Archive for October, 2010

What Blackberry app developers need to know about the Blackberry Style 9670

Oct 31, 2010 Blackberry Developer

With the recent announcement of the new BlackBerry Style 9670 smartphone, I wanted to provide an overview of the device from the developer perspective, in order to give our developers a better understanding of what this new smartphone means to them.

The BlackBerry Style 9670 smartphone features the BlackBerry 6 operating system, which has been featured in a series of posts on BlackBerry Developer Zone over the past few months. BlackBerry 6 on the BlackBerry Style 9670 continues the same great development platform as the BlackBerry Torch 9800 smartphone, enabling richer Java applications, advanced graphical capabilities, and of course, the highly touted web experience with BlackBerry WebWorks platform and a browser supporting HTML5 and CSS3.

So if you’re already an expert in BlackBerry 6, what do you need to think about when developing for the BlackBerry Style 9670 smartphone? Primarily, you need to think about the fact that it’s a flip phone:

  • Use the Sensor class to detect when it’s open or closed
  • Recognize that it follows the same design paradigm as the BlackBerry Pearl Flip series smartphone, where the internal screen behaves just like a traditional display area and the external screen takes on functions for representing clock, incoming call information, album art, and banner notifications for new messages, calendar reminders, etc.
  • The supported banner notifications also include third party ApplicationIndicators.
  • Even when flipped closed, media events are sent to third party apps via MediaActionHandler.

To coincide with the enhancements to the BlackBerry Browser in BlackBerry 6 with the inclusion of the new WebKit rendering engine, we are continuing the new User Agent header definitions from the BlackBerry Torch 9800 smartphone to the BlackBerry Style 9670 smartphone. This User Agent definition reflects the type of web content supported by the browser, ensuring that your mobile and desktop websites are providing the best possible content and experience.

Mozilla/5.0 (BlackBerry; U; BlackBerry 9670; en) AppleWebKit/534.3+ (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/6.0.0.286 Mobile Safari/534.3+

Other hardware features:

  • The first BlackBerry smartphone with flip and a full QWERTY keyboard
  • The first BlackBerry smartphone to support OpenGL ES 1.1
  • Support for OpenVG 1.1
  • Dual-Band: 800/1900 MHz CDMA/EVDO Rev A networks
  • 360 x 400 internal screen resolution
  • 240 x 320 external display resolution
  • 5.0 MP Camera with Flash, Auto Focus, Image Stabilization, and 640 x 480 video recording
  • Location Support through Assisted and Autonomous GPS
  • Wi-Fi® Support – 802.11 b/g/n
  • Storage: 8 GB microSD included, with support for up to 32 GB
  • App memory space: 512MB onboard memory

Get started with the BlackBerry Style now by downloading the simulator here!

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Colorado BlackBerry Developer Group’s Inaugural meeting

Oct 19, 2010 Blackberry Developer, News

The Colorado BlackBerry Developer Group will hold its first meeting at the Grand Hyatt Denver onTuesday, October 19th starting at 7:00 PM. To get more details and to sign up, click here!

The meeting will cover important topics covered at BlackBerry DEVCON 2010. Attendees will have a chance to learn about learn about the BlackBerry WebWorks program, upcoming BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) APIs, the new BlackBerry Payment Service and BlackBerry Advertising Service, Research In Motion®-backed open source projects and yes, even the BlackBerry PlayBook  tablet.

Please visit out Developer Groups site to find a group in your area or to start a new one!

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BlackBerry Bold 9780 confirmed on Bell ,coming November 2nd

Oct 19, 2010 News

BlackBerry Bold 9780

Here is something sure to please many folks out there. We finally have some confirmation of the BlackBerry Bold 9780 arriving on another carrier other than Virgin Mobile. As the above information shows, Bell Mobility is all set to launch the BlackBerry Bold 9780 on November 2nd. The pricing for the BlackBerry Bold 9780 is set at $499.99 but that’s not subsidized in anyway and no details were given on what exactly, the subsidized pricing would be.

