The latest Android platform, codenamed “Eclair” (like the delicious pastry), features support for multiple gmail accounts, exchange support, support for Bluetooth 2.1 and improved media playback, just to name a few. Armed with the source code, developers are going to have the tools they need to bring at least some of these new features to other Android smartphones.
Need For Speed played the poster boy role for RIM’s OpenGL ES announcement, but they’re definitely not the only ones who are excited about the new options for developers. Here’s a quick demo of Concrete Software’s PBA Bowling, coming to the BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM) Storm2. Sega also said that they have started work on getting their extremely successful Super Monkey Ball franchise onto the Storm2. The OpenGL support is limited to certain hardware constraints, so right now only the Storm2 and Curve 8530 (oddly enough) will support the enhanced graphical capabilities. It’s worth noting that though 3D is the big thing, OpenGL can also do some good work on the 2D front. Check out the earlier announcement from the BlackBerry Developer Conference for more info.
There’s no denying that the overall BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM) UI feels a bit old, but today at the BlackBerry Developer Conference, RIM took some big steps to freshen up. A new Theme Studio and will allow developers to really go to town, including options for screen transitions, animations, and all of the usual tools needed to put a theme together. The Studio includes a Theme Builder for the usual font, icon placement, dialog box colouring, etc., and a Composer to create animated graphics. Awhile back in OS 4.5, themes saw a pretty beefy upgrade, and this new tool will equally open up some doors. A bunch of Adobe tools plug right in as well, making it easy to import assets and even preview themes on a device proper attached via USB.
On top of the new theme tool, a new plug-in for Eclipse should make app developers lives easier by opening up a lot of user interface options. All you have to do is drag and drop elements you want (like a carousel, or picture viewer), and you’ll see them all on various BlackBerry devices, in full WYSIWYG glory.
For a closer look at the Theme Studio, you can get downloading over here, and the new GUI plug-in will be available mid-2010.
AT&T (NYSE: T) Developer Summit has been announced recently. The event will be held at the Palms resort in Las Vegas on January 6 in conjunction with the 2010 CES, targeting developers who want to reach AT&T’s 81.6 million customers.
Among the AT&T people who will attend the conference are CEO – Ralph De la Vega, CTO – John Donovan, CMO – David Christopher, and senior VP of Devices at AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets – Jeff Bradley.
AT&T will also use the event to announce the members of a new third-party Developer Advisory Council, which will provide a forum for key wireless industry influencers and developers to give feedback to AT&T executives on major initiatives in the near and long term.
The 2010 AT&T Developer Summit is free to attend and additional details are available from a dedicated website.
Gaming on BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM) has never been what you would call breathtaking – a few low-key casual games here and there and the preloaded Brickbreaker could handle the lion’s share of twitchy boredom. Well, the platform is taking a big jump as OpenGL ES support has gone official and is currently available in the beta BlackBerry JDE we had mentioned earlier.
The in-app purchacing sounded vaguely iPhone OS 3.0, and OpenGL even moreso, but between these multimedia improvements and BlackBerry’s existing expertise in productivity, the whole platform is feeling a lot more balanced. Shown here is Need for Speed, which we’ll have some hands-on footage of shortly, complete with gesture controls for brake and boosting, and accelerometer use for steering. There’s going to be at least one other big name game showing off what OpenGL on BlackBerry can do, and we’ll be sure to check it out.
More goodies from the BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM) Developer Conference today: fresh location-detection options using cell site recognition, and push services for those who want to leverage RIM’s biggest advantage in mobile computing. First up, cell site recognition is a big one for location-based apps who want to keep battery drain down (GPS takes a significant toll). Anyone with 5.0 will automatically update the database of cell towers and their locations; a very cool use of crowdsourcing. There’s also new reverse geocoding that will tag specific coordinates with a proper street address – a nice addition that we’re already seeing in action in Google (NSDQ: GOOG) Maps for Mobile. On top of those two, RIM has introduced an API for estimated travel time within the U.S. and Canada; the time is generated based on aggregated traffic conditions and speed limits cross-referenced with distance.
Good stuff all around, but push services are probably bigger news for most developers. Push Services will enable apps to pull down up to 8 KB of data with all of the righteous immediacy that makes BlackBerry e-mail oh-so-very awesome. It’ll be interesting to see how this service will fare once it’s out in the wild and what developers use it for (push Twitter, anyone?); Web Signals have been testing the waters for a little bit with Alliance Members, but we’ll have to wait to see how much apps can really do with 8 KB. An added bonus, for devs who thought they might have to pay for it, is that Push Services will be available for free.
Both the new geolocation and push services are available specifically in devices with OS 5.0 and up, and will be available in the first half of 2010. You can try out some of these new options in the beta 5 Java Development Environment that was just released today. For more information on the upcoming push service, check out RIM’s page.
