Why Tim Hortons, Air Canada, and the Weather Network Love BlackBerry 10

What do Tim Hortons, Air Canada, and the Weather Network share in common? They all love Research In Motion’s BlackBerry 10 platform.

As the launch of BB10 nears, developer and partner excitement continues to grow, RIM says. (Not to mention investor excitement.) Canadian companies, among others around the world, are eagerly anticipating the potential that BB10’s long-awaited release will unleash.

“Over the past few months, we have seen tremendous enthusiasm and anticipation from developers around the globe, and especially here on our home soil. We have worked closely with Canadian developers to bring the brands Canadians love to the mobile space so their content and services can be accessed anywhere, anytime,” notes Martyn Mallick, Vice President of Global Alliances and Business Development at Research In Motion.

“Canada has always been a special market for us. Canadian companies have shown their ability to innovate and compete, and the Canadian companies supporting the launch of BlackBerry 10 see the value of bringing their brands to mobile computing,” added Andrew MacLeod, Managing Director for Canada at RIM.

Companies like Tim Hortons can’t wait for the next-gen mobile computing platform.

“Tim Hortons’ launch of the TimmyMe app was well-received by our guests who found it easy and convenient to interact with our brand on their mobile devices. We are excited about the launch of the BlackBerry 10 platform and the opportunity to partner with another iconic Canadian brand such as Research In Motion to make our app available on their latest devices,” affirmed Bill Moir, Chief Brand and Marketing Officer for Canada’s favourite coffee joint.

Air Canada and the Weather Network have also expressed enthusiasim toward BB10.

“Air Canada was the first North American airline to release a free BlackBerry app and our customers embraced it enthusiastically. We have worked closely with RIM to develop an upgraded version in anticipation of the release of BlackBerry 10 so that our customers will be able to retrieve boarding passes, check-in, manage payments and perform other time-saving functions using the latest mobile technolog,” explained Lise Fournel, Chief Information Officer of Air Canada.

“We’ve leveraged the BlackBerry 10 platform’s native features to provide greater sharing functionality and a more engaging experience,” said Gita Ashar, Director of Mobile Applications and Emerging Technologies for the Weather Network.

Other Canadian companies who have shown great interest in BB10 include Loblaw, Manulife Financial, and Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment. For Loblaw, BB10 is the platform the company is building its first-ever app on – a stark contrast to most developers who start with iOS and consider BlackBerry last, if at all. Manulife also has a BB10 app ready, stating that “BlackBerry is an important platform for our mobile technology strategy.”