We are pleased to announce the availability of the BlackBerry® Messenger (BBM™) Social Platform SDK v1.0 for BlackBerry® WebWorks™! The SDK is now ready for download and hardened thanks in large part to your beta feedback. So now it’s time to realize the power of social interactions with BBM right within your BlackBerry WebWorks application.

In conjunction with BlackBerry WebWorks SDK v2.2, this documented set of APIs is designed to give developers the ability to accomplish the following with BBM:

• Access and update fields in the user’s profile such as status, avatar and personal message
  create app-specific custom areas within the user’s profile for promoting your app and recent activity
  related to it, e.g. achievements
• Initiate BBM chats with BBM users
• Initiate file transfers
• Share applications for download virally with friends in the contact list
• Initiate application-to-application background communication through BBM for sending and receiving application signaling, data

Furthermore, we’re excited to share a few changes that complement this SDK since the last beta release and here’s what you can expect to see:

• Published sample code and documentation for a BBM version dependency checker
• included all BBM WebWorks APIs into the BlackBerry WebWorks SDK as of version v2.2
• BBM WebWorks API documentation now published with BlackBerry WebWorks API Reference

To get started, download the SDK of the BBM Social Platform for BlackBerry WebWorks from the BlackBerry Developer Zone. For on device testing with the BBM Social Platform SDK, you will need to upgrade to the latest BlackBerry Messenger 6.0 version available on BlackBerry App World™. BBM-Connected Applications are supported on BlackBerry smartphones versions 5.0 and later.

To get started with the BBM Social Platform SDK 1.0 for BlackBerry WebWorks and review all the supported features, be sure to check out BlackBerry® Developer Zone’s BBM Social Platform page, and as always, stay tuned to the BlackBerry Developer Blog for more updates on our platform.

We look forward to hearing about your experiences combining the power of the Web and the BBM Social Platform!

BlackBerry BBX, the next generation mobile platform for BlackBerry® smartphones and tablets, was introduced to developers during the General Session Keynote at BlackBerry DevCon Americas 2011 today. BBX combines the best of the BlackBerry platform and the best of the QNX platform to to connect people, devices, content and services.

Development environments supported by the BBX platform include HTML5 with BlackBerry® WebWorks™, Adobe® AIR®, Native C/C++, and the BlackBerry® Runtime for Android™ Apps. Apps built today for the BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet will also run on BBX.

Additionally, BBX will include the new BlackBerry Cascades UI Framework for advanced graphics, also demonstrated during the General Session Keynote. BBX will also extend the core BlackBerry DNA of collaboration, communication and immediacy, with familiar “Super App” capabilities such as deep integration between apps, always-on Push services, BlackBerry security, the BBM™ Social Platform and much, much more.

Specific details regarding BBX products and availability will be provided at a later date, so stay tuned for more information in future posts on the Inside BlackBerry Developer’s Blog!

(I’d like to introduce Trevor – the Product Manager for our BlackBerry® Payment Service. Trevor’s here today to talk about the launch of BlackBerry Payment Service 1.5! – AK)

This past January we introduced the BlackBerry Payment Service SDK 1.0, which provided new ways to monetize applications through the BlackBerry App World™ storefront. Since then, many developers have leveraged the SDK to start accepting in-application purchases, and today we are excited to announce a great extension to the SDK that will enable developers to start offering subscription-based services. Starting with BlackBerry Payment Service SDK 1.5, developers will now be able to offer auto-renewing subscriptions for applications and in-application digital goods.

The BlackBerry Payment Service SDK 1.5 builds on the existing API from 1.0, so it is designed to allow developers to quickly add subscriptions without having to learn a new API. The new SDK provides APIs to check for the status of a subscription and the ability to cancel subscriptions. BlackBerry Payment Service manages the subscription renewals automatically and sends out renewal reminders and receipts to users. Please note that applications with subscription services will require users to have the recently released BlackBerry App World 3.0 installed on their device.

Read more at the Inside BlackBerry Developer’s Blog »

As you’ve been following the Inside BlackBerry® Developer’s Blog over the past few months, you’ve probably noticed that the BlackBerry® Java® SDK v7.0 is available for download in BlackBerry Developer Zone, as well as BlackBerry smartphone simulators for the recently announced BlackBerry® Torch™ 9810 smartphone, BlackBerry® Torch™ 9850 smartphone, and the BlackBerry® Bold™ 9900 smartphone, all running BlackBerry® 7 OS. Along with the tools, there’s also supporting documentation guiding you through the work of migrating an existing BlackBerry Java app to BlackBerry 7.

While BlackBerry smartphone simulators do provide a very accurate representation of what the experience will be like on a live device, there’s just no substitute for the real thing. Or is there?

Perfecto Mobile, a global provider of cloud-based testing, automation and monitoring solutions for mobile applications, is starting a special limited-time offer to test your applications on BlackBerry 7 OS smartphones, using Perfecto Mobile’s cloud-based mobile application testing solution. The exclusive promotion offers you a free 2 hour testing trial period on Perfecto’s MobileCloud™ for BlackBerry 7 OS smartphones and additional testing hours can be purchased at a discounted rate of $4 USD plus tax per hour beyond the initial 2 hour period.*

How does it work? Perfecto Mobile essentially hosts live BlackBerry smartphones and provides you remote access to them, allowing you to install and test your app on real devices, on real carrier networks.

