PocketBerry » General News

RIM’s guide to a last minute Valentine’s Day!

Kal Chebli — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 13:30:00 +0000

I found this one a bit comical, but it could actually work out for you! RIM let us know about a last minute Valentine’s Day strategy that of course includes your BlackBerry smartphone. The strategy pretty much consists of applications and BBM messaging. Here it is:

Step 1: There’s nothing she’ll find more romantic than a surprise retreat to a romantic location. Book a quick getaway with the BlackBerry Travel app. Book transportation, lodging, etc., all while you’re pretending to be sending out a very important email during staff meeting.
Step 2: To locate a hot dinner spot at your destination, use the OpenTable app. OpenTable will show you real-time table availability at nearby restaurants. Refine your search by cuisine, price, or reservation time, and then make your reservation from your BlackBerry. If you’re feeling more adventurous , check out the101 Best Date Ideas

Step 3: Next up? The perfect gift. To narrow your options, use the Giftopia BlackBerry app where you can track her sizes, favorite colors and brands. For a little something extra, use the 1-800-Flowers app to browse floral arrangements and find the perfect bouquet. They’ll be waiting for her when you arrive.
Step 4: Your Valentine’s Day is booked with time to spare, but if you want to ensure the romancecontinues, check out the 101 Romantic Ideas app for tips and tricks to keep the fire going throughout the whole trip (and beyond)!
Step 5: Remember to BBM her first thing in the morning on February 14 to wish her a Happy Valentine’s Day, tell her to pack her overnight bag, and meet you for a Valentine’s Day surprise. Last step? Pat yourself on the back for a job well done

Image Source

Thorsten Heins opens up BlackBerry DevCon Europe conference in Amsterdam

The PocketBerry Team — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 11:59:15 +0000

We were wondering if Research In Motion’s new CEO Thorsten Heins would be making an appearance at BlackBerry DevCon Europe. It seemed appropriate since he just came into his CEO role and many are still curious how well his involvement will be now. It appears Heins gave the opening speech for BlackBerry DevCon Europe today, which has about 2,000 attendees in Amsterdam. Here’s the full press release:

7^th February 2012 – Thorsten Heins, President & CEO, Research In Motion (RIM), today opened the BlackBerry® DevCon Europe conference in Amsterdam. Admission to DevCon Europe 2012 is sold out with more than 2,000 attendees expected from across Europe, the Middle East, Africa (EMEA) and beyond.

Delegates at the two-day event will learn how to leverage the strength of the BlackBerry® platform in order to build high-quality apps for more than 75 million BlackBerry users worldwide. Attendees will also receive a free BlackBerry® PlayBook™ to help with tablet application development.

The conference will focus on showcasing the opportunities that the BlackBerry platform presents to developers and how they can most effectively drive revenue streams from their apps. RIM’s developer relations team will be on hand to demonstrate the simplified process for building apps for the BlackBerry platform and offer guidance on working with a number of innovative technologies, including:

HTML 5: building HTML5 apps for BlackBerry smartphones and BlackBerry PlayBook tablets with native-like capabilities using BlackBerry® WebWorks™, including integration with core smartphone apps and features such as email, messaging, calendar, contacts, menus and multimedia
C/C++: native software development for BlackBerry PlayBook tablets, which brings together the power of the BlackBerry PlayBook with a rich C/C++ toolset for building high performance apps that are visually stunning
BlackBerry® Runtime for Android apps: porting Android apps to the BlackBerry PlayBook

Amongst the attendees is a group of more than 400 students from universities in Poland and the UK, the majority of which are affiliated with the BlackBerry® Academic Program. With over 300 academic institutions registered from 21 countries across the region, the BlackBerry Academic Program actively engages with students by encouraging participation at local events such as DevCon to facilitate application development in the classroom.

Alec Saunders, VP, Developer Relations & Ecosystem, RIM said: “The record-breaking attendance for DevCon Europe is testament to the interest in BlackBerry app development across this important region. DevCon Europe 2012 provides delegates with the opportunity to explore the full potential of the BlackBerry platform and to engage directly with our developer relations team. With cutting-edge developer tools, streamlined processes and a high level of dedicated support, we’re making it easier than ever for developers to enjoy a strong experience developing for the BlackBerry platform and to effectively monetise their offerings.”

Finding success on BlackBerry

At DevCon Europe, sessions will showcase how developers are already benefiting from BlackBerry® App World™ Two billion apps have been downloaded to date and the momentum continues with 6 million downloads per day. In addition to serving an installed base of more than 75 million devices, the BlackBerry platform is also recognised as one of the most profitable for developers:

BlackBerry users download more paid apps on average than Android users do (Yankee Group)
BlackBerry apps generate 40% more revenue than Android apps (Vision Mobile)
13% of BlackBerry developers made $100,000+ from BlackBerry App World apps, considerably more than Android or Apple developers (Evans Data Corp)

The path to BlackBerry 10

Attendees at DevCon Europe will also learn more about the BlackBerry® 10 developer roadmap and how this new operating system will open up even more opportunities for app developers. BlackBerry 10 combines the best of BlackBerry OS and QNX®, offering developers a single, converged platform, built from the ground up to deliver the most powerful, secure and social mobile computing experience yet. The platform is comprised of a next-generation mobile OS and services, as well as native and HTML5 application development environments.

