At BlackBerry DevCon Europe 2012 we watched CEO Thorsten Heins introduce Vivek Bhardwaj and he was demonstrating OS 2.0. Vivek also tried to demonstrate the Bridge and OS 2.0 with “Open On” but it didn’t work. RIM wouldn’t leave you waiting, so they followed up with Vivek and posted the video showing how it works.

I’m really anxious for BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0, and RIM did announce there’s a Bridge 2.0 coming as well. What the Open On feature does is that it allows you to take a picture or a file, then choose from the menu to Open On and you can choose the BlackBerry PlayBook to open the file on. Very nice and convenient, and a great way to implement the bigger screen. What are your thoughts?

RIM’s new president and CEO welcomed those attending to the very first BlackBerry DevCon Europe 2012. This is exciting and it was great to see such a huge turnout in Europe. This is an important event for BlackBerry and for the developers. Check it out…

About DevCon:

The BlackBerry® Developer Conference is the showcase for the latest innovations and breakthroughs with the BlackBerry® Development Platform. Thousands of BlackBerry enthusiasts come together to collaborate with platform experts from the community and attend sessions, demonstrations, hands-on labs and keynotes — all focused on developing leading mobile applications, no matter your skill level.

It’s an amazing opportunity to connect with BlackBerry experts, get tips and discover ways to build for the BlackBerry platform whether in native or using web standards that allows you to extend your work onto other platforms. You’ll walk away ready to reach a community of 70 million subscribers!

Who attends?

Attendees will be coming to the conference from all over Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Anyone who is excited about developing for the BlackBerry platform will be at BlackBerry DevCon, including corporate, commercial and hobbyist developers, business leaders, faculty and students, BlackBerry partners, BlackBerry enthusiasts, and key leaders from RIM.

BlackBerry DevCon is the ideal event for BlackBerry developers and partners, for beginner or master mobile application developers, and is customized for several types of developers:

• Web developers
• Native developers
• Adobe® developers
• Java developers

Opportunity:

BlackBerry DevCon meets a need for developers and partners who are invested in the tremendous potential of apps for the BlackBerry smartphone and BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet. Learn how the BlackBerry Development Platform offers even more choices in development tools, greater integration options and APIs, more profitable monetisation tools, and valuable partner support.

Updates:

BlackBerry DevCon previews and demonstrates tools that help developers create apps on their terms, with maximum choice and support, giving you the opportunity to develop for both the BlackBerry® smartphone and the BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet. Discover tools that can make apps more profitable, technologies that lead to developing Super Apps and hot topics such as BlackBerry® 7 OS, the BBM™ Social Platform, Adobe® Flash® & Adobe® AIR®, the BlackBerry® WebWorks™ HTML5 platform, BlackBerry PlayBook Tablet OS, the Cascades™ UI framework, getting ready for the BlackBerry® 10 Platform, and more.

CrackBerry posted the Keynote video we’re sharing with you. I like the way Thorsten welcomes everyone and even acknowledges he’s home. He also stresses it’s the very first DevCon in Europe and how they sold out and thanks everyone. He is also letting them know that BlackBerry is committed to empowering their developers and giving them the opportunity to grow with them. During the welcoming and keynote, we are shown the numbers which are very impressive and see some really interesting facts.

• There are over 6 Million software developers in Europe
• BlackBerry is the Number One Prepaid Smartphone in the Netherlands, U.K., and Spain
• BlackBerry is the Number One Smartphone in Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and South Africa
• There are 75 Million BlackBerry subscribers worldwide
• Over 180 Million BlackBerry smartphones sold worldwide
• 25,000 PlayBooks will be given away, so everyone attending will be receiving a BlackBerry PlayBook
• 13% of BlackBerry Developers make $100,000 or more from BlackBerry App World apps
• 2 Billion BlackBerry App World Downloads
• 6 Million BlackBerry Apps downloaded every day
• BlackBerry OS 7 has downloaded more apps than any other OS prior to it making it the most profitable from apps
• Seamless Experiences with the BlackBerry smartphone, the Cloud Servies, the BlackBerry PlayBook and embedded content with BlackBerry 10
• One Company, One Platform, One Vision: The acquired companies of QNX, TAT, Gist, Certicom, Torch, ScoreLoop, Tiny Hippos, Newbay, and Tungle
• The Road to BlackBerry 10
• The BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0

Thorsten introduced Vivek Bhardwaj, Head of Software Portfolio EMEA, Research In Motion, to show what OS 2.0 brings to the platform and to users.

