Posted on August 28, 2009, at 1:59 pm .
The developer community around the iPhone is fairly different from that of the BlackBerry developer community in that iPhone developers have OpenGL at their disposal, allowing them to create visually rich applications, as well as as the marketplace and demographics are slightly different. While the BlackBerry Storm is capable of running OpenGL hardware-wise, we have yet to see the API’s unlocked.
Lets assume for a moment, and this might be a crazy assumption, that BlackBerry had OpenGL API’s (possibly with the Storm 2?), and that any iPhone app you see could be ported to BlackBerry. For this to be true, we would also need to see device memory increase, as well as perhaps a built-in compass.
With those assumptions, and there may be a few more, what applications have you seen for iPhone, that you would like for BlackBerry? Or rather, what are your favorite iPhone apps that aren’t available for BlackBerry?
Here are some that I would like to see, and they’re mostly for entertainment. I’m sure there are a ton of apps out there in various categories so share what you find.
Click through for a list of 10 cool iPhone apps that aren’t available for BlackBerry
Posted on August 21, 2009, at 1:38 pm .
The BlackBerry Developer Conference is trying a new strategy this year when it comes to attending sessions. There are over 40 sessions from BlackBerry development experts at RIM and this year they have been organized using tags so you can choose ones that are applicable to you.
In his BlackBerry Developer’s Blog post, Mike Kirkup describes the new tag system and breaks them down as follows:
Audience
- Sessions are broken down based on the type of developer that may be most interested in attending this session including Commercial Enterprise Developers, Consumer Developers, Corporate Developers, Business (CIOs), and Application Architects/Designers.
Technology
- Sessions are broken down based on the core technology they would discuss or leverage including Java, Web, BlackBerry Enterprise Server, BlackBerry Internet Service, and BlackBerry Developer Tools.
Specialization
- Sessions are further categorized based on a specialization of the topic including Multimedia, Location Based Services, User Interface, and Security.
Technical Level
- Sessions are rated according to the expected knowledge level of attendees – introductory, intermediate and advanced.
Session Format and Attributes
- We also give you the ability to filter sessions based on the format of the session (eg. RIM-lead Sessions vs. Community sessions) or by attributes of the session itself (eg. does the presenter provide a demo or sample code).
Hope to see you there!
Posted on August 10, 2009, at 11:29 am .
BlackBerry MDS (Mobile Data System) is a development framework for BlackBerry that allows developers to use Visual Studio as a platform and use what RIM calls a RAD (rapid application development) method. The RAD development method involves a drag and drop interface where you can then create the code behind your forms to do the work.
This news comes after RIM announced new plug-ins for Eclipse and Visual Studio. It seems that RIM is focusing on the Java and web development platforms so platforms such as MDS are all getting canceled.
As of December 31st,2009, both BlackBerry MDS Runtime and Studio will no longer be available. Runtime and Studio will lose support as of June 30th, 2010.
[Thanks for the tip J.M.]
UPDATE: Official notice from RIM.
Posted on July 28, 2009, at 9:45 am .
RIM have announced new and improved tools for developing web applications for BlackBerry. The new tools include the BlackBerry Web Development Plug-in for Eclipse and the BlackBerry Plug-in for Microsoft Visual Studio version 1.2.
The BlackBerry Web Development Plug-in for Eclipse, will allow developers to create web applications and content more easily and in a familiar Eclipse 3.4 environment. This plug-in opens up more rich internet applications using AJAX, Silverlight, PHP, ASP, Ruby on Rails, JSP, and Python.
The BlackBerry Plug-in for Microsoft Visual Studio version 1.2, allows developers to create web apps and content whithin Visual Studio 2008. This is another tool that is going to bring more developers into the fold, allowing them to make apps running AJAX and ASP.Net.
With these tools we’ll hopefully see an increase in the number of web apps in App World. Web apps are a great way to experience content that you regularly visit on the web, but you want easy access to on your device. Get coding developers!
For more information, visit the BlackBerry Developer Zone.
Posted on July 16, 2009, at 10:42 am .
How to write a BlackBerry application – Lesson 3: Open a webpage, system-wide menu Item, adding an icon and yes/no dialog
This is lesson 3 in a series of BlackBerry application development lessons. These lessons are intended to bring someone with no experience in developing applications for BlackBerry, up to speed with the latest development techniques. It’s easier than you think so try it out!
Before starting, this lesson, make sure you have read Lesson 1 and Lesson 2.
1. Go into the folder where your BlackBerry Lections.jdw file is
2. Create a folder there called Lection 3
3. Open up your JDE and open the Workspace called Lections.jdw
4. Right-Click on Lections.jdw
5. Select Create new Project
6. Name the Project Lection_3 and save it to the Folder \Lection 3
7. Copy the two files HelloWorld.java and Lesson3Screen.java into the \Lection 3 folder
8. In the JDE right-click on Lection_3 and add the two files HelloWorld.java and Lesson3Screen.java into the project
Click through for Lesson 3 of Fabian’s BlackBerry development series
Posted on July 7, 2009, at 10:15 am .
