Average Rating: Rate this article:

RIM Unveils New BlackBerry Developer Tools By Carl Weinschenk November 9, 2009 1:56PM     At the 2009 BlackBerry Developer Conference, RIM is focusing on expanding the BlackBerry platform with new offerings for developers. RIM announced the BlackBerry Advertising Service and BlackBerry Payment Service for developers, as well as new BlackBerry GPS functionality. RIM's BlackBerry OS changes are meant to be gradual.   Related Topics RIM BlackBerry App Development App World GPS Latest News Plasma-TV Ban Could Be Costly Barnes & Noble Nook Is Delayed Flat PC Shipments Hurt Dell's Stock Ballmer Says Windows 7 Sales Good New Pogoplug 'Cloud' Gets Social The focus of smartphone development is moving, at least to some extent, from the hardware to software and applications. The 2009 BlackBerry Developer Conference, which is being held Nov. 9-12 in San Francisco, is centered on ensuring that the applications for the BlackBerry are as useful and flexible as those for Apple's iPhone, Palm's Pre, the Droid from Motorola, and other smartphone platforms that are competing for market share. "It's a commitment to keep investing in the platform, a commitment to provide a richer environment and better capabilities for BlackBerry developers," said Ross Rubin, director of industry analysis for the NPD Group. "RIM has done very well in terms of market share, but needs to evolve its broadband capabilities and user interface to keep competitive with more recent operating systems." New Offerings for Developers Research in Motion has already made several developer-related announcements. The BlackBerry Advertising Service will enable developers to integrate advertising into apps. The ad units, which will be available from specialty advertising networks, will be compliant with Mobile Marketing Association guidelines. Subscribers will be able to add calendar or contact entries and link to BlackBerry App World applications from an ad. Sophisticated reporting information -- such as ad impressions, clicks, conversions and earnings -- also will be available. RIM also announced the BlackBerry Payment Service, which will create revenue streams for developers by enabling the sale of premium content, game upgrades, and other value-added functions. The availability of push services will be expanded to all registered developers from its current status as an exclusive service for members of the BlackBerry Alliance Program. Better GPS Functionality RIM said new GPS functionality includes cell-site geolocation -- a more accurate means of locating a device -- as well as reverse geocoding and Travel Time, an application that can provide estimates of the time necessary to reach a destination. The conference also presented new features for developers. The company announced upgrades designed for fast development of rich content and applications. OpenGL ES support , RIM said, will enable Java developers to create 3-D games and graphics for phones using version 5.0 and higher of the BlackBerry operating system. The company also is including a GUI builder in the BlackBerry Java plug-in for Eclipse. Finally, the BlackBerry Theme Studio -- which includes the BlackBerry Theme Builder and the BlackBerry Composer -- is a free suite of design, illustration and animation tools now available for developers. Not a Rip and Replace Rubin said the moves are a gradual change, not a rip and replace. "It's a continued evolution of the BlackBerry OS," he said. "It's not a wholesale scrapping and re-architecture of what they have done to date, which is what Palm did." BlackBerry and Adobe also used the developer conference to announce that Adobe Flash and Adobe Creative Suite content-development and authoring tools will be customized for easy use in the creation of content and applications for BlackBerry phones.   Advertisement  Wireless Tech 1.   Palm Pixi Is Stylish But Sluggish 2.   TV on the Go Is a Little Lacking 3.   AT&T Fires Back at Verizon with Ad 4.   Court To Hear AT&T, Verizon Ad Fight 5.   Verizon: AT&T Wants To Hide 3G Truth Dell Will Debut Mini 3 in China, Brazil Android-powered phone is a big step. Average Rating: Palm Pixi Is Stylish But Sluggish Smartphone's charm quickly wears off. Average Rating: TV on the Go Is a Little Lacking Programming pickings are slim. Average Rating:

Product Information and Resources for Technology You Can Use To Boost Your Business CRM Systems   Experience CRM—and Business—Success today with Salesforce.com. Contact Centers   Run Your Entire Contact Center in the Cloud with LiveOps Enterprise Hardware   Go Green with IBM Blade Center    Enterprise I.T.    Rackspace: It makes a difference when you focus on support.   Go Green with IBM Blade Center   APC introduces server room in a box solutions!   Tell us what you think. Take a survey.   Find out how much you can save with the SQL Server value tool.   See how AT&T can help protect your network. Enterprise Software   Read the Top 10 Reasons to Upgrade to Windows Server 2008 R2. Microsoft/Windows   Rackspace: It makes a difference when you focus on support   Read the Top 10 Reasons to Upgrade to Windows Server 2008 R2. Network Security   See how AT&T can help protect your network.

Network Security Spotlight

House Lawmakers Push Ban on Peer-to-Peer Software Stung by an embarrassing electronic leak revealing ethics investigations into dozens of lawmakers, Congress moved to prohibit federal employees from using the file-sharing software blamed for the disclosure.   GAO: Los Alamos Computer Security Has Weaknesses Security weaknesses uncovered in Los Alamos National Laboratory's computer network increase the risk of a classified-information breach, says the Government Accountability Office.   Computer Security Firm Fortinet Plans IPO This Week Fortinet plans to go public in an initial public offering, giving investors a chance to tap a network security provider with sales that are expected to grow. The IPO could be valued at $137.5 million or more.

Enterprise Hardware Spotlight

Flat Shipments Hurt Dell Despite Increased Earnings Dell's earnings are up and expectations are solid, but the company's stock still took a hit after analysts signaled the company isn't playing a key role in the PC market recovery.   New Pogoplug 'Personal Cloud' Does Social Networking Cloud Engines has released its newest version of the Pogoplug, a small "multimedia sharing device" that connects hard drives to the Internet and allows a user to access the files remotely.   Apple Tablet Rumored Delayed as Publisher Gears Up There have been so many rumors of an Apple tablet that it has taken on legendary status. But now the legend is being revised with reports of a delay and that a major publisher is getting ready.

Enterprise Technology Spotlight

Flat Shipments Hurt Dell Despite Increased Earnings Dell's earnings are up and expectations are solid, but the company's stock still took a hit after analysts signaled the company isn't playing a key role in the PC market recovery.   Smartphones: A Bigger Target for Security Threats Smartphones are increasingly prevalent and adept at handling more tasks, including trading stocks, paying bills, and buying stuff online. That makes them attractive to thieves and hackers.   FBI Says Hackers Targeting Law Firms, PR Companies Hackers are targeting law firms and public relations companies with a sophisticated e-mail scheme that breaks into their computer networks to steal sensitive data, often linked to large corporate clients.

Navigation NewsFactor Network Home/Top News | Enterprise I.T. | Hardware | Software | Communications | Network Security | Wireless Tech | Linux/Open Source Apple/Macintosh | Microsoft/Windows | World Wide Web | Data Storage | E-Commerce | Personal Tech | Tech Trends | Press Releases NewsFactor Network Enterprise I.T. Sites NewsFactor Technology News | Enterprise Security Today | CRM Daily NewsFactor Business and Innovation Sites Sci-Tech Today | NewsFactor Business Report NewsFactor Services FreeNewsFeed | Free Newsletters | Free Whitepapers | About NewsFactor Network | How To Contact Us | Article Reprints | Careers @ NewsFactor | Services for PR Pros | Top Tech Wire | How To Advertise Privacy Policy | Terms of Service © Copyright 2000-2009 NewsFactor Network. All rights reserved. Article rating technology by Blogowogo.