Rabu, 04 April 2012

BerryReview.com Giving Back to the BlackBerry Community

BerryReview.com Giving Back to the BlackBerry Community

RIM Clarifies Open Source Components Permission on App World for Vendors

Posted: 04 Apr 2012 02:02 AM PDT

appworld_highres

RIM notified App World vendors that they made a small revision to the App World Vendor Agreement this week (Full version here). The only change is a clarification in Section 10(k) where RIM clarifies that open source components are allowed in App World. Here is how they worded it:

We have published a small revision to the App World Vendor Agreement. Click here for new version.  The only changes are in section 10(k), which clarifies that open source components are not prohibited, provided that the inclusion of those components does not compromise the proprietary nature of any RIM proprietary code and information or that of any third party (e.g., RIM or third party proprietary SDK/NDK libraries).

On the other hand they have added that:

Compliance with permissive open source licenses, such as recent BSD and MIT licenses, should be relatively straightforward.  Other common open source licenses, such as the various versions of (L)GPL  are more complex.  Use of components subject to such licenses may or may not be permitted depending upon a variety of factors including the specific license version, context, and use model.

As you can see from this discussion on the BlackBerry Support forums some parts of the LGPL are not easily accommodated on BlackBerry and any other commercial app store (Example). If you use LGPL or other open source libraries in your PlayBook or BlackBerry app I recommend reading up on the implications and requirements of the license.

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Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, April 4, 2012, 5:02 am. | RIM Clarifies Open Source Components Permission on App World for Vendors | Leave a comment |


RIM Sued by NXP Semiconductor Over Six Patents (Patent Trolls)

Posted: 03 Apr 2012 02:15 PM PDT

Boxing Executives

RIM legal is keeping busy these days as the patent wars heat up in the mobile space. The latest patent troll to come out of the woodwork is NXP Semiconductor NV which is one of the larger chip makers in Europe. The Netherlands based company filed the case in Orlando, Florida and claims the BlackBerry Torch, PlayBook, Curve, & Bold devices are using their six patents. Bloomberg (via Reuters) reports that:

RIM products including the BlackBerry Torch, Playbook, Curve and Bold are using the patented inventions without permission, NXP contends. The other patents cover computer bus systems, mobile phones with GPS receivers, circuit manufacturing, the polishing of the surface of wafers, and patterning of layers on the wafer.

I really want to see that patent for mobile phones with GPS receivers. Other than that it should be another interesting lawsuit to watch though really I am getting tired of these patent wars…

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Posted by the BerryReview Team for ©BerryReview, April 3, 2012, 5:15 pm. | RIM Sued by NXP Semiconductor Over Six Patents (Patent Trolls) | One comment |


Magmic CEO Shares Their BlackBerry Game Development Success

Posted: 03 Apr 2012 01:56 PM PDT

Magmic Timeline

I have been a fan of Magmic and their Bplay product for years now. That is why I found it very interesting to read this interview with John Criswick, Magmic’s CEO, on Mobile-Ent.biz. In it Criswick shares some details about the past, present, and future of Magmic on the BlackBerry Platform. He also shares why he thinks 2012 will be BlackBerrys comeback year and why Magmic is still committed to BlackBerry. One of the things that really shocked me is that the PlayBook now accounts for 50% of Magmic's sales to BlackBerry users.

Here are some highlights:

  • BlackBerry sales account for 45% of sales even though Magmic has iOS, Android, Windows Phone7, J2ME, and BREW games.
  • Texas Hold'em king has "whale" users willing to pay $499 for virtual goods and is the top card game in App World
  • Bplay used to bring in $500,000 a month before App World was released
  • Fremium games is a solid model on BlackBerry
  • Finds PlayBook a "great platform" and sales have shot up to where the PlayBook represents 50% of all sales to BlackBerry users.

Last but not least Criswick shares what he thinks the prospects are for RIM in 2012:

I think it will be like a comeback tour for RIM. Technically Playbook is already on a par with iPad and the new devices will be based on its OS. All those problems around Java will go away in BB10. Also,  I know RIM is working hard in the background to get QNX into the auto and airline sectors. It doesn’t speak about this much, but it’s already got good penetration there, and this will lead to a lot of very interesting opportunities.

