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In the summer of 2011 we launched the BlackBerry® 7 lineup of smartphones along with our first NFC-capable devices: the BlackBerry® Bold™ 9900/9930 smartphones, the BlackBerry® Curve™ 9350/9360/9370 smartphones, and the BlackBerry® Bold 9790 smartphone. The initial NFC functionality enabled the technology within the BlackBerry® OS to support Smart Tag reading and writing, along with API’s available for BlackBerry developers so that they could start building some compelling experiences with this exciting technology. For the end-user, on the other hand, the promise of the technology is just getting started.

What is BlackBerry Tag?

BlackBerry® Tag is a new way to share content with others, allowing you to use NFC technology to pass information with a simple tap between any two NFC-enabled BlackBerry® smartphones.

What can be shared through BlackBerry Tag?

Here are some examples of what you’ll be able to share with a single tap:

• Invite your friend to BBM™ (BBM 6.1, which is now available on BlackBerry® App World™)
• Share contact information
• Share content from the media applications
• Share voice notes
• Share documents from within Documents To Go®
• Share a URL from the browser
• Create Bluetooth® pairing with ease
• Transfer files

An Example

Picture this: you’re reviewing photos from a weekend with friends on your BlackBerry smartphone, when your friend sees a great shot that they love. By simply opening the picture on your phone and tapping your friend’s device, you can easily share the photo. No complex menus, no extended period of time holding the phones together, and no hassle. Want to share multiple photos with a single tap? No problem! The transfer continues even after the phones are pulled apart after tapping, via a secure Bluetooth connection.

Okay, so how does it work?

The “magic” of BlackBerry Tag is that it’s using NFC to very quickly (and silently) setup a temporary secure Bluetooth connection between the two phones. In case you didn’t know, NFC is a wireless technology that allows for very low-rate data transmissions at a 4 cm range. It fills a very specific niche, but when coupled with a longer range and higher bandwidth protocol like Bluetooth, it becomes an extremely robust technology that lets you connect devices wirelessly for a brief period of time. BlackBerry Tag doesn’t go out to the cloud or use any data over a mobile network.

Is it Secure?

Staying true to our long history of upholding security standards, we made sure that the system is protected from end-to-end. Plus there is a certain level of inherent security with NFC that I’d call security-by-proximity (i.e. you have to physically be close to the person you want to share content with) – but we went even further.

• By default, confirmation prompts appear when you attempt to send or receive using BlackBerry Tag. If you prefer, you can easily disable prompts within the preferences.
• Tapping to share is disabled when screens are off, preventing unwanted tagging from pockets or lost/stolen devices.
• AES-256 encryption is utilized over Bluetooth to make the sharing of data secure.

In BlackBerry 7.1, not only do some core applications support BlackBerry Tag, we will also offer additional API’s that will provide developers with the functionality to create highly interactive applications, allowing you to establish peer-to-peer connections between devices. Through the use of standard protocols, developers will have the ability to create a physical, interactive experience, allowing users to transfer files, or share in-app information with a simple tap. Developers can utilize BlackBerry Tag to transfer data through NFC or to handover the connection to Bluetooth to transfer larger amounts of data over a further distance.

Hopefully you are getting as excited as I am about BlackBerry Tag and the limitless experiences it can enable on BlackBerry smartphones!

What will you be sharing most often with BlackBerry Tag? Share in the comments!

Another device launch is just around the corner! This time it’s a new edition to our BlackBerry Curve family: introducing the BlackBerry® Curve 8520™ smartphone! Rather than tell you about the device myself, I followed Becky’s lead and grabbed some face time with the product manager behind it all: Pankaj.

Can you describe your role at RIM?

I’m the Handheld Product Manager for the BlackBerry Curve 8520 smartphone. I define the requirements for the product and work with cross functional teams from the product concept phase through to development leading up to the global launch.

What was the vision for the new BlackBerry Curve?

To offer an entry level smartphone and provide an update to the BlackBerry Curve 8310/8320 products. The new smartphone addressed the aspirations of people currently using a mid tier feature phone to step up to a BlackBerry smartphone that’s affordable and meets their lifestyle needs.

You’ve been using the device for a while now. What do you like about it?

The BlackBerry Curve 8520 smartphone has some capabilities that I am proud of. It’s easy to carry and use as a phone (just like the original). I like the dedicated media keys, and it has a sleek and simple design that feels really soft and light in the hand. The trackpad touch navigation interface is cool — it makes navigation easy and actually kind of fun. We changed the design of the side keys so they are integrated into the side band, which means again they are much sleeker and still very functional.

Why the new trackpad? How does it work?

We are always looking forward and investigating new technology, trying to meet the needs of our customers. The trackpad was a good fit for the BlackBerry Curve 8520 smartphone. It emulates a similar experience to what we all love and use on our laptops today.

Why Wi-Fi?

We looked at the target audience for the product and Wi-Fi® support seemed to be the best choice because it allows for an enhanced broadband experience. Wi-Fi coverage seems to be everywhere now, so you can enjoy blazing fast web browsing on this product.

Black or Frost?

Love both the colors. Frost blue is a unique color on a QWERTY device. 

What do you do when you aren’t managing products?

I spend time with my family – go biking, watch movies, play basketball with kids. I love to work in the yard at home too.

And now for our readers: if you want the lowdown on all the product specs, you can get them here.

Post a comment and tell us what you think about the new BlackBerry Curve 8520 smartphone.

When we first launched the BlackBerry® Storm™ smartphone in 2008, there was no one-stop-shop for applications. People were coming together to make their own application lists like the one over at pinstack.com. Recently we launched BlackBerry App World to make it easier to find, download and share BlackBerry Storm apps for your smartphone (or any BlackBerry device for that matter!)

BlackBerry App World has only been live for three months and there are over 1000 BlackBerry Storm apps already and it’s still growing.

This week the 5 most popular application downloads for the BlackBerry Storm are:

• Pandora – Music streaming application, great for discovering new music
• Flashlight – Another flashlight app, but this one seems to have a following!
• ScoreMobile – Makes following sports scores in real-time fast and easy
• Facebook – A new version was just released and it adds even more features
• Viigo – Highly acclaimed content aggregator

Browsing for apps in App World is like window shopping. Because you can read reviews from other people and look at screenshots before deciding what to download, it’s a great way to take the guess work out of picking the right app.

Which are your favourite apps?

Hey! I’m at WES and having a great time. This is the first year we’ve had a BlackBerry® booth dedicated to handheld hardware and I’m one of the lucky people working the stand!

We have all our devices displayed in the booth alongside some great accessories. We also have a battery station here, where people can trade in their dead battery for one that’s fully charged — it’s been a big hit!

I’m meeting lots of people and having some interesting chats about BlackBerry. I even met Kyle from BlackBerryCool — check out his vposts for real-time updates from the WES showroom floor.

There are lots of partners showcasing cool applications and products. I haven’t had time to check them all out yet, but I’m hoping to before the conference ends. You can read all about the participants and highlights from the WES blog.

On Tuesday night, will.i.am put on an awesome show here, and the party went late into the night. Tonight there are some more parties, and since I’m having a tough time deciding which one to attend,  I downloaded WAD (WES After Dark) — a great little app with party info. If you’re looking for a copy, just ask around the conference and someone will set you up.

If you are here, drop by, say hi and let me know where you are headed!