One of the many announcements made at the BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM) Developer Conference is a new ad partner program that allows app creators to monetize their apps right away. The BlackBery Advertising Service will plug in ads from Jumptap, Lat49, Millennial Media, Navteq, 1020 Placecast, Quattro Wireless and Sympatico.ca – an impressive initial list, but I’m wondering where Google Mobile ads stand, and if their own program stands on its own just fine for BlackBerry devs. Ads offered through this program can do all sorts of stuff, like click-to-call, launching the address book or browser, or find a program in App World.
A related update on the transaction front are in-app purchases. That means you can buy new levels for a game you’re really digging, or buy songs from on-device music stores (7digital comes to mind), and similar kinds of microtransactions. Yeah, it sounds suspiciously familiar to the iPhone 3.0 announcement, but it offers BlackBerry developers some added flexibility in how they make their money.
The new ad service and in-app purchacing goes live in 2010, complete with SDKs. Keep an eye on the newly redesigned Developer Zone for more info.
The cat-and-mouse game between Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) and would-be iPhone hackers is about to get a little more interesting. Following the recent release of “blacksn0w,” an iPhone unlocking tool capable of unlocking new iPhone 3GS’s running the latest iPhone OS, Apple has posted a new job listing for an “iPhone OS Platform Security Manager.” Apple is apparently looking for someone to head the development team tasked with securing iPhone boot-up and operating system installation as well as other aspects of iPhone platform security.
We’re not sure if Apple is looking for someone new to fill the position, or if Apple wants to replace the current iPhone OS Platform Security Manager. In either case, it’s pretty clear that the iPhone maker wants to make sure that hackers like George “geohot” Hotz and the iPhone Dev Team aren’t able to keep cracking the iPhone.
The back-and-forth between hackers and Apple is an ongoing saga juicier than your daily soap operas. The iPhone and iPhone 3G were initially jailbroken (the process of opening the file-system to allow unauthorized application installs) and unlocked to work with any GSM network, courtesy of the iPhone Dev Team. Apple then updated the iPhone OS to close the jailbreak exploit known as “24kpwn,” eventually updating the baseband firmware (the code that controls how the iPhone connects to wireless networks like AT&T (NYSE: T) and T-Mobile (NYSE: DT)) from version 04.26 to 05.11 to prevent unlocking. iPhone hacker geohot countered with his “blackra1n” jailbreak utility, following that up with the release of “blacksn0w” to unlock the latest iPhone 3GS baseband (05.11) to work with GSM networks around the world.
That pretty much brings us up to speed (in a nutshell, from a very small nut). The iPhone platform is, at this point, jailbroken and unlocked. Now it’s Apple’s turn.
It’s conceivable that Apple’s incoming iPhone security manager will put an end to baseband 05.11 unlocks, but it’s hard to see Apple ever locking down the iPhone completely. Still, if you’re interested in jailbreaking and unlocking your iPhone, you’re best bet is to jump on board soon.
Google (NSDQ: GOOG) has recently updated its Analytics product to help developers see how people are using specific parts of their iPhone and Android applications.
As with websites, you can track pageviews and events. Since there are no HTML pages involved in mobile apps, developers should determine when their apps should trigger pageview requests. Google Analytics then aggregates this data in the “Content” reports to display the number of visits, session length and bounce rates.
In addition, developers can track visitor actions such as watching videos, button clicks, downloads, etc. – all which don’t correspond directly to pageviews using “Event Tracking.” As a result, individuals and companies behind mobile apps can know which features are most popular and eventually fine tune their products. But first, you’ll need to grab the SDK and implement the necessary code in order for Google Analytics to start doing its magic.
Finally, in case you’re wondering whether someone has tried this already, here as a video featuring Redfin’s Sasha Aickin who explains how they implemented Google Analytics in their iPhone app. That’s actually after the jump. Enjoy!
Online universe of fan communities for games PlayHaven is “going iPhone” by opening up its platform to the iPhone developers. As a result, interested individuals and companies which make iPhone games can instantly establish a community presence online and in-game for free. This translates into generating some buzz for the games, as users will get the option to share, gather and interact with other members of the community.
The process seems easy (though I haven’t tried it myself) and it should apparently take only a minute or so to claim your community and integrate various social features into an iPhone app.
Around 20 games have already integrated PlayHaven’s capabilities — including Minigore, Geared, I Dig It, The Quest, Mouse House 2, SnowFerno, iSamurai, BobbleSurfer, ZombieSmash!, Transylvania, Genius Defense Force, Gang Street Wars, Hopple, Tipoli, Influence, Above and Cell War, to name just a few.
Sounds cool and I’m hoping PlayHaven will also allow other platform developers to use the same features. Someone said Android? Symbian?
Following on HTC’s release of the HTC Hero kernel to developers, Google (NSDQ: GOOG) has gone all open-source with their latest Android 2.0 operating system. Android 2.0 OS went live not too long ago with the launch of Verizon’s Motorola Droid, but we have yet to see another Android smartphone launched with Android 2.0 in tow. Today’s release of the source code could bring Android 2.0 features to older Android phone in due time.
There’s no denying that the overall BlackBerry (
More goodies from the BlackBerry (
The cat-and-mouse game between Apple (
