Posted: 20 Feb 2012 02:09 AM PST

Robert Scoble is a well known Silicon Valley personality (Tech Blogger) who has been having a bit of back and forth with RIM's developer relations team. He recently wrote up a post on Google+ detailed why he thinks RIM doesn't stand a chance with no developer interest in Silicon Valley and proposed that RIM simply run Android on their devices. (I am simplifying here) Alec Saunders, RIM's head of developer relations, stepped in and spoke to Robert Scoble and explained why RIM sees no value in that path in a simple:

"Yes, I saw what you wrote. And I disagree. There's no money, Robert, in being just another undifferentiated Android handset."

Saunders then goes on to explain the two "weapons in that fight for retaining existing developers and growing RIM's ecosystem." Namely open standards and open communities. Check out how Alec describes those weapons below:

Open Standards. After iOS and Android, the next thing developers are focused on is HTML5, because they're looking for a solution that will let them target multiple handset vendors, not just one. RIM has, hands-down, the best implementation of HTML5 in mobile today. PlayBook OS 2.0 benchmarks better than any other mobile implementation (just point your PlayBook atHTML5Test.com), and better than every desktop browser, except Chrome 16. It also includes WebGL for accelerated 3D graphics, and with WebWorks, we can free HTML5 code from the browser, let you upload it to AppWorld, and turn that HTML5 website into a revenue generating HTML5 application. How 'bout them apples?

For those that really want performance, PlayBook OS and our upcoming BlackBerry 10 OS are POSIX operating systems that you program with C and C++. Another open standard, with over 30 years of code written that's compliant. As one blogger recently wrote, Cross Platform Begins With C.

Soon we'll add our secret sauce – a graphical UX framework called Cascades. Stay tuned for that!

Open Communities. One of the things that we've worked hard at is to embrace communities of developers. So, you can build applications on our platforms using Flash, Android, gaming frameworks like Marmalade, Unity, and Shiva3d, open source like Qt, Boost, Cocos2dx, scripting languages like Lua, and so on. If you've got a code base that you'd like to bring to BlackBerry, we want to help.

Open Source, Open Communities, and Open Standards like HTML5, C and C++ running on a POSIX framework. What's more mom and apple pie than that?

We finished up by agreeing to chat again at South by Southwest.

It wasn't my intent to change Scoble's mind today, but rather to engage in a conversation. It's time for us to start a dialog with the Valley, and what better way than by starting with one of the Valley's most prominent voices?

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Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, February 20, 2012, 5:09 am. | Alec Saunders Explains Why RIM Won’t be “Another Undifferentiated Android Handset” | Leave a comment |

Foursquare v3.8 Released With New Explore 2.0 & More!

Posted: 19 Feb 2012 07:59 PM PST

Hey look ma, finally an article that is not about PlayBook OS 2.0! Tashanna let us know that Foursquare has updated their hugely popular BlackBerry app to v3.8 from the previous version 3.5.1. Unlike previous versions this one is a nice bump forward with some new features and tweaks. They have added what they call Explore 2.0 that helps you find out what is going around you. There are also tweaks for CDMA GPS users along with some UI tweaks especially for the Me screen.

Check out the updated Foursquare free in App World

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Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, February 19, 2012, 10:59 pm. | Foursquare v3.8 Released With New Explore 2.0 & More! | 2 comments |

Mobile Fusion Documentation & PlayBook IT Policy Docs Now Available!

Posted: 19 Feb 2012 07:31 PM PST

RIM is really starting to out-leak themselves. Tweedle first pointed out to us that RIM had published the Mobile Fusion administrators help website for all but when I dug further I found much much more along with the documentation for the new BlackBerry Device Service. For example, I have been trying to figure out what IT Policies administrators will be able to set on BlackBerry PlayBook tablets using Mobile Fusion and the BlackBerry Device Service. Now we have the full IT Policy Guide (PDF).

These docs also contain some great info about how components like Print to Go work and how security is implemented on PlayBook OS 2.0 and the BlackBerry Device Service. For example, I learned that BlackBerry Balance considers all Android Runtime apps to be personal apps and cannot access work data.

I highly recommend checking out the documentation in these three areas to learn more about PlayBook OS 2.0 along with the new Mobile Fusion and BlackBerry Device Service. I am still digging through it (I am a security buff) so let me know what you find!!!