Developer Special: Submit A BlackBerry App Get A Free Playbook

Research In Motion is hoping to attract Google Android app developers to their own Blackberry platform and to reach that goal the company this week began offering free Blackberry PlayBooks to developers who submit new applications to the BlackBerry app platform.

The program was initiated by RIM’s VP of developer relations, Alec Saunders in a tweet. Saunders tells developers to head over to RIM’s DevZone site where a variety of tools are available to ease the transition over to the PlayBook OS. Developers can use the DevZone website to verify app compatibility with the PlayBook and then repackage apps for submission.

While the PlayBook is capable of running standard Android apps the team at Research in Motion still hopes to maintain their own app store for better control and because it promises a better return on investment for the company through revenue sharing.

The free Blackberry PlayBook tablet offer is valid until February 13, just shy of the February 17 release date that has been rumored for the PlayBook OS 2 release.

If you’re a developer do you think transitioning your app over to the PlayBook OS is worth the effort for a free device or will you stick with Android and iOS based mobile apps for the time being.