Via : BGR

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Get Texas Hold’em King Live Beta for free now

Oct 19, 2010 News

THKFor as long as I’ve been buying BlackBerry devices I have always played Texas Hold’em King. It’s been preloaded onto most of my BlackBerry purchases over the past few years and has seen many versions released over that time. Now going into it’s 4th release, Magmic Games has decided to take Texas Hold’em to a whole new level by making it a totally online, multiplayer game for BlackBerry. With new features added, Texas Hold’em King live is shaping up to be a great release and now, you can get in on the beta before it’s final release. Check out the new features:
  • Fast, Smooth and Fun: This is the fastest poker game available for BlackBerry. Our quick speeds and easy to use interface ensure that you’ll spend more time taking down pots.
  • Automatic Table Selection: We’ll pick the most appropriate table for your Bankroll, Experience and Speed – All you have to do to start playing is press “Play.”
  • Slick, Easy-to-Use UI: Our new and improved user interface is designed for high resolution devices providing vivid colors and smooth animations. Poker actions are easy to use and are inspired by BlackBerry’s own home screen.
  • Unlock Achievements: Earn over 35 unique achievements that will reward you for winning pots, playing hands and getting lucky. We’ll continue to add new and exciting achievements with each free content update.
  • Stylish Avatars: Choose from over 30 unique Avatars, our high-resolution, full detail avatars are sure to make an impression. We’ll continue to add more avatars with free content updates.
  • Free Content Updates: THK Live is designed to be easy to update. We’ll be able to push out new and exciting features and new content as a direct downloads.
  • Chat 2.0: We’ve dedicated a lot of time and effort to create the best chat system in a poker game. You’ll be able to quickly and conveniently taunt or praise your opponents without missing a hand.
  • Table Themes: Prepare yourselves to play on white sand beaches, or in the High-Roller rooms at a luxurious casino. With Table Themes, you’ll be able to change the look and feel of your poker experience.
  • Pretzil and other Social Media: Connect with friends and integrate with your social networks.

The best part? The beta is free to download and play. The only thing is that when the game does go official Magmic will be resetting all Bankrolls, Achievements Earned and Player Statistics in order to ensure a level playing field. The download is available from BlackBerry App World today, then you just create an account you’re all set.

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Blackberry Bold 9780 video and review surface on dutch consumer website

Oct 19, 2010 News

Blackberry developers get ready to develop for the all new Bold series of Blackberry phones . A Dutch consumer website reviewed the BlackBerry Bold 9780 with a really solid video (subtitled) and put it up on YouTube. Some highlights of the review include:

  • The pictures won’t blow you away.
  • They’ve doubled the RAM.
  • Review device running 6.0.0.131.

The review in Dutch can be found here.

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Interview with Peter Nofelt lead blackberry developer of foursquare app at DEVCON10

Oct 12, 2010 Blackberry Developer, News

The BlackBerry DEVCON 2010 team was really excited to partner with the fine folks at foursquare for the BlackBerry DEVCON foursquare Challenge. Judging by the amount of attendees that lined up at the Social Media desk to claim their limited edition tee shirt. See what Peter Nofelt, lead developer of the foursquare BlackBerry app, says about the Challenge, Peter’s DEVCON 2010 session, and the future of foursquare. Check out the video below and don’t forget the new version of foursquare is coming soon !

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Social Media Integration : BBM Social Platform API’s for Blackberry developers

Oct 4, 2010 Blackberry Developer, Blackberry Development, News

blackberry social networking API for blackberry developersThe growth of Blackberry Messenger from humble messaging app to a significant mobile communication platform has led to the need for social media integration . In interest of Blackberry app developers RIM recently announced that it would be opening the doors for certain BBM features so that App developers can integrate them readily into their apps . Most of the features if developed from scratch would take a long time to implement when compared to getting super app and BBM ready .