At WES 2009, RIM made it very clear that cloud computing was on the long term agenda for developing useful services for enterprise. While handsets are becoming more powerful and network infrastructure can handle stronger loads, cloud computing will help push the industry even further by taking the lion’s share of these stresses.
A new architecture based on software running in the cloud will drastically change the way mobile applications are developed, acquired, and used. According to a new study from ABI Research, this will be a profoundly disruptive development that could eclipse the current mobile application model by 2014, delivering revenue of nearly $20 billion annually by the end of that year.
“Mobile application developers today face the challenge of multiple mobile operating systems,” says senior analyst Mark Beccue. “Either they must write for just one OS, or create many versions of the same application. More sophisticated apps require significant processing power and memory in the handset. Using Web development, applications can run on servers instead of locally, so handset requirements can be greatly reduced and developers can create just one version of an application. This trend is in its infancy today, but ABI Research believes that eventually it will become the prevailing model for mobile applications.”
Continue reading the ABI Research data regarding cloud computing and software development
Posted on June 25, 2009, at 1:30 pm .
This article attempts to relay my experiences and lessons learned in the making of PodTrapper, my first mobile application for BlackBerry. It will cover development, pricing, marketing and sales in addition to other items I thought were relevant.
It all started in November of last year. I’m an avid podcast listener during my commutes, and at the time the only viable way to listen was to tote around my iPod. But I still needed my BlackBerry for work, so I was stuck with two devices. I had been toying with the idea of writing a podcast player for BlackBerry and with the announcement of the App World it was now or never. I’m hoping that the success of the iPhone App Store will enable other platforms to follow suit. Afterall, BlackBerry currently has more users and is shipping twice as many phones, albeit to users that may not know apps are available for their phone… yet. Plus the whole project sounded like a lot of fun.
I’ve read all the stories about iPhone developers making fortunes selling apps, how that may not really be the case, or even that people don’t even use the apps they download. I assumed that the truth was somewhere in the middle, but at the very least I wouldn’t have to carry two devices anymore.
So I bought myself a set of signing keys ($20) and went out to RIM’s developer site to grab their SDK. That’s when I ran into my first problem.
Continue reading Marcus Watkins’ experience developing for BlackBerry
Posted on June 16, 2009, at 11:40 am .
How to write your second BlackBerry application – Lesson 2: Mail API, Invoke API, Menu
In the first tutorial you learned how to set up the BlackBerry JDK (Java Development Kit) and how to create a simple User Interface with Buttons, Labels and Edit Fields.
In this lesson, you’ll learn how one can program, create and compose email messages as well as how to add a MenuItem to your application.
1. You open up the JDE (Java Development Environment) and load your Workspace file. Go to File -> Recent Workspaces to load up the Lections.jdw file.
2. Now right-click on Lections.jdw and select Create new Project
3. Name it Lection_2
4. Now right-click on Lection_2 and select Add file to Project
5. Select both files HelloWorld.java and Lesson2Screen.java to import them into the project
6. You now have the project set up and are ready to jump into the code
Continue reading Lesson 2 of this BlackBerry development series
Posted on June 8, 2009, at 7:21 am .
Recently, BlackBerry Cool wrote about a product called NetworkAcc, which claims to speed up your mobile network. A lot of BlackBerry sites have published their skepticism about the product, and rightly so.
NetworkAcc seems like a very cool concept that would certainly be of use to many. Unfortunately, none of what they claim to do is currently possible to the publicly exposed APIs.
The limitations of 3rd party access to API’s
Third party applications are fairly limited in what they can achieve in terms of network manipulation. For the most part, much of this is handled by the underlying framework, and most of it is handled at the OS layer. It is important to understand the overall architecture of the software on the device. At a high level, it looks something like this:
Operating System: Written in C++, this layer handles hardware interaction networking, process management and memory. Code written at this layer is compiled into machine code and run directly off the processor.
Virtual Machine: Also written in C++, the virtual machine is what runs all of the Java software on the phone. It sits just above the OS, and handles all Java related tasks, like interpreting byte code, managing program memory and all the other fun tasks that programmers would much rather ignore.
Keep reading about how a BlackBerry application is developed and what it can do
Posted on June 5, 2009, at 7:46 am .
This article is the first in a series of articles about BlackBerry development. With App World, third party software vendors and the web, there are a ton of opportunities for an independent developer to make money.
BlackBerry Development in Java – Lection 1: Basic fields in the User Interface
Let’s get right into it. Download the JDE (Java Development Environment) from the BlackBerry website. I personally used the JDE 4.3 for this project but you can also download a newer JDE. For advanced functions like using the BlackBerry Storm accelerometer or touch screen, you have to install JDE 4.7.
For advanced features and other APIs you may want to use, you need code-signing keys from RIM. You can purchase signing keys here. The keys cost $20 which is a bargain considering you can use the keys forever, and they’re going to help you make a great BlackBerry application. Make sure to read more about the keys because they’re an important part of BlackBerry development.
For this introductory application, you don’t need signature keys and the compiled *.cod file can be run on the device (and not only on the simulator).
Continue reading this walkthrough for developing your first BlackBerry application
