Selasa, 04 Oktober 2011

BerryReview.com Giving Back to the BlackBerry Community

BerryReview.com Giving Back to the BlackBerry Community

Rumor: RIM to Rebrand QNX as “BlackBerry X” (BBX) at DevCon?

Posted: 03 Oct 2011 06:19 PM PDT

BBX-next-exit

RIM obviously needs a way to easily differentiate between legacy BlackBerry OS and new QNX based BlackBerry devices especially with QNX phones starting to confuse things. The latest rumor to hit the mill comes from Kevin over @CrackBerry with a new name for RIM's QNX based BlackBerry OS. It has been pretty painful to hear RIM call the PlayBook OS their "BlackBerry Tablet OS" for the last 6 months though I have always dug the QNX name. We already heard that RIM was planning on merging QNX and the current BlackBerry smartphone OS into a a Highlander "There can only be one" OS. Now it looks like we might have a name for it that may possibly be announced this month at BlackBerry DevCon.

The name is supposedly BlackBerry X or BBX for short. Its sort of simply grabbing the X from QNX and merging it with the BlackBerry brand. I was really hoping they would simply go with BlackBerry QNX or better yet BBNX but that doesn't look to be in the cards. BBX is a little close to Apples OSX but hey nobody owns the letter X though Apple thinks they own the prefix "i".

So what do you think of a possible branding of BBX? It sort of rolls off the tongue. Let us know what you think and if you have any other names you have been playing with!

If you liked this article, you might find these interesting:

Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, October 3, 2011, 9:19 pm. | Rumor: RIM to Rebrand QNX as “BlackBerry X” (BBX) at DevCon? | Leave a comment |


Adobe Flash/AIR Winners Selected for BlackBerry Developer Challenge 2011

Posted: 03 Oct 2011 03:02 PM PDT

developer-challenge-banner

The BlackBerry Partners Fund announced the winner of their Adobe Flash/AIR section of the BlackBerry Developers Challenge this week. The winners were selected based on regions and judged based on quality, visual appeal, user experience, creativity, and innovation. Some interesting winners made the list. Check them out below:

North America:

Latin America:

Europe, Middle East, Africa:

Asia Pacific:

If you liked this article, you might find these interesting:

Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, October 3, 2011, 6:02 pm. | Adobe Flash/AIR Winners Selected for BlackBerry Developer Challenge 2011 | Leave a comment |


Zombie Attack Released With 100 Free Levels for a Limited Time

Posted: 03 Oct 2011 02:14 PM PDT

Zombie Attack

Smarter Apps let us know about their release of Zombie Attack for BlackBerry smartphones. The game is quite fun and your goal is obviously to beat back the zombie horde with all the weapons you have. Smarter Apps is offering a limited time promotion of the first 100 levels free though they don't say how limited of a time. The other interesting feature of the game is the ability to pay a one time $0.99 price to purchase access to nuclear bombs that will clear any level which you can use once an hour.

Its quite a fun game though a big download at almost 3 megabytes. Check out Zombie Attack free in App World.

If you liked this article, you might find these interesting:

Posted by the BerryReview Team for ©BerryReview, October 3, 2011, 5:14 pm. | Zombie Attack Released With 100 Free Levels for a Limited Time | 2 comments |


Unity & Marmalade Gaming SDK Execs to Talk at BlackBerry DevCon

Posted: 03 Oct 2011 12:46 PM PDT

Samarai Unity

Earlier today Todd pointed out to me that RIM is holding a session at BlackBerry DevCon this month titled "Game Makers Dream: The BlackBerry PlayBook Native SDK." The session is supposed to talk about the PlayBook Native SDK (NDK) and the power of the platform along with how easy it is to develop a successful game. While two execs from RIM will be speaking they will also be having:

  • Alex Caccia – President of Marmalade
  • Oren Tversky – VP Business Development at Unity Technologies

Marmalade (Formerly airplay) has already released their beta SDK for the PlayBook leading to some slick games. Unity on the other hand showed off their stuff at BlackBerry World but has yet to release their SDK support for the PlayBook though promised to release it in the summer. With Unity talking at BlackBerry DevCon it makes me think there may be something to the rumor that Bla1ze @CrackBerry heard that Unity games may be coming as early as DevCon.

In case you forgot what Unity means for gaming on the PlayBook check out the slides we captured at BlackBerry World back in May.