There are lots of advantages that BBM brings to BlackBerry software. BlackBerry Messenger’s social elements allow developers to build in social connectivity based on your pre-existing BBM contacts instead of having to develop and build social connections separately for each app. With 28 million users, there is also incredible word-of-thumb marketing potential when promoting your application.

Developers can also take advantage of BBM’s location-based services, as well as access the device’s video camera for video streaming.

BBM social platform APIs for blackberry app developersThe API’s that developers will be able to integrate :

  • Invite other BBM users to download your app, or start a social interaction from within your app.
  • Determine which of your BBM contacts has downloaded your app
  • Access to BBM user profiles, including avatar, status, and location
  • Add an application box to a user’s BBM profile that can display and broadcast achievements and updates
  • Create BBM groups for your app
  • Start embedded chats with BBM contact without leaving your app
  • Sharing content with your BBM contacts
  • Create sub-communities within your app, even if users are not each others’ contacts
  • Allow social interactions within your sub-communities
  • Stream data between users running your app, such as communication, multiplayer or turn-based gaming, and location

Sounds pretty good , but blackberry application developers need to wait for a few more months for the API’s being available in early 2011 . Meanwhile blackberry developers can register with RIM to receive updates and stay in touch with the new BBM social platform .

Below is the official press release of the BBM social platform

Read the rest of this entry »

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What Blackberry developer can expect from the newly launched Blackberry Payment service

Oct 4, 2010 Blackberry Developer, News

Whatever is the model of your Blackberry App be it Free, paid, ad-supported, try-and-buy, or freemium , Blackberry has introduced their three new services in interest of blackberry developers namely Advertising , Payment and Analytics for the tons of apps making their way to the Blackberry app world in the coming year .
If an ad-supported model doesn’t fit your needs, maybe micro-transactions/in-app payment is more up your alley. The BlackBerry Payment Service will allow you to easily offer digital goods for sale in your app while still providing the consumer with the same trusted and consistent purchase experience they have today in BlackBerry App World. As you would expect, with BlackBerry Payment Service, you will have access to the same payment options that BlackBerry App World supports today for traditional app purchases: PayPal, credit card, and carrier billing.

BlackBerry Payment Service can be used in :

  • Digital Content, such as eBooks, magazines, photos, artwork, or digital property that you can use on a BlackBerry smartphone.
  • Additional App Functionality, which might include things like new features, levels, characters, or games. This use lends itself extremely well to the freemium app model and should be used as the new gold standard for try-and-buy.
  • Services, such as premium video content, subscription renewal, pay-as-you-go application use, or voice transcription. Basically, any kind of digital service that a BlackBerry smartphone user pays to use.

The Payment Service enables developers to leverage a range of business models through the sale of digital goods within their applications. The Payment Service is simple and easy to implement for developers and provides end users with a fast, consistent and secure purchase experience.

Download the Payment Service SDK Early Release
View the Payment Service SDK Early Release documentation

The service comes as a boon to Blackberry application developers who always had a desire to generate some decent revenue out of their try and buy business model which lagged in terms of payment service. The BlackBerry Payment Service SDK is in beta now and the full SDK and app implementation is expected to launch this fall.

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PR:RIM launches Open Source Blackberry Web App Platform

Oct 4, 2010 News

The Press Release :

San Francisco, CA – BlackBerry DEVCON 2010 – Research In Motion (RIM) (NASDAQ: RIMM; TSX: RIM) today announced its next-generation web-based development platform, BlackBerry WebWorks, which enables web developers to build full-featured applications for BlackBerry smartphones entirely in HTML-5, CSS and JavaScript. With the new web application platform, developers can leverage their HTML skills to create rich, integrated web applications for BlackBerry smartphones that take advantage of advanced features through APIs and services, just as BlackBerry Java applications can do today.

The new BlackBerry WebWorks platform brings together existing BlackBerry web development tools as well as new tools and platform services. It provides developers with a comprehensive toolset for creating rich applications that offer customers the benefits of deep integration with core BlackBerry features, true multi-tasking, true Push technology and access to the full range of BlackBerry services, such as the Locate service or the newly announced BlackBerry Advertising Service.

