Now that the BlackBerry PlayBook is out and in the wild, RIM has updated their software development kits so app-makers have some polished tools to work with. With WebWorks 2.0, RIM has separated JavaScript APIs from the OS, which should make it easy to add new and alter existing APIs through their open source project on GitHub. The Adobe AIR BlackBerry tablet SDK has exited beta, and now includes plugins within Flash Builder, a full simulator, and a getting started guide for the noobs out there.
WebWorks is RIM’s way of appealing to web developers who want to app-ify their content for BlackBerry while still using familiar languages like CSS, JavaScript, and HTML5. The nice thing about WebWorks is that it’s available for BlackBerry smartphones too, so it can be a common environment for developers making products for both. As you might guess, Adobe AIR is the ideal SDK for folks wanting to transfer Flash content onto the BlackBerry PlayBook. It plugs in to Adobe’s various other tools, like Flash Builder, Creative Suite, or Illustrator, if they’re being used in the development cycle.
Though WebWorks and Adobe AIR were both available for awhile prior to launch, they only provided device simulators for testing, which is rarely a good enough substitute for a real device. Hopefully all of the kinks have been worked out, and the native C++ SDK and Android/Java wrappers will be available soon to juice up the PlayBook’s App World. As is, I haven’t been terribly impressed with what’s available
You can download the Adobe AIR SDK here, and WebWorks here.