Not to be outdone by their arch-enemy Kintera, eCRM provider Convio has launched their own API suite, called Open. The news broke yesterday morning, along with a big PR push in the nptech sector. I personally got three emails about it from Convio staff, offering to talk it up.

Taking a page from my colleague Usha Venkatachallam, I’m offering a round-up of some quick reactions to the announcement from around the sector. On the whole, the reports are favorable but not glowing. Allan’s complaint about getting stuck in the registration seems like it might be the rule, not the exception.

Here’s what the blogs are saying.

Jason Zanon: The Great Awakening
“Open APIs have always been one of DIA’s bedrock assumptions. Since we’re not above glorying in converts, we’re excited to see the big commercial players starting to come around.”

Allan Benamer: Convio and Kintera Open Their APIs but Befuddle Coders
“If you happen to be one of those people who like to write code, you’re going to want to sign up for Kintera or Convio’s open API program. But guess what? You can’t get in. I tried. Really, I did.”

Michelle Murrain: Platforms Break Open!
“Kintera takes some important steps to open up their application. Convio takes more, bigger steps that appear to eclipse what Kintera has done.”

Judi Sohn: Convio Launches an Open Initiative
“This isn’t about two companies making similar moves into the now-hot Open API dialog at the same time. It’s about two companies hitting a similar target audience with very different mindsets and visions.”