“BlackBerry developers have discovered the value of building web applications that can leverage the unique characteristics of the BlackBerry Platform, such as running in always-on mode and integrating with native BlackBerry applications,” said David Yach, CTO for Software at Research In Motion. “The new BlackBerry WebWorks platform takes the power of existing web tools and enhances and adds to them in order to allow developers to build sophisticated applications using their existing HTML5 skill sets with no compromise in functionality or performance.”

BlackBerry WebWorks also includes updates to the web application packager, new web APIs and the BlackBerry Web Plug-Ins 2.5.

Web application packager 1.5
The web application packager is used by developers to package their web applications in the same way a BlackBerry Java application is packaged, and with the same file formats. BlackBerry web applications can then be distributed via BlackBerry App World™, BlackBerry Desktop Manager, OTA (over-the-air) or BlackBerryEnterprise Server.

BlackBerry Web APIs
BlackBerry WebWorks includes a set of new web extensions that enable a deeper integration with native applications and other functions of the handset.
• Send a text message from within the application
• Read call log data from the phone application, check if the phone is currently in an active call, check the number of missed calls
• Play an audio file as well as create APIs for playing, pausing, stopping and seeking of the audio file from within the application’s UI

Web Plug-Ins 2.5
Updates to the Web Plug-Ins for BlackBerry WebWorks include multiple entry points, which give developers the ability to start their application in the background, in addition to launching from the homescreen or adownload folder. Applications can also continue to run in the background. Web Plug-Ins 2.5 also gives developers the ability to cache web pages and content to the handset’s system memory for faster performance.

Open Source
RIM is working with the open source developer community to allow developers to access and contribute to the BlackBerry open web application platform and tooling components and share in the evolution of the web platform. In addition to sharing source code for the BlackBerry web platform, RIM is working with leading open source JavaScript framework companies DoJo, GitHub, JQuery, Nitobi and Sencha to encourage developers to create web applications with advanced web and AJAX functionality.

The BlackBerry open web application platform offers ease of development and seamless integration with the BlackBerry platform. Developers will be able to quickly package web assets (HTML, CSS3, JavaScript and access to local resources) into easily deployable applications that take advantage of the BlackBerry platform’s unique value and Super App qualities such as access to hardware functionality, access to Push, access to contextual location services, access to native applications and integration with BlackBerry services for advertising, analytics and payment services.

“RIM has always firmly supported industry standards and believes in embracing the needs of the developer community,” said Alan Brenner, Senior Vice President, BlackBerry Platform. “We started supporting open source communities through our work on the BlackBerry 6 WebKit browser and the response from the open source community has already been very positive. We are tremendously excited to see where the developer community will take this initiative and the code that we are presenting.”

The BlackBerry open web application platform initiative allows an application to fully integrate with a BlackBerry smartphone, using the same security, packaging, code signing and distribution infrastructure that BlackBerry Java applications use. Further, developers who utilize the open source initiative are able to create these rich applications using familiar web tools.

RIM is working closely with leading open source JavaScript framework providers to help accelerate mobile development and allow the open source community to help evolve the BlackBerry open web application platform.

“The Dojo Foundation is ecstatic about RIM’s open source initiative. BlackBerry 6, integrated with our mobile strategy (dojofoundation.org/mobile/), is a platform that will give web application developers extreme control over developing mobile web applications. We are thrilled to be working with RIM to build mobile platform support into several Dojo Foundation projects.”
- Dylan Schiemann, CEO at SitePen, Inc., and VP of the Dojo Foundation

“New innovations in BlackBerry 6 have made it possible for PhoneGap developers to build engaging and sophisticated BlackBerry apps. The new BlackBerry open web application platform will further encourage developers in the growing PhoneGap community to write more apps for BlackBerry smartphones.”
- Andre Charland, CEO at Nitobi Inc.