To get started with this free trial and see how your applications run on the new BlackBerry 7 OS, check out Perfecto’s MobileCloud for BlackBerry 7 Smartphones. Once you’ve tested your app, submit it to the BlackBerry App World™ storefront! Also, make sure you check out the MobileCloud for BlackBerry webpage for updates on more supported smartphones coming up, including the newly announced BlackBerry® Curve™ 9350, 9360 and 9370 smartphones.

*Exclusive promotional offer available for a limited time only. Regular price of additional testing hours can be found at Perfecto’s website.

New APIs and application functionality are now available for download with the release of v2.1 of the BlackBerry® WebWorks™ SDK for smartphones! For those following the project on GitHub™, this release has also been known as the “Epsilon” release outlined on the BlackBerry WebWorks roadmap.

The goals for this release are focused on bringing new BlackBerry WebWorks functionality and APIs to the BlackBerry® smartphone OS and continue the convergence between the BlackBerry WebWorks SDK on BlackBerry® Tablet OS.

New capabilities available to WebWorks developers for BlackBerry Smartphones are:

• NTLM & BASIC Authentication support (NTLM support requires a BlackBerry Enterprise Server)
• Camera API (take a picture or a video)
• Top Banner Indicator API
• Enhanced Push APIs
• Improved rendering speeds for applications not using loading/transition screens

Read more at the Inside BlackBerry Developer’s Blog »

We’ve held some fantastic “Meet the PlayBook” events across Europe in the last month – be sure to check out our blog post about the first few dates. Now, we’re excited to announce further event dates and locations!

These half-day events have been a great success so far, and our delegates have learned a lot about developing rich applications for the BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet using Adobe® Flex®, Adobe® AIR® and the BlackBerry® WebWorks™ SDK! The hands-on sessions with the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet have been extremely popular, so don’t miss your opportunity to get a look at our new tablet device!

The event comprises two parallel sessions, one business and one technology focused, and technical teams from Research In Motion and Adobe will also be available to answer your questions.

Our next events are as follows. Places are limited, so early registration is recommended!

• 14th June in Milan
• 21st June in Istanbul
• 21st June in Malmo
• 28th July in Cologne – tbc

BlackBerry Tablet OS Development Resources:

BlackBerry – Tablet OS SDK for Adobe AIR Development Resources
BlackBerry WebWorks SDK for Tablet OS

With the recent launch of the BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet, there has been a lot of excitement and activity around developing Web content for the platform as well as using the BlackBerry® WebWorks™ SDK to produce fully-featured standalone BlackBerry® applications.

I wanted to share details about some of the available debugging and profiling tools that you can use to improve the quality of your content by troubleshooting bugs, tuning changes, and optimizing performance.

Read more at the Inside BlackBerry Developer’s Blog »

The BlackBerry® WebWorks™ SDK 2.0 for Tablet OS and Smartphones is here! We are extremely excited to introduce our most significant release yet for the BlackBerry WebWorks platform.

What’s new in this release?

Our development teams have spent a great deal of time re-architecting the BlackBerry WebWorks framework to prepare for bringing the two platforms together. Some of these changes are as follows:

• JavaScript APIs are now separated from the OS. This new architecture is designed to allow developers to easily modify and enhance the existing APIs and package them with their BlackBerry WebWorks application. This will also allow new APIs to be easily added to your application.
• The BlackBerry WebWorks framework and all of the APIs are open sourced and available on GitHub! Developers can now contribute to and participate in the evolution of the BlackBerry WebWorks project.

This release is the first step towards convergence of the BlackBerry WebWorks SDK forTablet OS and the BlackBerry Webworks SDK for Smartphones. As we continue to improve and enhance the SDKs, we will better align the features and APIs so developers can easily develop and deploy applications onto both platforms.

Read more at the Inside BlackBerry Developer’s Blog »

At BlackBerry® DEVCON 2010, Research In Motion® (RIM®) announced the BlackBerry® Messenger (BBM™) Social Platform. Today, the BBM Social Platform officially moves into public beta. BlackBerry platform developers can now start adding social Super App features to their applications, leveraging all the power that the BBM Social Platform has to offer!

With this beta release, developers have the ability to accomplish the following:

Read more at the BlackBerry Developer’s Blog »

Our North American series of BlackBerry® Developer Days continues with new dates announced for New York, NY on March 15th; Sunnyvale, CA on March 22nd; Toronto, ON on March 31st; and Washington, DC on April 5th.

This is your best chance to hear about the latest technical platform advances and market opportunities for your BlackBerry® platform apps. An updated agenda now features more sessions on developing apps for the new BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet.

Join us for the morning sessions to get oriented to the BlackBerry Development Platform, and get up to speed on recent platform advancements and opportunities. The afternoon sessions will open with the opportunity to learn from a fellow developer’s success, and then focus on a few key platform updates including the new BlackBerry® Messenger (BBM™) Social Platform, BlackBerry® WebWorks™ Platform, and Adobe® AIR® development for the new BlackBerry PlayBook tablet.

Check out the full agenda for these events and register now!

New York, NY – March 15, 2011
Sunnyvale, CA – March 22, 2011
Toronto, ON – March 31, 2011
Washington, DC – April 5, 2011