RIM Unveils BlackBerry BBX

At BlackBerry DevCon Americas 2011, Research In Motion (RIM) (NASDAQ: RIMM; TSX: RIM) today unveiled BlackBerry BBX, its next generation mobile platform that takes the best of the BlackBerry® platform and the best of the QNX® platform to connect people, devices, content and services.

In addition, RIM announced a series of developer tool updates, including WebWorks for BlackBerry smartphones and tablets, the Native SDK for the BlackBerry PlayBook and a developer beta of BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 with support for running Android applications. RIM also provided direction for developers on how to best develop and monetize their BlackBerry applications for today and for the future.

"With nearly 5 million BlackBerry apps downloaded daily, our customers have made BlackBerry one of the most profitable platforms for developers," said Mike Lazaridis, President and Co-CEO at RIM. "At DevCon today, we're giving developers the tools they need to build richer applications and we’re providing direction on how to best develop their smartphone and tablet apps as the BlackBerry and QNX platforms converge into our next generation BBX platform."

BlackBerry BBX

BBX is the next generation platform for BlackBerry smartphones and tablets. It combines the best of BlackBerry and the best of QNX and is designed from the ground up to enable the powerful real-time mobile experiences that distinguish BlackBerry products and services.

The BBX platform will include BBX-OS, and will support BlackBerry cloud services and development environments for both HTML5 and native developers. BBX will also support applications developed using any of the tools available today for the BlackBerry PlayBook – including Native SDK, Adobe AIR/Flash and WebWorks/HTML5, as well as the BlackBerry Runtime for Android Apps – on future BBX-based tablets and smartphones.

BBX will also include the new BlackBerry Cascades UI Framework for advanced graphics (shown for the first time today), and bring “Super App" capabilities to enable many advanced capabilities including deep integration between apps, always-on Push services, the BBM™ Social Platform, and much more.

BlackBerry WebWorks

Developers who want to support both existing smartphones (running BlackBerry 6 and BlackBerry 7 OS) and BlackBerry PlayBook tablets can monetize apps on both platforms today with BlackBerry WebWorks, which supports apps built on HTML5, CSS and JavaScript. The latest release, BlackBerry WebWorks SDK 2.2 (supporting both smartphones and tablets), is now available and includes updates for the new PlayBook OS SDK, PlayBook Simulator and more.

The BlackBerry WebWorks APIs are supported by the Ripple Emulator, a standalone, high-fidelity browser-like emulation tool that allows developers to test and debug their applications on multiple platforms and devices without having to compile or launch simulators. Starting today the Ripple Emulator is available in beta and can also be downloaded from RIM’s WebWorks Developer site at:http://developer.blackberry.com/html5

Native SDK - Content Rich, Fast and Smooth Running Applications

RIM also announced today the immediate availability of the Native SDK for the BlackBerry PlayBook (1.0 gold release). The Native SDK allows developers to build high-performance, multi-threaded, native C/C++ applications and enables developers to create advanced 2D and 3D games and other apps with access to OpenGL ES 2.0 and Open AL, as well as device specific APIs. Applications developed with the Native SDK will run today on the BlackBerry PlayBook and will be forwardly compatible on BBX-based tablets and smartphones.

The Native SDK includes support for C/C++ POSIX library and compliance, device events like gesture swipes and touch screen inputs, access to code management systems using industry standard Eclipse CDT (C/C++ Development Tools) and advanced debug and analysis tools. QNX Momentics Tool Suite, an Eclipse-based integrated development environment, is included. It provides memory profiling, application debugging, and memory usage statistics to help developers debug sophisticated programs, including hardware accelerated OpenGL applications.

The Native SDK makes the development and porting of game applications to the BlackBerry PlayBook an extremely attractive proposition for developers. Well known game publishers, developers and major game engine companies have already started to bring their game titles and applications to the platform.

