BlackBerry Elite Developer Helps Users Travel the World!

BlackBerry 10 developers dedicate their time to providing the millions of BlackBerry users the freedom of choice to use the apps that matter to them. In gratitude, BlackBerry is spotlighting some of our most prolific developers. Meet the people that make the BlackBerry 10 apps that you love.

I’ve already had the opportunity to interview Michael Muth, creator of the BlackBullet and ClipMan apps; Alessandro Bellotti, creator of 30 BlackBerry 10 apps such as Echo – Voice Recorder and Call Blocker and ReCall; Brian Scheirer, creator of the Work Wide app; Jerome Carty, creator of 11 BlackBerry apps, including Twitter app Blaq; and Oliver Martinez, creator of 14 BlackBerry 10 apps, including Face10.

Today I spoke with Marco Gallo, an Italian BlackBerry Developer Elite and creator of the All-Notes Backup and Air Messages apps.

With All-Notes Backup, users can backup and share all their Remember notes in an easy way between BlackBerry 10 devices. It’s perfect for device switching, easy to use, and fast! Air Messages, meanwhile, allows users to explore the world like a game, collecting real opinions, suggestions, and information about countries and places. You can also meet friends around the world and exchange BBM pins!

Here’s what Marco had to share with us:

How long have you been developing on the BlackBerry platform?

‎After I graduated with a degree in computer science, I started experimenting with mobile apps on the Android platform. After a while, I came across the BlackBerry Playbook, which was able to easily run Android apps. It was love at first sight!

I attended all the BlackBerry events in order to increase my knowledge on BB10‎, including the Port-a-Thon, coding camps, and conferences! I met many amazing people and I found a great and active community of developers, eventually creating my own BlackBerry Developer Group in Catania, Italy. This is my fourth year developing apps and games on BlackBerry 10, and I’m very proud of that.

What attracted you to the platform?

I particularly enjoy the ease of development and the great documentation. BlackBerry’s GitHub repository is full of great sample codes and boilerplate for starting your ideas, and I like that I can choose to write in Native code, Android code, or Cordova when I create my apps.

Are there features that stand out?

What I love about BlackBerry 10 is the stability of the system, the BlackBerry Hub, the design and the stunning appearance of every device. I especially love the BlackBerry Passport, and I’m falling in love again with the BlackBerry PRIV.

What kind of support have you received from BlackBerry?

I received webinar support, BlackBerry 10 testing devices, and BlackBerry Elite benefits! I’ve also received support from BlackBerry Evangelists, BlackBerry Developer Elites, and other Italian developers.

How did you get into app development?

I love the field of computer science, and I’m just following my aptitude ‎to develop apps that are useful for me. I’m very happy that some of my apps appear to be useful for the entire BlackBerry community!

Tell us about your app(s) – what was your inspiration and what features do you want to highlight?

My inspirations come from daily problems and how I can solve them with apps. I usually don’t follow plans. I just start developing ‎in order to bring to reality my solution.

What kind of momentum have you seen – number of downloads, peak download times, etc.?

BlackBerry World is a great market full of quality apps from developers around the world. As developer of 40+ apps on BlackBerry 10, I was featured numerous times on BlackBerry World’s carousel, and I really saw the benefits in number of downloads! I’m also experiencing momentum from BlackBerry’s PRIV community in downloading my apps from Google Play (for example, with my new app Air Messages for BlackBerry PRIV). This is great news for me and for other developers!

What other apps have you developed for BB10? Are any in the works now?

I’ve developed a ton of apps, but I particularly love a few such as Marine Assistant (Automatic Identification System navigation), Pintagram (a Telegram client), Turbo Note (my first BB10 app!), Air Messages (a brand new social network for BB10+PRIV users), and MyDigiCat (a cute pet caring game).

What’s the greatest moment you’ve had with BlackBerry?

My greatest moment was during the Madrid BlackBerry Jam Camp in Madrid, Spain, where I experienced four full days of training dedicated to mobile developers from all around the world. I met some amazing people, developers, and friends. I really fell in love with BlackBerry 10. It is amazing!

Marco Gallo is from Italy. The creator of over 40 apps on BlackBerry World, Marco is part of the BlackBerry Elite team, a dear friend, and one of the most vocal developers in the community.