I highly recommend checking out the full interview on Mobile-Ent.biz. Let us know what you think!

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Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, April 3, 2012, 4:56 pm. | Magmic CEO Shares Their BlackBerry Game Development Success | 5 comments |


Talk To You Later – Free version now available!

Posted: 03 Apr 2012 11:03 AM PDT

Talk To You Later is a small but powerfully useful application for BlackBerry users. Previously available only as a “premium” application, the group over at i-Mentalist have came up with a new free edition with limited features. This application reminds me of call assistant which we showcased sometime back.

Small but powerful application, it comes with three very important phone call features. This includes replying to a caller with SMS (text message) when you are not able to respond to a call, list of numbers you don't want ever to call you again (Junk numbers aka Firewall) and a autoresponder for times you are on a meeting or you when just want to be unavailable for some time. The nice thing about this app is that it is also available on Android.

Here is a part of all features included in Talk To You Later FREE:
- Send predefined message when not able to answer the call
- Junk numbers
- and more…

When ever you are not able to answer the call or you reject it, you'll see a pop-up screen from where you are able to select one of your predefined messages to send to a caller.

Junk numbers will help you when receiving calls by mistake or from marketing companies. Add number directly from address book or call log. Call will be automatically stopped and deleted from call logs. You can even set message to be sent to junk number when ever you receive call from it.

The Full premium version adds more functions such as:
- Add any number of messages to select from
- Autoresponder with timer
- Notification icon when Autoresponder is ON
- Autoresponder TXT reply message
- Autoresponder posts on social networks and BBM
- Junk numbers
- Import/Export your messages
- History (who received TXT from you and when)
- Export T2YL history to CSV

The Full Version is available at $0.99 in the App World while the Free version is available for free in the App World



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Posted by Terrence T for ©BerryReview, April 3, 2012, 2:03 pm. | Talk To You Later – Free version now available! | Leave a comment |


BlackBerry Mobile Fusion Client for iOS and Android Now Available!

Posted: 03 Apr 2012 07:09 AM PDT

Mobile Fusion iOS Mobile Fusion Android2

We told you that RIM has launched the Universal Device Service portion of Mobile Fusion to manage iOS and Android devices. Since then I have been looking for the required Mobile Fusion Client apps for iOS and Android in their respective app stores and I finally found them. The clients are both free in Apple iTunes and Google Play (aka Android Market).

Mobile Fusion iOS2 Mobile Fusion Android 

Here are the links:

The both have the same description stating that:

This solution from Research In Motion® lets you use your mobile device at work to help keep you connected with the information you need to keep business moving ahead. Once activated, administrators can deliver configurations, policies, Wi-Fi® and VPN settings to your device to help keep work information like email, calendar and contact information synchronized and secure. They can also provide you with access to your organization's optional mobile apps that you can download and install on your device.

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Posted by the BerryReview Team for ©BerryReview, April 3, 2012, 10:09 am. | BlackBerry Mobile Fusion Client for iOS and Android Now Available! | 5 comments |


RIM Shares BlackBerry Development Community Milestones for Q4

Posted: 03 Apr 2012 06:46 AM PDT

BlackBerry Loads of Apps

It is no secret that RIM has made some drastic changes in how it courts third party developers and their efforts to bring them to the BlackBerry platform are starting to pay off. RIM has shared some milestones with us for the BlackBerry developer ecosystem. You can clearly see from here that these are metrics that they use to measure the success of their efforts. RIM clarifies their commitment to BlackBerry developers:

"with tools focused on usability and ease of development; increased involvement and contribution to open source; reinvigorated community event involvement over the last six months; new energy and leadership in Alec Saunders and Martyn Mallick; as well as the unprecedented seeding of a non-commercial testing device – the BlackBerry 10 Dev Alpha device – at BlackBerry 10 Jam in Orlando this May."