Scoreloop, the largest and fastest growing cross-platform social gaming ecosystem on mobile, is now available in beta for the Native SDK through BlackBerry® Beta Zone. The Scoreloop SDK provides everything a developer needs to easily integrate social capabilities into their native PlayBook applications and includes support for Leaderboards, Game Challenges, Awards & Achievements, and Player Profiles. Scoreloop’s fully customizable and cross-platform technology empowers developers to add as many or as few features as they want, from a simple leader-board to more extensive player achievements. It makes mobile games more social and profitable.

BlackBerry Cascades - Create Visually Stunning Interfaces

RIM today showcased BlackBerry Cascades, a rich user interface framework coming to a future release of the Native SDK. Cascades unleashes a new breed of design centric mobile applications and provides developers with an exceptional feature set for creating visually stunning interfaces with custom layouts, animations, effects and 3D graphics. These features, combined with a strong set of built-in core user interface components, will make it easy to build beautiful native applications with innovative user interfaces for the current BlackBerryPlayBook and future BBX-based tablets and smartphones. Cascades is scheduled to be made available in beta later this fall.

Adobe AIR 3.0 Support

Adobe Flash enables developers to produce visually stunning, highly functional applications for the BlackBerry PlayBook that can integrate with the underlying OS and will be supported on future BBX-based tablets and smartphones.

The BlackBerry PlayBook now supports the recently announced Adobe AIR 3.0 runtime. Among the supported features are Encrypted Local Store that gives developers the ability to use the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) to encrypt and securely store sensitive information on the device, as well as store passwords, keys or credit card information safely within the app; StageText that allows developers to take advantage of native text controls and the native interaction behaviors of those controls; Multitouch and Gestures built into applications to provide great usability; and more.

PlayBook OS 2.0 – Developer Beta

RIM introduced today the Developer Beta version of the BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0. The Developer Beta includes the BlackBerry Runtime for Android Apps and the BlackBerry Plug-In for Android Development Tools (ADT), allowing developers to quickly and easily bring Android applications to BlackBerry PlayBook tablets.

The BlackBerry Plug-In for ADT (an Eclipse plug-in) extends a developer's existing Eclipse Android development environment to support the PlayBook, and includes the BlackBerry PlayBook Simulator for developers to test and debug their apps before submitting them toBlackBerry App World™. Developers can also test and debug their apps on a PlayBook running the BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 - Developer Beta.

Android developers can also repackage Android apps for the BlackBerry PlayBook online by using the BlackBerry Packager for Android Apps. The web tool guides developers through a step-by-step process, allowing them to test their apps for compatibility with the PlayBook, and repackage and sign their apps for submission to BlackBerry App World, all without downloading any tools.

BlackBerry Runtime for Android Apps and the associated tools allow Android developers to easily expand their market to includeBlackBerry PlayBook users, and hence increase their apps’ market potential.

The BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 - Developer Beta also supports Adobe Air 3.0 and Adobe Flash 11, as well as WebGL, a new web technology that brings hardware-accelerated 3D graphics to the browser without installing additional software. Developers will be able to generate rich, interactive 3D graphics within their BlackBerry WebWorks application.

For more information about the BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 - Developer Beta and BlackBerry Runtime for Android Apps and associated tools, visit For more information about the BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 - Developer Beta and BlackBerry Runtime for

Android Apps and associated tools, visit: https://bdsc.webapps.blackberry.com/android/bpaa/

Increased Developer Productivity with Open Source Libraries on the BlackBerry

PlayBook OS

RIM also announced the BlackBerry Open Source Initiative to port popular Open Source libraries to the BlackBerry PlayBook platform. Libraries already available include physics engines like Bullet Physics and Box2DX, scripting languages like Lua, multimedia libraries like OpenAL and SDL, gaming frameworks like Cocos2DX and general-purpose libraries like Boost and Qt. Also available under an Open Source license are a range of code samples that developers can use to get started quickly, as well as GamePlay, a new 3D native gaming framework.

RIM will continue to expand its involvement in the Open Source community to help increase developer productivity on the BlackBerryplatforms. For more details on RIM’s Open Source activities, visit http://blackberry.github.com.