“We’re very excited that the full power of the BlackBerry platform will now become easily accessible to Sencha developers. HTML5 is the new lingua franca of mobile, and as the first framework to fully leverage it, we’re looking forward to putting it to work for BlackBerry developers.”
- Abe Elias, CEO of Sencha

The BlackBerry open web platform is available within partner open source communities now:
http://www.github.com/blackberry

http://www.blackberry.com/developer

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RIM’s new Tablet : The Blackberry Playbook – Full Specs and Press release

Oct 4, 2010 News

The Announcement :
Recently Mike Lazaridis from RIM announced their Blackberry PlayBook tablet ,Michael Lazaridis said that the BlackBerry Playbook is considered as the first professional tablet in the world. After their company made the wireless e-mail became popular, Research In Motion has never failed to become one of the leaders when it comes to the smartphone market. During the same conference, Michael Lizaridis kept on emphasizing that it is indeed the “first professional tablet.” At the same time, he said that the BlackBerry PlayBook is already compatible with the servers used by the government as well as corporations. In this way, they could use R.I.M’s new tablet to monitor and control their employees using their respective BlackBerry devices.

Detailed specs of the Playbook tablet :

  • 7″ LCD, 1024 x 600, WSVGA, capacitive touch screen with full multi-touch and gesture support
  • BlackBerry Tablet OS with support for symmetric multiprocessing
  • 1 GHz dual-core processor
  • 1 GB RAM
  • Dual HD cameras (3 MP front facing, 5 MP rear facing), supports 1080p HD video recording
  • Video playback: 1080p HD Video, H.264, MPEG, DivX, WMV
  • Audio playback: MP3, AAC, WMA
  • HDMI video output
  • Wi-Fi – 802.11 a/b/g/n
  • Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
  • Connectors: microHDMI, microUSB, charging contacts
  • Open, flexible application platform with support for WebKit/HTML-5, Adobe Flash Player 10.1, Adobe Mobile AIR, Adobe Reader, POSIX, OpenGL, Java
  • Ultra thin and portable:
    • Measures 5.1″x7.6″x0.4″ (130mm x 193mm x 10mm)
    • Weighs less than a pound (approximately 0.9 lb or 400g)
  • Additional features and specifications of the BlackBerry PlayBook will be shared on or before the date this product is launched in retail outlets.
  • RIM intends to also offer 3G and 4G models in the future.

RIM will begin working with developers and select corporate customers next month to begin development and early testing efforts.

The BlackBerry PlayBook is expected to be available in retail outlets and other channels in the United States in early 2011 with rollouts in other international markets beginning in  Q2 2011.

Blackberry developers can register for early access of Blackberry Tablet OS SDK at http://www.blackberry.com/developers/tabletos .

Check out the full Press Release here .

Video preview of the Playbook below :

Few more official pictures:

IMG_2320IMG_2331

The BlackBerry Tablet OS is Neutrino based microkernel architecture which  delivers exceptional performance, high scalability, Common Criteria EAL 4+ security, and support for industry standard tools that are already familiar to hundreds of thousands of  Blackberry developers.  The OS is fully POSIX compliant enabling easy portability of C-based code, supports Open GL for 2D and 3D graphics intensive applications like gaming, and will run applications built in Adobe Mobile AIR as well as the new BlackBerry WebWorks app platform announced today which will allow apps to be written to run on BlackBerry PlayBook tablets as well as BlackBerry smartphones with BlackBerry 6. The BlackBerry Tablet OS will also support Java enabling Blackberry app developers to easily bring their existing BlackBerry 6 Java applications to the BlackBerry Tablet OS environment.

Sounds good and Blackberry application developers need not struggle to get their existing apps on the new tablet , we do hope to see some new enterprise apps for the all new Playbook tablet soon and it also would be interesting to see the interest professional crowd shows for the tablet as a replacement for their current laptops and netbooks .

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