14 DAY TRIAL // Canadian mobile phone maker BlackBerry is working on providing more developers with the necessary means to come up with applications for its BlackBerry 10 devices, and the option to have their apps tested in the Beta Zone is now one of them.
The portal has grown as one of the most popular destinations for developers and users interested in seeing how new app iterations work before being made generally available, and BlackBerry 10 apps are also welcome there now, it seems.
According to a recent post on MobileSyrup, BlackBerry has already sent out an email to developers to inform them on the change.
BlackBerry Beta Zone was already the place to go to test out unreleased flavors of apps for legacy devices, but now BlackBerry 10 users can make a similar move, it seems.
“We are pleased to announce that BlackBerry developers are now able to beta test their BlackBerry 10 apps through Beta Zone,” the aforementioned email from the Canadian vendor reportedly reads.
“Very soon you will start to see new ‘Third Party’ beta programs available to you, which will be posted and fully managed by the developers themselves.”
The smartphone maker also explains that the process of participating in these beta programs remains unchanged, but that all feedback will be submitted directly to developers now.
Moreover, the vendor explains that it will be easy to distinguish between a Third Party and a BlackBerry beta application through simply having a look at the ‘Author’ of the download in the Beta Zone app.
All BlackBerry apps will have the company listed as the Author, while apps coming from other developers will have the BlackBerry World Vendor name listed there.
After After joining a Third Party beta program, users will be able to contact developers directly on issues found in the software, by using the ‘Submit Feedback’ form in the Beta Zone app.
“Be sure to select the appropriate beta program name from the ‘What is your feedback about?’ dropdown, so that your feedback is sent to the correct developer,” said email also reads.
After including BlackBerry 10 apps in the Beta Zone, the quality of software available for download through the BlackBerry World should be improved, the Canadian vendor notes.
Owners of BlackBerry 10 devices interested in trying out beta applications through the Beta Zone should head over to their accounts on the portal for that. Those without such an account will be able to sign up for free.