Today, Google unveiled a new tool in Google Labs called App Inventor that allows just about anyone to create an app for Android. We’ve heard rumors that RIM will be launching new developer tools with a drag and drop style interface, and we can only hope that the tools are as easy and awesome as App Inventor.
App Inventor has been in closed beta and today they are opening it to the general public. For the past year, Google has been taking App Inventor around classrooms in the US, and they have found that it has also become a powerful tool for promoting computer science and programming. Once case involves a student with dyslexia who was inspired by App Inventor to take more computer science classes and is now learning Python. Continue reading ‘If Only BlackBerry Developer Tools Looked Like Google’s App Inventor’
The latest official video for the upcoming BlackBerry 6 shows off a lot of what we have already seen but adds a few details about the upcoming Social Feeds feature. Social Feeds, which we can only assume is the reason for Viigo’s acquisition, integrates all your news and social networks into one destination. There is a brief view of the new feature in the video, so you should definitely check it out.
In addition to the smooth new user interface, the new video illustrates a few of the new applications and features in BlackBerry 6 including:
The Google Mobile App for BlackBerry has been updated to version 3.7.15. There is no change log for this app and we’re just downloading now. If we find anything special we’ll update the article. Feel free to leave anything you find in the comments.
This is a cool video demonstration of how Akamai’s NOCC works
This isn’t huge news or anything but more of an interesting tidbit of information about RIM for those who don’t know. RIM uses the services of a really cool company called Akamai to cache their pages globally. Akamai is a very well known company as they service some of the biggest companies in the world including Apple. Apple’s iTunes uses Akamai’s caching service to avoid the servers being overwhelmed. Songs, videos, Podcasts etc. are distributed by Akamai across their network of over 20,000 servers, which are placed at the ISP level across more than 70 countries. The traffic is routed using complex algorithms to direct each request to the right server so traffic can be efficiently managed. Not only does RIM use this service to cache web pages, but App World also uses this service to protect servers against crashing. Continue reading ‘Random Tidbit: RIM Uses Akamai to Cache Webpages and App World’
According to Ashok Kumar, an analyst and managing director at Rodman & Renshaw, the upcoming BlackBerry tablet will feature a 7 inch touchscreen and will be powered by a processor from Marvell as well as front and back facing cameras. “Research In Motion is trying to pull forward the launch of the 7-inch touchscreen tablet from early next year to year end…with a marginal point of differentiation being the front- and back-facing cameras for videoconferencing,” he said in a research note Friday morning.
One possible chip candidate is the Marvell 1GHz Armada 610 processor, which is aimed at tablets, mobile Internet devices, and e-readers. The chip boasts full HD 1080p playback, 16-megapixel image captures, and advanced 3D graphics.
A front facing camera would be great on a tablet and could seriously help it differentiate from the iPad. It would be great to see some BlackBerrys also ship with front facing cameras, allowing the devices to speak to each other in video conference mode.
BlackBerry Protect is a free data backup and protection utility currently in Beta and developed by RIM. BlackBerry Protect enables its users to have control over a toolbox of features that can manage and protect the data that’s on your device, specifically when it’s not in your possession.
