LIVE FROM BLACKBERRY DEVCON EUROPE: RIM is to support the Qt cross-platform application framework, with Alec Saunders, the company’s VP of developer relations and ecosystems development, asserting that “we intend to be the best Qt platform available for mobile development.”

The company will support Qt in future versions of the PlayBook device. While it has not stated plans to extend this to smartphones, with the PlayBook and the planned BlackBerry 10 platforms sharing a common underpinning, this is likely to follow.

“We have just signed on to be part of the Qt project, and we will be contributing to that very soon and are thrilled to be a part of it,” Saunders said.

Qt was previously Nokia’s chosen platform for cross-platform development, when its future smartphone strategy was based on Symbian OS and MeeGo. This changed when it selected Windows Phone to power its high-tier devices, as this platform does not currently support Qt.