BALI--Research In Motion (RIM) is looking to harness the best of today's Web technologies including HTML5 and JavaScript, to bridge the gap between development efforts for its BlackBerry smartphones and the soon-to-be-released PlayBook tablet.
Tyler Lessard, vice president of global alliances and developer relations at RIM, said the Canadian smartphone manufacturer is intent on bringing the "Web to mobile" by incorporating existing Web technologies into its WebWorks software development kit (SDK).
Released Thursday, the early access version of the SDK will give Web and mobile developers skilled in HTML5, JavaScript and CSS, the tools to create apps for RIM's upcoming PlayBook tablet device, said Lessard, during his keynote presentation here at RIM's first Asia-based developer conference.
Bridging the platforms
According to Lessard, WebWorks allows existing BlackBerry OS developers to port their apps over to the BlackBerry Tablet OS once the device hits the North American market in the first quarter of 2011.
According to Lessard, WebWorks allows existing BlackBerry OS developers to port their apps over to the BlackBerry Tablet OS once the device hits the North American market in the first quarter of 2011.
HTML5, specifically its WebKit technology, bridges both the BlackBerry and BlackBerry Tablet platforms, he added.
RIM also released WebWorks as an open source technology so that the wider developer community can add functionalities that are currently missing in the toolkit, he said.
Asked if its PlayBook device is generating developer buzz, Greg Wade, RIM's Southeast Asia managing director , pointed to the extension of an ongoing tablet development program as proof of the increasing interest in the platform.
RIM introduced the Playbook tablet on Sep. 28 last year, pitching it as a product built for the enterprise user base. In fact, RIM co-CEO Mike Lazaridis described it as an "amplified view of what's already on [customers'] BlackBerrys".
The 7-inch, dual-core tablet is touted to offer "full multitasking" and hardware-accelerated apps that tap its fast computing capabilities, said Lessard during his keynote.
Carrier billing impetus
Besides creating a viable development roadmap for app developers, RIM is also intent on building out its carrier billing capability, Lessard revealed. Since the launch of its BlackBerry OS 5 in 2009, the company has been partnering U.S. telco, AT&T, to provide carrier billing for subscribers that download its apps, he said, noting that this option is in addition to PayPal and credit card payment methods.
Besides creating a viable development roadmap for app developers, RIM is also intent on building out its carrier billing capability, Lessard revealed. Since the launch of its BlackBerry OS 5 in 2009, the company has been partnering U.S. telco, AT&T, to provide carrier billing for subscribers that download its apps, he said, noting that this option is in addition to PayPal and credit card payment methods.
He stressed that carrier billing is a "hugely important, even critical" area for RIM to roll out. Pointing to emerging markets in Southeast Asia and other regions, where credit card payment"doesn't make sense", he noted that these are areas that carrier billing takes on added importance.
via zdnetasia
via zdnetasia
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