RIM Announces Tools and Services for Developers

Below is a summary of several announcements coming out of the BlackBerry Developer Conference. These announcements are designed to deliver real commercial success for BlackBerry application developers, giving them access to new tools and services that will make them more competitive in the market.

       BlackBerry WebWorks™:  RIM’s next-generation application platform enables developers to build full-featured applications for BlackBerry entirely in HTML-5, CSS and JavaScript.  BlackBerry WebWorks brings together existing tools, new tools and platform services for the creation of rich, integrated BlackBerry applications. Developers can leverage their existing HTML skill sets that take advantage of advanced features through APIs and services, just as BlackBerry Java® applications can do today.  This new platform merges the simplicity of HTML5 with the power of true multi-tasking, BlackBerry Platform services, true Push and more. 

·         BlackBerry Messenger (BBM™) Social Platform:  Developers can now build applications that take advantage of the BlackBerry smartphone’s social aspects, as well as the push architecture of the BlackBerry platform.   By leveraging the power and popularity of BBM, developers can weave functions – such as chat, content sharing and invitation – into their app, tying it directly to BBM.

·         BlackBerry Advertising Service: With just a few lines of code, developers can quickly and easily integrate advertising into their applications. Developers can include advertising in BlackBerry smartphone applications, while allowing advertisers, agencies and brands to work with a broad selection of advertising networks. RIM also is enabling new monetization opportunities to BlackBerry developers by simplifying the integration of advertising both on the development side and on the commercial side.  

·         BlackBerry Analytics Service: RIM and Webtrends are offering a free enterprise-class analytics service for the BlackBerry developer community. BlackBerry Analytics Service will allow developers to quickly and easily add measurement into their applications and offer deep insight into how customer are using their BlackBerry smartphone applications.  With a few lines of code, developers can tie their applications to an analytics service with insights typically reserved for enterprise analytics. 

·         BlackBerry Enterprise Application Middleware: This new enterprise application development platform is designed to accelerate the creation of “Super Apps” for commercial enterprise and corporate developers.  It simplifies enterprise application development and solves some of the challenges of building for mobility, including device OS compatibility and wireless connectivity. 

Other news coming out of DEVCON includes plans for beta programs for developer tools, including:

·         BlackBerry Java Plug-In for MacOS X, which provides a similar level of Eclipse integration as the in-market 1.2 version for Windows;

·         Theme Builder 6, allowing users to personalize and brand their BlackBerry 6-enabled devices; and

·         BlackBerry Payment Service SDK, allowing developers to start building payment services into their applications, whether it’s enhanced in-app payments, try and buy offers, or freemium applications.