BlackBerry development just became a lot more interesting…
The BlackBerry Developer Conference kicked off today and RIM personnel didn’t waste any time getting to the goods. For starters, OpenGL ES support is finally coming to the BlackBerry platform (OS 5.0+). If you didn’t know, OpenGL is what gives modern smartphones such as the iPhone it’s amazing graphics in such small packages. But what good is powerful hardware without software? Again RIM answers, though this answer is somewhat a surprise.
Since the beginning of BlackBerry theme development started a few short years ago, the Plazmic Developers Kit was the one and only way to skin and theme your Berry. A couple months back RIM bought Plazmic which led many to believe that a more tightly integrated Theme Developer Kit was coming. I as well as many others I’m sure assumed that RIM would through in some a few more goodies and maybe a new name and call it a day. That isn’t the case however as RIM also announced today the BlackBerry Theme Studios 5.0. As you can see, RIM is really pushing customization and the whole consumer thing really hard. One interesting part about the new Theme Studio is the ability to add .PSD (Photoshop) directly cutting down on needlessly having to save those .PSD files as some other format such as .png before being used. Also, screen transitions such as zooming, sliding, wiping and fading can now be added much more easier than before. What this simply means is that instead of a few high-end theme makers having the power and know-how on how to make truly impressive themes, more hobby based and beginner theme builders will also be able to compete with the big boys. Nice job RIM!
The Developer Conference has just started however and there is plenty more to find out. Stay tuned.