If you liked this article, you might find these interesting:

Posted by the BerryReview Team for ©BerryReview, October 3, 2011, 3:46 pm. | Unity & Marmalade Gaming SDK Execs to Talk at BlackBerry DevCon | One comment |


RIM Teaching Android PlayBook Development to BlackBerry Java Developers

Posted: 03 Oct 2011 10:23 AM PDT

 2010

For awhile now I (and many other devs) have had a feeling that RIM might try to push BlackBerry smartphone Java developers into developing Android applications. The Android runtime on the PlayBook will be the first Java runtime for the PlayBook (and possibly QNX phones) and I know Java BlackBerry devs are paying attention. RIM has promised a Java Player for the PlayBook that should emulate BlackBerry Java apps but they have been pretty quiet about it.

Now I noticed in their session catalog for BlackBerry DevCon this month they have a session titled: "Android Development for BlackBerry Java Developers."

Here is how RIM describes the session:


This session is targeted to BlackBerry Java developers interested in developing Android applications for the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet. Join us if you prefer to continue utilizing your Java skills, or you have a large codebase of an existing BlackBerry Java application that you want to port to the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet with minimum effort. A contrast will be made between the key BlackBerry and Android APIs, followed by break down of the porting process of an existing BlackBerry application.

It seems like RIM is going to help developers in the process of porting their BlackBerry Java apps to the PlayBook using the Android player. That is an interesting move for RIM since it would require them in the future to expand the native APIs (advertising, analytics, push, etc) for the Android Player which they claim they do not plan on doing…

On the other hand RIM will be having two of their employees giving this session on porting to Android:

  • Denver Coneybeare – Team Lead – Java Device APIs @ Research In Motion
  • Kamen Vitanov – Senior Architect, Strategic Initiatives – Research In Motion

The key takeaways for the session are:

  • Compare and contrast BlackBerry Java development to Android development
  • See how easy it is to port your code to the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet
  • Reach a new market of users for your Android apps

If you liked this article, you might find these interesting:

Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, October 3, 2011, 1:23 pm. | RIM Teaching Android PlayBook Development to BlackBerry Java Developers | 5 comments |


RIM to Help Developers Port Android & Web Apps at DevCon App Express

Posted: 03 Oct 2011 10:09 AM PDT

 BlackBerry Experts DevCon

More details are fleshing out about DevCon this month in San Francisco. In their latest press release RIM clearly highlights that they are planning on helping Android developers port their apps to the PlayBook along with assisting web developers in porting their apps to both the PlayBook and BlackBerry smartphones. They will be doing this in a special App Express area at DevCon.

Here is how RIM describes it:


Android and web developers will be able to visit the App Express area at BlackBerry DevCon Americas. Here they will have the opportunity to either quickly port their existing Android app to the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, or transform an existing web application into a full-fledged app for both the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet and BlackBerry smartphones. Once done, the app can be submitted to BlackBerry App World(TM). Experts from RIM’s development team and BlackBerry App World team will be available at the App Express area to provide assistance. App Express opens on Monday, October 17 and runs through Thursday, October 20.

You can find out more about the App Express area at:
www.blackberrydevcon.com/americas/content/app-express

If you liked this article, you might find these interesting:

Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, October 3, 2011, 1:09 pm. | RIM to Help Developers Port Android & Web Apps at DevCon App Express | One comment |


Sprint Launches BlackBerry Curve 9350 After Delays

Posted: 03 Oct 2011 09:40 AM PDT

BlackBerry Curve 9350 Sprint

Sprint delayed the BlackBerry Curve 9350 a few times from its scheduled launch in September. Now it is finally here with a price tag of $49.99. Its not a bad deal though if you can afford it I would recommend the 9930 over it. Michelle over @CrackBerry noticed that the purchase page for the BlackBerry Curve 9350 is now live on Sprint's website. Let us know if you pick one up!

If you liked this article, you might find these interesting:

Posted by the BerryReview Team for ©BerryReview, October 3, 2011, 12:40 pm. | Sprint Launches BlackBerry Curve 9350 After Delays | Leave a comment |


Best Buy USA Selling PlayBook for $299 Without Rebates

Posted: 03 Oct 2011 08:57 AM PDT

Best Buy PlayBook

The deals keep on getting sweeter for the BlackBerry PlayBook stateside. The latest retailer to drop their price is RIM's official featured launch partner Best Buy. Unlike Staples and Office Depot which are offering mail in rebates we simply get the $299 price upfront from Best Buy. You can pick up a 16GB BlackBerry PlayBook for $299 at Best Buy now. The 32GB model is $399 and the 64GB model is $499.

Sales seem to be doing well with the device getting backordered. I was hoping to wait until it was back but its worth mentioning so you can keep an eye on it!