Their milestones for Q4 include

BlackBerry App Milestones – Q4

  • 21% increase in BlackBerry smartphone apps
  • 89% increase in BBM connected apps
  • 240% increase in PlayBook apps submitted to App World

BlackBerry Developer Milestones – Q4

  • 68% increase in vendors registered on App World
  • 42% increase in apps submitted to App World by developers
  • 137% increase in PlayBook apps approved for sale
  • Built porting guides to allow WebOS and jQuery apps to be ported to PlayBook
  • Announced port of Qt to allow Nokia developers to target PlayBook and soon, BlackBerry 10
  • Launched BlackBerry Native SDK 2.0 for the BlackBerry PlayBook
  • Prior to PlayBook OS 2.0 launch, incented 10,000 new developers to register as BlackBerry developers, with offer of a PlayBook in exchange for an app. Over 7,000 new apps submitted
  • Since its launch 10 weeks ago, the BlackBerry Developer Success Story page has added more than 20 stories with more to come soon

BlackBerry Apps –By the Numbers

  • More than 70,000 apps in App World
  • More than 15,000 PlayBook apps
  • More than 2 billion total apps downloaded
  • 177 million apps downloaded per month

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

Posted by the BerryReview Team for ©BerryReview, April 3, 2012, 9:46 am. | RIM Shares BlackBerry Development Community Milestones for Q4 | 2 comments |


BlackBerry Mobile Fusion Universal Device Service Launches! (iOS & Android)

Posted: 03 Apr 2012 06:18 AM PDT

 Mobile-Fusion-universal-device-service-1

We told you yesterday that it was coming shortly and now it is officially here. The final component of RIM's "Next Generation of BES" Mobile Fusion called Universal Device Service has launched. This third prong is the module of Mobile Fusion that allows enterprise administrators to manage IT policies on Android and iOS devices. That means now the complete solution manages BlackBerry smartphones, PlayBooks, and iOS and Android tablets and smartphones.

The iOS and Android devices need to have a client installed for them to be managed and then give administrators the ability to:

  • Activate and configure devices and profiles over the air
  • Enable access to enterprise Mail, Calendar and PIM
  • Administer users and groups, natively and directory based
  • Establish corporate IT Policies and Security
  • Manage lost devices – Password Reset, Device Lock, Device Wipe
  • Set Wi-Fi® and VPN settings
  • Deploy internally-developed apps
  • Define (and enforce) public applications as mandatory or optional
  • Provides Notifications to the Device User
  • Provides Rooting & Jailbreak Detection
  • Help manage Roaming to control your data costs
  • Prevent apps from accessing corporate mail accounts

This is obviously not the full feature set that BlackBerry devices offer administrators but it does compete well. Check out more details about BlackBerry Mobile Fusion on RIM’s website or their Blog announcement. Keep in mind that:

BlackBerry Mobile Fusion software is available as a free download and is priced by the number of devices being managed. Client access licenses (CALs) start at $99 per user or $4 per user per month (billed annually); volume discounts are also available. In addition, RIM is offering a 60 day free trial, so customers can deploy a pilot before purchasing a single CAL. The 60 day free trial is available at https://www.blackberry.com/eBES/trialOrder.do?id=121.

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Posted by the BerryReview Team for ©BerryReview, April 3, 2012, 9:18 am. | BlackBerry Mobile Fusion Universal Device Service Launches! (iOS & Android) | One comment |


YouMail Testing Canadian Access Numbers for Voicemail Service

Posted: 03 Apr 2012 05:29 AM PDT

YouMail BlackBerry

Two of our readers forwarded us an email they received from YouMail letting them know that they are now testing out new Canadian access numbers. This is supposedly in prep to YouMail's launch of their voicemail service in Canada. According to the email the service will work with Rogers, Telus, and Bell Mobility so far. YouMail also says that they require a call forwarding feature from your carrier as you can see below:

If you live in Canada and use YouMail with the previous international call forwarding then you may want to call them and ask to be part of the testing. Also you will find that YouMail restricts the download of their app in App World to the US but you can pick up the app directly at this link OTA.

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Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, April 3, 2012, 8:29 am. | YouMail Testing Canadian Access Numbers for Voicemail Service | One comment |


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