ORLANDO, FLA. — Josh Hillis marveled as he cradled in his hands an early version of RIM’s would-be saviour.

“It’s pretty slick, isn’t it? Just feel how light this thing is,” said the Kitchener-based computer developer just a few hours after he picked up his so-called BB10 Dev Alpha, a preview version of BlackBerry smartphones that will use the long-awaited BB10 operating system.

RIM officials have stressed that the first official BB10 phone – expected this fall – will differ somewhat from the version being handed out to developers this week. But it was like Christmas had come early for some of the people snapping them up here Tuesday morning.

“People were lining up at 7 o’clock. As soon as they got it, they were walking around with their heads down because they were playing around with it. People were pretty excited,” said Hillis, of Pair Mobile.

Rajesh Kutty, a novice developer from Brampton, was impressed by the camera on the Dev Alpha.

“The image quality of the camera is great,” said Kutty, showing off a crystal clear snapshot. He was impressed there was no lag time from when he pressed the button until the picture was taken – no more missed smiles or kids wandering away after they think the photo has been taken.

“Got my Dev Alpha device – looks sweet, can’t wait to play with it more!” tweeted @javaslack.

“The Alpha has landed #bb10jam. … Happy to get one,” said @zahlenhelfer.

Some developers taunted non-attendees via twitter.

“I know you are all jealous. #BB10Jam Dev Alpha device in my hands,” tweeted @roryboy.

But just as much as they liked the look and feel of the Dev Alpha, developers liked what they were seeing and hearing in the technical seminars. Designing apps for the new operating system will be a snap compared to previous versions of BlackBerry software, Hillis said.

“There was some kid in one of the seminars who’d created an app by lunch time. That’s what, 4 hours? That’s incredible,” said Hillis.

The new Cascades tool allows developers to focus on important elements of their app, rather than basic, repetitive coding, Hillis said.

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“It’s going to be quicker to design things, no question,” Hillis said.

RIM has also made it less of a risk for developers to take on the task of designing apps. Along with guaranteeing developers $10,000 of revenue during the first year of their app, RIM is also encouraging the use of HTML5, meaning apps could be used across any operating system.

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