HTML5 will be the bridge that allows developers to tap into the millions of BlackBerry devices on the market today, plus the next generation of BlackBerry handsets. Developers are able to use it for development now and indeed, already one-quarter of all apps on BlackBerry App World today have been built using HTML5 and the enhancements and native-like integration offered by BlackBerry WebWorks, RIM’s web development toolset.

If you are interested in learning more about BlackBerry DevCon Europe 2012 or to keep up to date on all the latest from the show, visit www.blackberry.com/devconeurope.

Source: N4BB

BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 ads show up in UK Stores

Kal Chebli — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 18:19:38 +0000

We’ve already been publicly informed by RIM that BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 will be officially launching this month. It’s nice to see they aren’t quietly launching this update as stores in the United Kingdom have begun receiving advertisement banners for it. Above is one of the ads spotted by the folks over at N4BB. PlayBook OS 2.0 is bringing along a lot of goodies including native email and ported over Android applications. It’s just a matter of time until we get the official date of its release this month.

Some BlackBerry Bold 9900 users getting keys knocked off from OEM Holster

Kal Chebli — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 15:30:00 +0000

That definitely comes as a surprise. It looks like some BlackBerry Bold 9900 users are getting keys knocked off due to the OEM BlackBerry holster. The case for the Bold 9900 is slim indeed, but we’ve seen those low profile holsters for a few years now. I guess it depends how you put it in and out (that’s what she said).

The weirdest part of this is it has only been reported for users who purchased their Bolds before November 3rd.

The notice reads: “RIM has identified a design issue with the holsters supplied withBlackBerry Bold 9900 devices manufactured before November 3, 2011. Due to a folded edge, inside the lip of the holster, keys on the keyboard can be caught and knocked off when inserting the device into the holster at an angle with excessive force.”

Any Bold 9900 owners experiencing any issues?

Source: MobileSyrup

BBM Social Platform SDK v1.3 for BlackBerry Java Now Available

Kal Chebli — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 14:30:00 +0000

It looks like the next update for the BBM Social Platform SDK is out! This one’s version 1.3 and includes some new features. Some highlighted features include:

Users can manage their settings in order to “Allow [app name] to connect you with other app users”. With this feature, the user has the ability to prevent dialog boxes from prompting when making/requesting to join public connections.
The character limit for setting personal messages within the user profile has now been increased to 160.
Users can easily enable the Profile Box by clicking the checkmark “Post recent activities to BBM Profile” when the app initially connects to BBM.

You can read more on the new SDK at the BlackBerry Developers Blog or click here to download it.

No related posts.

Ringtones Section Goes Live in BlackBerry App World

Kal Chebli — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 17:30:00 +0000

Along with Themes section going live for BlackBerry 7 smartphone users, it looks like RIM has added a Ringtones section as well for everyone. Yes you guessed it, it will be packed with ringtones you can purchase and download. Does anyone buy ringtones anymore?

Ringtones in BlackBerry App World >>

BlackBerry 7 Smartphones Certified for U.S. and Canadian Governments

The PocketBerry Team — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:26:10 +0000

BlackBerry 7 and 7.1 OS Achieve FIPS 140-2 Certification

Waterloo, ON – Research In Motion (RIM) (NASDAQ: RIMM; TSX: RIM) today announced that BlackBerry® smartphones running on the powerful new BlackBerry® 7 and BlackBerry® 7.1 Operating Systems (OS) have been awarded FIPS 140-2 certification by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Communications Security Establishment Canada (CSEC). FIPS (Federal Information Processing Standard) 140-2 is recognized by the U.S. and Canadian governments and is required under the Federal Information Security Management Act of 2002 (FISMA).

All BlackBerry smartphones running BlackBerry 7 and BlackBerry 7.1 benefit from this certification, including the BlackBerry® Bold™ 9900, 9930 and 9790, BlackBerry® Torch™ 9850, 9860 and 9810, and BlackBerry® Curve™ 9350, 9360, 9370 and 9380.

“The FIPS 140-2 certification for BlackBerry 7.0 and 7.1 illustrates RIM’s continuing commitment to providing industry-leading, secure, mobile computing platforms for our customers,” said Scott Totzke, Senior Vice President, BlackBerry Security at Research In Motion. “With all of the latest BlackBerry smartphones and the PlayBook tablet certified under the FIPS program, government and security-conscious customers can deploy our entire range of products with confidence.”

