Research In Motion is offering
the BlackBerry Widget Software Development Kit (SDK) to enable third
party application developers to build applications for
BlackBerry smartphones using common web technologies.
With the new
BlackBerry Widget SDK, developers can build web-based applications for
BlackBerry smartphones with advanced features and functionality, a
capability only previously available for BlackBerry applications
written in Java(R).
A BlackBerry Widget uses the BlackBerry Browser engine to render
an application's user interface using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
Developers are able to use existing web content to create BlackBerry
Widgets and extend the capabilities of their web applications using
BlackBerry Widget APIs.
Using the new BlackBerry Widget APIs, developers can, for example,
create seamless interaction between a widget and the BlackBerry email
and calendar applications, create widgets with the ability to view or
edit files and documents stored on the smartphone, access
location-based services or the media player, and more. Developers can
also take advantage of RIM's unique push technology, enabling dynamic
widgets that can run in the background and provide proactive alerts to
users in a timely manner.
"BlackBerry Widgets open up a world of opportunities for developers
to build and bring to market web applications for BlackBerry
smartphones that offer advanced, integrated functionality and an
always-on user experience," said Alan Brenner, senior vice president,
BlackBerry platforms at RIM. "We are very excited by the prospects of
this new widget development platform which combines the ease of
development of standard web languages with the rich functionality of
Java development."
BlackBerry Widgets can be easily distributed over-the-air, via
BlackBerry App World (www.blackberry.com/appworld) or through
BlackBerry Enterprise Server in corporate environments.
Support for BlackBerry Widgets will be available on BlackBerry
smartphones that run BlackBerry OS 5.0, which will include an
enhanced BlackBerry Browser with support for Gears, SQLite and the new
BlackBerry Widget APIs. A beta release of the BlackBerry Widget SDK is
available today at www.blackberry.com/developers/widget.
Developers interested in learning more about building BlackBerry
Widgets are encouraged to attend the 2009 BlackBerry Developer
Conference (www.blackberrydeveloperconference.com), November 9-12 in
San Francisco. More information is also available on BlackBerry
Developer Zone (www.blackberry.com/developer).