BlackBerry-maker RIM announced a number of updates to its developer programmes, including the availability of new test devices, updated tools and an alliance with Appcelerator.

Announced in line with the Asia leg of its BlackBerry Jam, Alec Saunders, VP of developer relations and ecosystems for the company, said: “We’ve continued to refine and add on to our developer programs to ensure we are giving developers the best opportunities for success with BlackBerry 10.”

RIM is now offering a new test device, called BlackBerry Dev Alpha C, for “developers who want to test applications on a BlackBerry 10 device with a physical keyboard”.

The company has been distributing touch-screen developer terminals to qualified partners for some time, and owners of these can now apply for a “limited edition BlackBerry 10 smartphone” –  as long as they have had an app approved for the company’s store.

RIM also said its Built for BlackBerry certification lab is now open, designed to highlight apps that “will signify a high-level of quality for customers”. Apps will need to pass before they are eligible for RIM’s “BlackBerry 10K Commitment”, which will top-up developer earnings to US$10,000 for approved products, as long as they earn a minimum of US$1,000 over a 12 month period.

The BlackBerry 10 SDK has also been updated, gaining support for installing the BlackBerry 10 IDE on Mac OS X, an update to the Visual Studio Plug-in beta, forward compatibility for BlackBerry WebWorks HTML5 apps, sensor and orientation APIs for WebWorks, “and more”.

The BlackBerry 10 SDKs will come out of beta for a full launch on 11 December 20102.

In partnership with Mippin, the company has also introduced the BlackBerry App Generator, which it said can “turn online content (RSS, Facebook brand/fan pages, blogs, online galleries, etc) into a great looking native BlackBerry app within minutes”. Apps built using the tools include social sharing support, including BlackBerry Messenger integration.

RIM is also working with Appcelerator to “offer developers a unique opportunity to port their apps with Appcelerator’s Titanium platform and be rewarded for their efforts”. The first 1,000 Appcelerator developers will receive a BlackBerry Dev Alpha test device once apps have been submitted to the BlackBerry World store, and up to 10,000 developers will receive one year of free Appcelerator Cloud Services and Analytics once apps are approved and available for sale.

Finally, the company announced a new release of its BlackBerry Runtime for Android Apps in BlackBerry 10, the headline feature of which is addition of push support. Other updates include APIs to support ambient light and proximity sensors.

Saunders said: “Developers asked for hardware to test their apps, and we delivered. They asked for the roadmap about the tools, and we posted it. They asked for RIM to show our confidence in developer success, and we’re doing it.”