In addition to FIPS 140-2 certification, the BlackBerry 7 OS has received Common Criteria EAL4+ certification (see announcement – November 14, 2011). The BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet has also received FIPS 140-2 validation (see announcement – July 21, 2011).

For more information, visit http://us.blackberry.com/ataglance/security.

Android Devs: Submit your apps by February 6 for PlayBook 2.0 launch

Kal Chebli — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 14:03:11 +0000

If you’re an Android developer looking to port your applications over to the BlackBerry PlayBook and would like to have it available when OS 2.0 launches, then have your apps submitted by February 6th.

RIM has already promised OS 2.0 in February (no specific day announced yet) so this is obviously shortly before the OS takes off. Below is a few pointers from RIM when submitting your Android apps.

In order to ensure that your packaged and signed Android app is available in the BlackBerry App World™ storefront for the release of BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0, be sure to have your app submitted by Monday, February 6th, 2012.

To help with the process of submitting your application for approval and entry into BlackBerry App World, we strongly recommend the following:

Before submitting your Android application to BlackBerry App World, please make sure to remove all mention of the word “Android” from your application. Both in the application description and the application itself.
Please remove all links to Android Market from within your application.
When submitting your Android application to BlackBerry App World, please make sure to select a minimum BlackBerry PlayBook OS of 2.0.
Please make sure your application is signed. For more information on code signing, please view the code signing documentation on the BlackBerry Runtime for Android Apps webpage (linked here).

Pure White BlackBerry Bold 9900 Smartphone Launches in Hong Kong

The PocketBerry Team — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 15:12:00 +0000

Hong Kong – Research In Motion (RIM) (NASDAQ: RIMM; TSX: RIM) today announced the launch of the BlackBerry® Bold™ 9900 smartphone in Pure White for customers in Hong Kong. The stunning new smartphone can be pre-ordered today at http://hk.blackberry.com/w9900preorder with expected availability in mid-February. The first 500 customers who pre-order the new handset will receive the Jabra EASYGO White Bluetooth Headset* with their purchase.

The BlackBerry Bold 9900 is the thinnest BlackBerry® smartphone yet at only 10.5mm, and the first to offer the perfect union of a high performance keyboard and touch display integrated within the iconic BlackBerry Bold design. The new BlackBerry Bold 9900 is also the first BlackBerry smartphone to include built-in support for NFC (Near Field Communications), a new technology that is enabling many new and exciting capabilities, including the ability to make mobile payments, pair with NFC-enabled accessories or read SmartPoster tags with a simple tap of the smartphone.

Distinguished by its high performance, beautiful design, amazingly effective keyboard and brilliant touch display, the Pure White BlackBerry Bold 9900 is crafted with premium materials including a brushed stainless steel frame that puts the finishing touch on a truly outstanding smartphone.

The new BlackBerry® 7 operating system introduces a next generation BlackBerry browser with a significantly faster, more fluid web browsing experience that is among the best in the industry. Combining the dramatically improved performance of the advanced WebKit browser engine together with powerful hardware enhancements, the BlackBerry Bold 9900 smartphone delivers browsing results that are up to 40% faster than BlackBerry® 6 based smartphones and up to 100% faster than BlackBerry® 5 based smartphones**. Additional enhancements to the browser include optimized zooming and panning for smoother web navigation and optimized HTML5 performance for incredible gaming and video experiences.

For more information, please visit http://hk.blackberry.com.

No related posts.

BlackBerry DevCon Europe is SOLD OUT!

Kal Chebli — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 17:33:00 +0000

That is exactly what’s written on the BlackBerry DevCon Europe website right where you’d usually click to register. The words exactly read: “Due to an overwhelming response, BlackBerry DevCon Europe is SOLD OUT!”

It is known already that BlackBerry is way more popular in Europe and Asia than it is here in the United States as of now. BBM and the over all ease of communication remains to be the biggest keys. Any way, it’s good to see the maximum amount of developers and other supporters of BlackBerry DevCon attending this time around.

Read more on BlackBerry DevCon >>

PocketBerry » General News

RIM’s guide to a last minute Valentine’s Day!

Related posts:

Thorsten Heins opens up BlackBerry DevCon Europe conference in Amsterdam

Related posts:

BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 ads show up in UK Stores

Related posts:

Some BlackBerry Bold 9900 users getting keys knocked off from OEM Holster

Related posts:

BBM Social Platform SDK v1.3 for BlackBerry Java Now Available

Ringtones Section Goes Live in BlackBerry App World

Related posts:

BlackBerry 7 Smartphones Certified for U.S. and Canadian Governments

Related posts:

Android Devs: Submit your apps by February 6 for PlayBook 2.0 launch

Related posts:

Pure White BlackBerry Bold 9900 Smartphone Launches in Hong Kong

BlackBerry DevCon Europe is SOLD OUT!

Related posts: