15,000 BlackBerry 10 apps now ready in the App World

According to Research In Motion’s VP for developer relations, Alec Saunders, the BlackBerry App World now has an additional 15,000 apps just for their upcoming BlackBerry 10 handsets. Good move on RIM’s part to ready the apps prior to the launch of their latest BlackBerry which might just put them back in the game.

How did they do it? RIM hosted a virtual “Port-a-thon” last weekend where developers around the world were offered $100 for each app they port over the weekend with a maximum of 20 apps per developer. Android developers who submitted five or more apps were made eligible to participate in a random draw for BlackBerry 10 Dev Alpha Devices.
RIM also guarantees developers a $10,000 incentive once their app earns $1,000 in the Blackberry App World.
The BlackBerry 10 is slated for a January 30 launch and  RIM’s chief marketing officer Frank Boulben promised that at least 70,000 apps would be ready by that date.
If you missed out on that “Port-a-thon”, there’s another one coming up. The final “BlackBerry 10 Last Chance Port-A-Thon” will begin on January 18 and will run for 36 hours. It’s a virtual event, so anyone can register to enter. Same incentives for this last round.