If you liked this article, you might find these interesting:

Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, October 3, 2011, 11:57 am. | Best Buy USA Selling PlayBook for $299 Without Rebates | One comment |


RIM is Suddenly Very Interested in Lock Screen Widgets

Posted: 03 Oct 2011 07:28 AM PDT

Con3_Widgets_clean Con1_Nearby Items_clean

We heard some rumblings at BlackBerry World that RIM was working with Microsoft to bake Bing directly into the BlackBerry OS and lock screen though only a few concepts were shown. In RIM's latest market research survey they sent me this week they definitely seem to be going further or at least contemplating it. In the survey they were asking if you would want to see your RSS feeds, messages and more on your homescreen. They even had a bunch of mock ups of what they are considering shown below:

Con8_BlackBerry Tips_clean Con2_Feeds_clean

Con4_My Stuff_clean Con5_Just for Fun_clean

Con6_Recommended_clean Con7_Search_clean

Lock Screen

Lock Screen 0

Lock Screen 1

Lock Screen 2

Lock Screen 3

Lock Screen 4

 Lock Screen 5

Lock Screen 6

 Lock Screen 7

Lock Screen 1

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Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, October 3, 2011, 10:28 am. | RIM is Suddenly Very Interested in Lock Screen Widgets | 6 comments |


RIM’s BBM Generation Contest Connects Youth With Celebrity Influencers

Posted: 03 Oct 2011 07:08 AM PDT

BBM Generation2

RIM let us know about a new BBM Generation program they are running for teens and twenty somethings offering them the chance to connect with celebrities who share their passion. They are offering up the chance for youths to be one of six grand prize winners and be the protégé of one of six young celebrity movers and shakers. The details are at RIM's new site for the BBM Generation at us.blackberry.com/bbmgeneration/

BBM Generation

RIM describes the BBM Generation initiative as:

BBM Generation — a new online hub designed to engage young people in mobile collaboration with their celebrity idols.

The BBM Challenge Council that will be taking on Protégés includes:

  • Fashion – Whitney Port, fashion designer and television personality
  • Music – Greyson Chance, singer
  • Film – Michelle Trachtenberg, film and TV actress
  • Sports – Hope Solo, U.S. Women's Soccer Goalkeeper
  • Pop Culture – Jared Eng, celebrity blogger, JustJared.com
  • Entrepreneurship – Lauren Berger, entrepreneur; 'the Intern Queen'

Starting on October 3rd, candidates for each category can begin submitting entries to demonstrate why they should be chosen as a "protégé" for the contest. Up to 25 "protégés" will be chosen and sent a new BlackBerry Smartphone for themselves and three friends to collaborate on four separate challenges over the course of eight weeks.  Winning "protégés" will be awarded the opportunity to meet their influencer in person.

Check out the details in the press release below:

RIM Announces 'BBM Generation' Program for Youth

BBM Challenge Council Gives Ambitious Youth the Opportunity to Connect with their Passions, Peers and Celebrities

Waterloo, ON – September 30, 2011 –Research In Motion (RIM) (NASDAQ: RIMM; TSX: RIM) today announced the launch of BBM™ Generation (www.blackberry.com/bbmgeneration) – an online hub designed to help promote collaboration and achievement amongst youth through social media while also offering young people access to exciting promotions and contests.

BBM Generation launches a contest that will tap into and encourage the enormous creative and collaborative talents of young people as they pursue their passion in the areas of fashion, music, film, sports, popular culture and entrepreneurship. 

The contest is centered around the BBM™ Challenge Council – a group of high achieving young influencers who represent the accomplishments derived from talent, hard work and the spirit to succeed.  These teen and twenty-something movers and shakers have teamed up with RIM to find and cultivate the BBM Generation.

Young influencers who make up the BBM Challenge Council include:

  • Fashion – Whitney Port, fashion designer and television personality
  • Music – Greyson Chance, singer
  • Film – Michelle Trachtenberg, film and TV actress
  • Sports – Hope Solo, U.S. Women's Soccer Goalkeeper
  • Pop Culture – Jared Eng, celebrity blogger, JustJared.com
  • Entrepreneurship – Lauren Berger, entrepreneur; 'the Intern Queen'

Here's how the BBM Challenge Council contest works:

  • Beginning October 3rd, candidates for each of the categories named above are invited to submit a video or photo and essay at (www.bbmchallengecouncil) telling the BBM Challenge Council member why they should be picked as a protégé.  Up to 25 protégés will be selected in each category and invited to compete in the Challenge.*

  • Protégés will be sent a new BlackBerry® 7 smartphone for themselves and up to three friends, who will collaborate on the Challenges outlined below.  Each BBM Challenge Council member will also provide their protégés with their personalBBM™ PINs and communicate directly with the protégés during the course of the program to issue challenges and offer support and encouragement.

