RIM Launches BlackBerry 10 Development Tools Beta Update

Today was a big day for RIM. The struggling company took the stage today to talk about all things BlackBerry 10, announcing a number of new features and telling us that carrier testing for the incoming OS will begin next month. For the BlackBerry faithful, today was a exciting day, but RIM didn't stop at showcasing the new features of BlackBerry 10, launching a new update to its BlackBerry 10 development tools beta today as well.

RIM has done a lot with this update, including adding a software update for the BlackBerry 10 simulator and BlackBerry 10 Alpha. Both can now boast support for BlackBerry 10's core apps, which include contacts, calendar, BlackBerry 10 message center, and BlackBerry 10 messenger. As an added bonus, BlackBerry 10 developers can now begin making apps with BBM integration.

To make things easy for game developers, RIM has supplied a native C/C++ plug-in for Microsoft Visual Studio, which will allow devs to quickly port their games to BlackBerry 10 devices and the BlackBerry PlayBook. RIM is also pushing an update to the Ripple Simulator this time around, which now features additional support for BlackBerry 10 device and API emulation and comes with Adobe Cordova in tow.

RIM may suffered a lot of setbacks with the rise of Android and iOS, but there's something to be said for how seriously the company is taking its relationship with BlackBerry 10 developers. Getting consumers to choose a BlackBerry device over the competition will definitely be important when BlackBerry 10 eventually launches, but having developer support is critical as well. In that respect at least, it seems that RIM is on the right track. Check out our story timeline below for more information on RIM and BlackBerry 10!