New Hadoop-Based Big Data Analytics Solution: Jaspersoft Announces

Jaspersoft, maker of the world's most widely used business intelligence (BI) software, today announced it is joining with IBM (NYSE:IBM) in the Big Data space. Jaspersoft will work with IBM to deliver a solution that combines IBM's enterprise-class, Hadoop-based product, InfoSphere BigInsights, with Jaspersoft's full BI suite to provide a complete reporting and management solution to meet customers' significant-volume data needs.

With the increasing amount of data in companies today, there is an opportunity to extract high value from it inside and outside of the organization. In fact, Forrester Research estimates that firms currently utilize less than 5 percent of their available data; Big Data enables firms to affordably access the other 95 percent. While these data sets are characterized by their very large volume, velocity, and variety of information; using the right tools, they can yield new insights for greater business value. Through its new partnership around Big Data, Jaspersoft is integrating and licensing IBM InfoSphere BigInsights through an Application Specific Licensing Agreement. Jaspersoft for InfoSphere BigInsights combines the power of IBM's analytics platform to manage, analyze and provide deep insight into Big Data with Jaspersoft's capability to extract key information using flexible and easy-to-use reporting, dashboard and analytics views in one integrated solution, enabling competitive advantage.

Jaspersoft provides a truly native reporting solution that can connect directly to IBM InfoSphere BigInsights through HBase as well as Hive. This means that with Jaspersoft, businesses can perform interactive ad hoc reporting and analysis directly on data stored in Hadoop without having to load this data into another database as is the case with other BI vendors. Fully integrated with IBM's InfoSphere BigInsights platform, Jaspersoft's BI suite provides BigInsights users with plug-and-play access to their organization's data and the ability to combine this information with a wide range of other internal and external sources, including web and SaaS-based data sources.

Karl Van den Bergh, Vice President of Product and Alliances at Jaspersoft said, "We're pleased to be partnering with IBM to deliver an industry-leading solution that combines cost-effective and flexible business intelligence with Internet-scale data management capabilities. Together, we can meet the Big Data Analytics needs of any size organization."

Bruce Weed, Program Director, Big Data Business Development at IBM said, "Jaspersoft provides a powerful and flexible reporting and analysis solution, and is a key part of our rich ecosystem in the Big Data space. In addition, Jaspersoft's community of a quarter million members will help us further address and solve problems within the Big Data space."

Key features of the solution:

• The full Jaspersoft BI Suite including ETL, pixel-perfect and ad hoc reporting, dashboards, and analysis with native connectors to IBM InfoSphere BigInsights through HBase and Hive
• Job and workflow management, provisioning and advanced security, large-scale indexing and text analysis through IBM InfoSphere BigInsights
• Available as a free/community version and a commercial version with more advanced features

For more information on the Jaspersoft and IBM Big Data Analytics solution, listen to the replay of the joint IBM and Jaspersoft webinar held on October 12.

About Jaspersoft

Jaspersoft provides the most flexible, cost effective and widely deployed business intelligence suite in the world, enabling better decision-making through highly interactive web-based reports, dashboards and analysis. Leveraging a commercial open source business model, Jaspersoft provides end-to-end BI capabilities at a fraction of the cost of other vendors. The BI suite includes pixel-perfect enterprise reporting, ad hoc query, dashboards, OLAP and in-memory analysis, and data integration. Jaspersoft is the only BI vendor that enables companies to adapt to the new, virtualized world by providing a complete spectrum of on-premise, multi-tenant SaaS and cloud-based deployment options for both embedded and standalone business intelligence. Unlike traditional BI vendors, Jaspersoft is built on a modern, lightweight, standards-based architecture and offers greater vendor independence thanks to its open source codebase. Unlike niche BI vendors, Jaspersoft represents a safe choice with tens of thousands of production deployments across a wide range of industries.

Jaspersoft's open source business intelligence software has nearly 14 million product downloads worldwide, 175,000 production deployments and over 14,000 commercial customers in 100 countries. Its BI suite is advanced regularly by a development community of nearly 240,000 registered members. For more information visit: http://www.jaspersoft.com and http://www.jasperforge.org.

