RIM’s new loves: OpenGL ES, Java GUI Builder, Advertising and Push Services
We’ve already talked about some of the news from the first day of the 2009 BlackBerry Developers Conference, but another blast of PR from RIM has hit out inboxes, and wow, are we ever excited. The biggest news of the day is that developers will finally be able to unlock the full potential of the latest generation of BlackBerry smartphones — OS 5.0 and hardware permitting, of course — with the latest beta of the Java SDK 5.0 thanks in part to its OpenGL ES support. Still, there’s a lot of things to cover and we don’t want to clutter up our newly redesigned site with a bunch of text, so join us after the jump.
Previewed today but not expected to be available until the middle of 2010, the BlackBerry Java Plug-in for Eclipse will be updated with a new drag and drop WYSIWYG interface which will greatly reduce the amount of time it takes for a developer to put together all of the graphical elements in an app. More importantly, as BG is screaming up and down with excitement, this should allow BlackBerry applications to utilize a more streamlined and consistent user interface instead of, well, utter crap. More information about the new BlackBerry Theme Studio which replaces the Plazmic Content Developer’s Kit has also come out. Comprised of the Theme Builder and Composer, Theme Studio works for all devices running OS 4.2.2 and up and can not only directly import images from Adobe Photoshop but create a new generation of themes that are capable of zooming, sliding, wiping and fading while devices with OS 5.0 and up will have support for ringtones and screen transitions (oooooh, aaaaah). And now on to some slightly drier content (as far as consumers interests go.)
One of the things RIM has focused very hard on since the launch of App World has been helping to create an environment in which developers can generate more revenue and heighten the app-friendliness of the OS. With this in mind, RIM has announced its very own advertising service, BlackBerry Advertising Service, which amongst other things will “include the ability to easily initiate a call from an ad, add a calendar entry or contact entry from an ad, and directly link to an application in BlackBerry App World from an ad” while providing deep analytics. Speaking of monetization, BlackBerry Payment, available in mid-2010, will open the flood gates to activities such as premium content, subscriptions and in-app purchases. GPS has been a strong point of any BlackBerry, but now developers will have the means to do crazy new-fangled things like use cell site geolocation, reverse geocode and figure out how many minutes it will take to arrive at ones destination. Mindblowing? Definitely not. Abso-positively-necessary for RIM to do? Yes.
OGLES 2.0?
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Please don’t nerd rage because I hurt your feelings about the BB.
BTW my last 3 devices have been BB. My perspective is that RIM has had very little innovation lately that has proven to be successful.
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The iphone has a great web browser, but does not compare in battery life to a blackberry device.
5 years is a big stretch.
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BB are still good for messaging but meh for somethings.
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Any word on the rumored WebKit browser for the BB?
BG, which devices will be able to use OpenGL-ES?
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Heres something up for debate and discussion. I’ll be a a first time BB user when the 9700 comes for Tmo (Please sooner than later) Obviously getting it because I need the capabilites a BB offeres.
Would it be fair to say that these updates and additions would appeal to consumers more than executive/business users? And how will this affect memory usage and resources.
I mean I welcome the changes but think I could do without. Thoughts? I mean are there heavy power users that would gripe about these additions and changes?
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Who cares, I just want to see 5.0 for my VZW Tour…
This thing is getting sloooooooooooooow and bugggggggggggyyyyyyyyyy…
How about some updates already???
Droid is amazingly exciting- the potential this OS has are outstanding, but even droid has limits- all data stored on google’s cloud- no desktop sync required. Are you really ready to trust Google with all your data? I like having a back up of my files that I control on my end.
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I agree with you to a point. I’m tired of the whole iPhone comparisons. I really don’t know how one can call the iPhone a great smartphone when it can’t even multi-task on top of what you just mentioned. I’m excited for Android and especially for what Nokia has brought to the table with the N900 and Maemo 5 (Linux-based OS) and soon to blow that away with Maemo 6.
Very excited actually. I wouldn’t say this is too late for RIM, but the sooner the better for everyone.
It’s all good for RIM to announce stuff… but who thinks Webkit’s gonna come out in late 2011 after a string of 5 delays?
Webkit Browser comes in early 2010.
….”You asked for a web browser…. we worked on it…”
Flash support was even real on simulator device shown on the dev con. Very Huge Adobe CS5 Support.
Non-Flash support will break iPhones neck!
Exactly!! The smug f*cks in Cupertino think that Flash will make the device (iPhone) sluggish and susceptible to harm. I read that as there are limitations to your OS that obviously cannot support flash. Cover it up as you do most IFAILS (Mobile Me??…Slingbox??…Google Voice??..)
Does the BlackBerry Java Plug-in enable JavaFX? When are we seeing JavaFX support native in the OS? Did RIM can it for Flash support instead? I wonder if that means WebKit + Flash is more than just a new browser, but integral to the OS?
Just paid retail for the Droid. Miss the communication my BB gave me (BBM specifically). No one good phone for everything which sucks. I have to use a touch for medical apps, so unless the iPhone comes out for Vzw, Im stuck carrying two devices. BTW Droid is pretty cool but does not beat a jailbroken iPhone. Except for the GMaps Navigation, thing is sweet.
That’s nice and all, but where is an official release of 5.0 for my Tour?
This all sounds very nice, but RIM is a bit late to the game. Still, if you’re stuck on a corporate device, any enhancements are exciting.
EA has a need for speed demo running on a 9520/50 showing off opengl es
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xicBi_tkyjA
After scanning the comments- the consistent question seems to be WHEN will we see the upgrades in real time for us to actually use/test/critique them???
My contract is about to be up this holiday and Im activily looking to jump to another carrier- possibly another device if RIM doesn’t deliver something intriguing.
It is good rim is doing this and also the RIM and Adobe Systems announced that creative professionals and application developers will be able to use the Adobe® Flash® Platform technology and Adobe Creative Suite® content development and authoring tools
http://www.gizmoji.com/2009/11/blackberry-to-get-rich-content-and.html