  • The BBM Challenge Council will issue four separate challenges to their protégés over an eight week period.  Challenges will range from pitching an idea for a business to raising money for charity.  Protégés will use their BlackBerry smartphone to document their entries, collaborate with their teams using BBM, and tap their social networks to garner support as they compete for the attention of their council member. 

  • At the end of the contest, a winning protégé will be selected from each category, earning a trip for their team to visit and spend time with their council member.

  • The contest will unfold online as program followers can see videos featuring the BBM Challenge Council detailing each of the Challenges and watch video footage generated by the protégés for each of the challenge submissions.

"Our youth are a new generation of collaborators, who use social tools, like BBM, to get things done together in innovative and creative ways," said Rick Costanzo, Regional Managing Director – Americas at Research In Motion.  "We're marrying the world's most collaborative tools with the world's most collaborative generation. With the guidance of the tremendously gifted BBMChallenge Council members, there's no telling what these protégés can accomplish." 

In addition to the BBM Challenge Council contest, BlackBerry-sponsored events and activities are occurring on over 65 college and university campuses across Canada and the U.S. this fall. The on-campus brand awareness program is designed to promote the collaborative nature of the BlackBerry brand through BlackBerry® "Messengers" – students recruited by RIM to help promote the brand and serve as on-campus representatives to engage and educate their friends and peers about the benefits of using BlackBerry products and services.

"BlackBerry has a huge following among young people.  Millions of teens and young adults have chosen BlackBerry smartphones and are using social apps like BBM to stay instantly connected with their friends," added Rick Costanzo.  "Our presence on campus reinforces our commitment to serving this market and we have a great new lineup of BlackBerry® 7 smartphones to promote, including the new BlackBerry® Bold™, BlackBerry® Curve™ and BlackBerry® Torch™ models."

*Information about BBM Generation, including full contest details, rules and regulations can be found at www.blackberry.com/bbmgeneration.

BBM Challenge Council Member Quotes:

Fashion – Whitney Port:

"Many people feel that they know me since I have allowed cameras to follow my life and career in fashion, but what they don’t realize is that I didn’t get to where I am today just by my taste in clothes. Fashion is what defines me and drives me to work hard, but I haven’t come this far without the help of industry mentors, friends, family and fans.  They’ve always been there to build me up and guide me in the right direction.  That’s why I’m teaming up with BlackBerry to lead the fashion category of the BBM Challenge Council.  I want to help push the next generation with a passion for fashion."

Music – Greyson Chance:

"I've had an amazing year.  I just released my first album, performed all over the world, and got a chance to meet some of my idols.  I'm so incredibly lucky, and it's all because of my fans tweeting my videos and sharing my work with their friends.  I wouldn't be here without them.  Now I want to help you do the same.  That's why I joined the BBM Challenge Council.  I'm looking for the next set of music-loving social superstars."

Film – Michelle Trachtenberg:

"Being a part of film and television is an exhilarating and rewarding experience, but the best part about being an actress today is that I get to interact with all my fans on Twitter and other outlets in media! It’s my appreciation of social media that led me to join the BBMChallenge Council. I’m looking for some social savvy film buffs to join my team."

Sports – Hope Solo:

"When I was playing against Japan in the Women's World Cup, fans watching the game broke the record for most tweets per second.  Isn't that awesome — to be cheering on your team with the entire world?  It's that type of spirit that's inspired me to head up the sports team of the BBM Challenge Council.  I'm looking for socially-connected sports fans to be part of my team."

Popular Culture – Jared Eng:

"Believe it or not, my success didn't come overnight; I started my own blog years ago and passed it around to friends. Then they sent it to their friends, one thing led to another and bam!  Here we are! Now, I just want to spread the love. I joined the BBM Challenge Council to find the next generation of pop culture experts."

Entrepreneurship – Lauren Berger:

"After completing 15 amazing internships in four years, I now own my own business that helps college students land their dream internships.  And it's in the spirit of helping ambitious, young people reach their full potential that I'm joining T-Mobile and BlackBerry for the BBM Challenge Council."

About Research In Motion

Research In Motion (RIM), a global leader in wireless innovation, revolutionized the mobile industry with the introduction of the BlackBerry® solution in 1999. Today, BlackBerry products and services are used by millions of customers around the world to stay connected to the people and content that matter most throughout their day. Founded in 1984 and based in Waterloo, Ontario, RIM operates offices in North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Latin America. RIM is listed on the NASDAQ Stock Market (NASDAQ: RIMM) and the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: RIM). For more information, visit www.rim.com orwww.blackberry.com.

