BlackBerry development tools development plans: BBX and BlackBerry Java SDK

At the BlackBerry DevCon Americas conference, the BlackBerry BBX was announced. After this announcement, a large number of positive feedback was received from the developers. There were also questions about support for BlackBerry Java on BBX and on the existing PlayBook platform.



For now, support for the BlackBerry Java developer community for BlackBerry smartphones will continue. After additional research, it was decided not to support BlackBerry Java on BBX. It was concluded that the BlackBerry Java experience on the PlayBook platform was ultimately unsatisfactory for RIM, the developer community, or the users, because platform continues to evolve.



On the BlackBerry PlayBook platform, developers have two tools that help create first-class applications, including for the future BBX platform :

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• Native SDK for BlackBerry PlayBook , which allows you to develop in C and C ++.
• WebWorks SDK for BlackBerry PlayBook, supporting the development of JavaScript, HTML5 and CSS. HTML5 apps will now work on both the PlayBook and BlackBerry smartphones.

The BlackBerry PlayBook (and future BBX devices) also supports two communities of developers:

• Adobe AIR SDK for the BlackBerry PlayBook Tablet, which supports applications built using Adobe AIR, Adobe Flex and Adobe Flash.
• BlackBerry runtime for Android applications that supports apps written for Android 2.3

The existing BlackBerry OS for smartphones has the following features for development:

• BlackBerry Java SDK that supports applications written in J2ME or BlackBerry Java. All smartphones on the market, including BlackBerry 7, are supported.
• BlackBerry WebWorks SDK, which, as mentioned, supports HTML5 applications on both the PlayBook and BlackBerry smartphones. Also in the future support of BBX smartphones and tablets will be provided.

So the next big question that comes to mind is: Is this the end of the BlackBerry Java SDK?



In short, then: Absolutely not.



Now about 70 million smartphones are running the BlackBerry OS, and their number is growing:

• First, BlackBerry OS7 smartphones have just been released, which will significantly increase the market for BlackBerry Java applications.
• More BlackBerry OS7 smartphones will be released, and the client base will not switch overnight to BBX smartphones. Two platforms will coexist for quite a long time.
• BlackBerry users are well aware of the long life cycle of their smartphones. Even after buying a new model, previous models often do not go out of circulation, but are transferred to other users.
• RIM is committed to developing the BlackBerry developer community. BlackBerry Jam is just the beginning. Developers can expect improvements in the promotion of the BlackBerry Java SDK, which facilitates and accelerates the production of profitable applications for smartphones running BlackBerry OS.

For more information on the various development options for the BlackBerry platform, check out the new pages at developer.blackberry.com, as well as the recently launched specialized BlackBerry WebWorks SDK sites, the BlackBerry Runtime for Android Apps and the BlackBerry Native Sdk