Today at BlackBerry DEVCON Asia, Research In Motion launched the beta version of the BlackBerry WebWorks™ SDK for Tablet OS as well as new services and developer tools for BlackBerry devices. New features include access to core functionality in the BlackBerry PlayBook, as well as extensibility and robust security.
Announced in September, the BlackBerry PlayBook is RIM’s attempt to compete with Apple’s iPad. The PlayBook provides true multitasking, while also providing advanced security features, out-of-the-box enterprise support and a powerful development platform for IT departments and developers.
Based on robust web standards and collaboration with the open source community, the BlackBerry WebWorks platform will allow web and mobile developers to use the SDK in combination with their web development tools of choice to create integrated applications for the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet that also support BlackBerry smartphones running the BlackBerry 6 operating system.
The BlackBerry WebWorks SDK for Tablet OS provides many benefits to developers including:
• RIM’s WebKit web rendering engine (which is at the core of WebWorks) supporting the latest web technology standards including HTML5, CSS and JavaScript
• Deep access to device capabilities and components such as native dialogs, application invocation and system information
• A command-line tool that allows developers to use their favorite web development environment to develop WebWorks applications
• The capability to automatically transform a W3C widget archive file containing web assets into a BlackBerry WebWorks application package Web developers can download the BlackBerry
The SDK is available for Download here.
New Services and Tools for BlackBerry Smartphones
RIM is also launching the BlackBerry Payment Service SDK in Beta, as well as an update of the BlackBerry Push Service SDK (v 1.0.1) and a new release of the BlackBerry Java Plug-in for Eclipse (version 1.3). Integrated into an application as a library, the BlackBerry Payment Service offers new ways to monetize applications by allowing developers to incorporate options such as subscriptions, feature unlocking and pay per use. For more details on the BlackBerry Payment Service SDK is available here.
The latest update to the BlackBerry Push Service SDK improves the management of Push operations for Content Providers through a new Subscription Check API, offers simpler Statistics Gathering and Query Capabilities as well as Installer enhancements. The new Subscription Check API provides the ability to check the registration status of a smartphone with the specific application via a server-side framework, ensuring Push only occurs to currently subscribed users of the application. More details here.
The BlackBerry Java Plug-in for Eclipse version 1.3 includes many enhancements and new features that help making Java development more productive on the BlackBerry platform. For more information on the latest version check out www.blackberry.com/developers/java for Windows and www.blackberry.com/developers/javamac for Mac.
“RIM continues to invest in a global and diverse developer community and we are offering them a broad range of tools in support of the BlackBerry Application Platform,” said David Yach, CTO for Software at Research In Motion. “With BlackBerry WebWorks, developers will be able to use standard web technologies to build powerful, integrated applications quickly and easily for both BlackBerry smartphones and the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, and the GitHub open source project around BlackBerry WebWorks means more support for developers, enabling them to fully participate in defining the future of this platform and tooling. We are also excited to launch the new Payment service for BlackBerry smartphones, along with enhancements to the Push Service and an update of the Java Plug-in for Eclipse.”
Developer Resource – Mitigation of Security Vulnerabilities on Android & Other Open Handset Platforms
