Talbot, Co-managing Partner, BlackBerry Partners Fund. “This will give finalists a huge boost in the market and BlackBerry users will be able to participate in the judging process through their reviews and download activity.”

Four finalists will be selected and announced at the end of each month during the four-month challenge. User reviews of applications and download activity will be taken into consideration when finalists are selected.

All 16 finalists must present and demo their application to a panel of judges during the “BlackBerry Sweet 16” event, which takes place at the BlackBerry Developers Conference, November 9 – 11 in San Francisco. Winners will be announced during the conference keynote presentation on November 10th.