Homebrew iPhone 5 design prototype looks absolutely amazing

We’ve been talking about the iPhone 5 for months now. Most of it has been speculation, and a lot of the talk has been about what we’d want in the iPhone 5. There’s a chance the announced iPhone may just be a slight upgrade. There’s also the possibility that Apple could release an iPhone 5 in addition to the slightly-upgraded version (called the iPhone 4S?). There’s a lot of “what ifs” and “maybes,” but the one thing we do know for sure is that we’ll find something out on October 4 when Apple holds its iPhone announcement at its headquarters in Cupertino.

Much of the talk has been about what the iPhone 5 will look like. Some reports say that the iPhone will revert back to the a design similar to that of the iPhone 3G with a curved, ergonomic back that would eliminate the Death Grip that plagued the iPhone 4. Other rumors suggest that the iPhone 5 will feature a tapered design, where the bottom would be thinner than the top part of the phone, angling the device when it sits on a flat surface. Then there’s the rumor that the phone may have a metallic back, and not a black or white glass one like the iPhone 4.

Ben Miller of BenM.at, a German mobile website, decided to compile all of the rumors he’s heard about case leaks, specs, and mock-ups, and build his own mock-up of what he thinks the iPhone 5 will look like. According to Giga.de, another German mobile site, macnews.de and BenM.at say with 98 percent probability that this is how the iPhone 5 will look.

We’ve also seen case leaks that have led us to believe the iPhone 5 may have a 3G-like body but with a larger screen and buttonless design. We’ve also seen leaked photos of what the front of the iPhone 5 may look like, which debunks the rumor that the phone will have a 4-inch screen. Leaked photos of an iPhone 5 screen protector also suggest an elongated home button and a larger body. As you can see, there are tons of rumors, and it’s nearly impossible to keep up with all of them, which is where the mock-up comes in handy.

Built out of aluminum and glass, the mock-up shows the iPhone 5 to be thinner than its predecessors and also wider. The mock-up does have a 4-inch display, instead of the current 3.5-inch display. The Home buttons is also no longer a physical button, but instead is a capacitive “button.” It’s rectangular in shape, and would allow you to slide your finger from one end to the other. Rumor has it that you’ll be able to use swipe gestures, so commonly used in Apple products, to navigate around pages. You’ll also be able to unlock your phone by just sliding your finger over the Home button. The phone’s aluminum body will have rounded edges, which will feel much natural and comfortable while holding in your hand.

As for the internal features, the phone will use the A5 CPU that the iPad currently uses. It will have double the RAM, going from 512 MB to 1GB. We’ve known this for a while, as well as that the iPhone 5 will ditch its 5-megapixel rear-facing camera for an 8-megapixel camera.

The mock-up looks pretty spectacular, and we’re hoping the new iPhone will look somewhat close to this. We’ll know for sure on October 4. Check out the video below for more iPhone 5 eye-porn.

New Samsung Galaxy Tab 7 Plus Is Amazing

Samsung introduce their new mobile model Samsung Galaxy Tab 7 Plus in market. Two things to be gleaned here. 1) Samsung’s new Galaxy Tab 7 Plus is almost exactly like the 10.1, 8.9 and 7.7 tabs. 2) If you bought a first generation Galaxy Tab 7 and hoped for Honeycomb, you’re probably screwed.

Basically, here are the differences between this and the Galaxy 10.1 or the Galaxy 8.9. It’s smaller, at just seven inches. It’s a little faster, with a 1.2GHz dual-core processor vs. the 1GHz on the other two. And it has an HSPA+ radio, which should make downloads nice n’ speedy (though that makes it negligibly thicker). It also sports Samsung’s bright and cheery TouchWiz UI over Android 3.2. It’s basically a faster version of the original Galaxy Tab 7. The bad news is that means that if you bough the original Galaxy Tab 7, which launched with Froyo, and you’ve been hoping for a Honeycomb update, this thing probably just took a pee a your dreams.

No word on pricing yet, but given that the screen isn’t quite as fancy as the Galaxy tab 7.7, it’ll probably be cheaper. Seriously though, Samsung, what’s up with all these look-alike tablets? Where’s the creativity? I fell asleep twice while trying to write this three paragraph post. It will likely be available by the end of October.