RIM has been showing BlackBerry 10 for the first time at BlackBerry World 2012, giving the developer community and assembled press a glimpse of the company's forthcoming operating system.

And backing this up for the wider community, the Canadian firm has also released the beta BB 10 developer toolkit for native and HTML5 software development.

It's available as a free download from BlackBerry's developer site.

"Developers can use this first beta of the tools to get started building apps for BlackBerry 10 and as the tools evolve over the coming months, developers will have access to a rich API set that will allow them to build even more integrated apps," said Christopher Smith, RIM's VP handheld application and tools. 

10 in 2012

Expected to launch sometime in the latter part of 2012, RIM is hoping that the BlackBerry 10 operating system can restore the fortunes of the ailing company. To do so, RIM will have to attract developers to the platform.

"The toolkit we are delivering today also meets developers on their own terms," noted Smith.

"Whether using the powerful Cascades framework, writing direct native code or developing in HTML5, BlackBerry 10 will empower developers to create attractive and compelling apps that excite customers."



[source: RIM]