If you liked this article, you might find these interesting:

Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, October 3, 2011, 10:08 am. | RIM’s BBM Generation Contest Connects Youth With Celebrity Influencers | Leave a comment |


RIM Rolling Out PlayBook Native SDK Beta 0.9.4 to Developers in Beta Zone

Posted: 03 Oct 2011 06:54 AM PDT

 tabletOS_bg2

We have been hearing from devs for the last month or so that they have slowly been receiving access to the BlackBerry PlayBook NDK (Native Development Kit). Last week I received quite a few more tips about more devs getting access and Bla1ze over @CrackBerry seems to be hearing the same thing. I guess RIM is gearing for a much bigger rollout in preparation for DevCon though this current beta is still stuck in the Beta Zone and is invite only.

We have seen a few games already out using the NDK but development seems to be moving forward for RIM. Here is the features RIM has been sending developers:

  • The Native SDK for BlackBerry Tablet OS is now supported on Mac host systems. Mac Developers can now take advantage of the QNX Momentics Tool Suite, which has everything you need to develop programs for the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet!
  • Want to extend Abobe AIR applications by writing part of the application using the Native SDK? We now provide support for Adobe AIR Extensions.
  • Updated BlackBerry Platform Services APIs and samples to help get you started developing applications right away!
  • Enhanced editing capabilities for packaging allow you to quickly update your application package for deployment, without having to edit xml files.
  • New profiles in the IDE allow you to customize the content developers see, which means seeing only functionality you need.

If you want access to the PlayBook NDK you can still apply for the beta here. Let us know if you create anything slick with the NDK.

If you liked this article, you might find these interesting:

Posted by the BerryReview Team for ©BerryReview, October 3, 2011, 9:54 am. | RIM Rolling Out PlayBook Native SDK Beta 0.9.4 to Developers in Beta Zone | 2 comments |


Updated: Possible Screenshots of BBM Running on Android?

Posted: 03 Oct 2011 06:43 AM PDT

UPDATE: Bla1ze pointed out in the comments that one of those screenshots seem to be pulled from this RIM blog post pointing to this being a false rumor

BBM Android BBM Android2

Its Monday and with it comes the weekly rumor grind. First up this week are some intriguing yet uninformative purported images of an Android device running BBM. Very little is shown off other than a homescreen shortcut along with a default PINH and a status of BBM SDK Demo. Check it out and let us know what you think of it!

Kudos to TechRadar for catching the images and the tipsters who sent this in!

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Posted by the BerryReview Team for ©BerryReview, October 3, 2011, 9:43 am. | Updated: Possible Screenshots of BBM Running on Android? | 5 comments |


Free Scrapbook PlayBook App Updated to v1.2

Posted: 03 Oct 2011 05:55 AM PDT

scrapbook scrapbook2

RIM released the slick Scrapbook app awhile back for the PlayBook and users really loved it. Now the TAT team is back with an updated version of Scrapbook bringing it to v1.2. THis new version adds some nice functionality to the app along with some new features.

Here is the official change log:

  • Add a description when sharing your Scrapbook on Facebook
  • Oops, what happened to my Scrapbook? A new category of stickers
  • Wallpapers, stickers and photos are now organized in folders
  • Edit your completed text stickers with a single tap
  • Browse and view your Scrapbooks in full screen mode

You can pick up Scrapbook free for your BlackBerry PlayBook in App World

If you liked this article, you might find these interesting:

Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, October 3, 2011, 8:55 am. | Free Scrapbook PlayBook App Updated to v1.2 | Leave a comment |


BlackBerry 7 Devices Now Get YouTube Mobile HTML5 Website

Posted: 03 Oct 2011 05:07 AM PDT

Youtube html52 Youtube html5

YouTube's website on BlackBerry devices has been pretty pitiful since it first launched. Google has slowly been updating their mobile sites but iPhone and Android versions have always come first. It seems like Google techs are starting to pick up BlackBerry 7 devices because more of their properties are now showing higher end mobile experiences for newer BlackBerrys.

The latest is YouTube getting an HTML5 mobile version for BlackBerry 7 devices spotted by Bla1ze @CrackBerry. Nothing crazy new but hopefully Picasa will also get an overhaul. You can check out the new YouTube HTML5 experience at www.youtube.com from your BlackBerry 7 device.

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Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, October 3, 2011, 8:07 am. | BlackBerry 7 Devices Now Get YouTube Mobile HTML5 Website | 2 comments |


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