Vivek goes through the PlayBook showing how OS 2.0 integrates the inbox to combine the social networks in one. He also displays the pinch to filter, walks us through the calendar, and even looking at our contacts. Even searching for contacts on the PlayBook is easily done with collaboration. He shows us how easy Bridge is with OS 2.0 and demonstrates the remote control feature using a BlackBerry device with the BlackBerry PlayBook. Vivek tried to show Open On, but it wouldn’t work during the presentation.  (Don’t worry, RIM won’t leave you hanging. It works eventually, and there’s a video to prove it).

Thorsten continues the keynote:

• The smartphone market is still relatively young

He also stresses that RIM is focused on listening to their developers, committed to empowering them and committed to the platform. He’s enthusiastic and highly charged, and I love the sense of commitment. It’ll be very interesting to see what type of apps start making their way to the BlackBerry PlayBook.

You can watch the entire general session from BlackBerry DevCon Europe 2012 from the BlackBerry DevCon Europe site here, but we included CrackBerry’s video of the keynote for you.

What are your thoughts?

[via BerryReview & CrackBerry]

RIM is sponsoring a really intriguing event by developers for developers that will be an intensive two day workshop event utilizing the BBM Social Platform. Developers alongside RIM’s developers will have the opportunity to exchange ideas and create the latest generation of apps using BBM. Check it out…

Thanks to Mac from PocketBerry who noticed the announcement for the event, it’s going to be an interesting event with great outcomes.

What are the Qualifications?:

• Have an idea for a new BlackBerry® application that incorporates BBM
• Have the capability to build a BlackBerry smarthone app with your idea
• Have a laptop with all the software, accessories and equipment needed to build your app including a laptop loaded with BlackBerry® Webworks™ or BlackBerry® Java®
• Be a resident of the United States, District of Columbia (excluding Hawaii, Alaska, Puerto Rico, and Florida) or Canada (excluding Quebec)
• Be able to travel to attend the BBM Apps Hackathon Event (“Event”) from August 10 – 13, 2011 and be able to confirm such availability within 48 hours of potential winner notification
• Understand that the Event will be filmed and that by participating in the BBM Apps Hackathon Contest, consent to the filming of your developer story and the use of your image

Where and what does it entail?

• Aug 11-12, 2011 at the Ace Hotel in New York City
• Fast-paced exclusive workshop
• Turn your App idea into reality
• Interact with BlackBerry® product experts through presentations, Q&A and development
• Don’t worry, your idea is still your idea. All intellectual property remains with the original owner
• You could be one of ten chosen to win* a trip to the BBM Apps Hackathon Event!

We’ll be curious to see what new apps will come from the event, as we’ve seen a few already. There’s no purchase necessary, so if you’re a developer and want in on the BBM Social Platform, what are you waiting for? Want to know the questions you’ll need to answer?

The Third Annual BlackBerry Developer Challenge has come to the last round.  This year the BlackBerry Partners Fund announced that $1.5 million dollars worth of prizes were available. There is no cash award, but the prizes available that will help your app be successful. If you’re curious as to what apps are available list here.  The regional Finalists have been chosen and the winners are:

North America

• Poynt by Multiplied Media Corporation in the category of Maps and Navigation
• Vayyoo by Vayyoo Inc in the category of Photo & Video
• Dictionary and Thesaurus - Dictionary.com by Dictionary.com, LLC in the category of Reference & eBooks

Latin America

• Waze (LATAM) by Location World in the category of Maps and Navigation
• Navita Sports by Navita Tecnologia in the category of Sports & Recreation
• Vlingo Plus – Voice App by Vlingo Corporation in the category of Utilities

Europe/Middle East/Africa

• CamCard (Business Card Reader) by IntSig Information Co., Ltd in the category of Business
• UbiNav EU by Ubiest S.p.A. in the category of Maps & Navigation
• n tv mobile by LINEAS Informationstechnik GmbH in the category of News

Asia Pacific

• Ramadhan Pocket Guide by VEELABS INDONESIA, PT in the category of Utilities
• Forum For BlackBerry® by Remko Weingarten in the category of IM & Social Networking
• Love Indonesia by Love Indonesia in the category of Shopping

Congrats go out to the Regional Finalists. I know there’s several that are amazing that aren’t listed but of the winners, I love Poynt, Vayyoo is pretty neat, and Vlingo Plus is one of my favorites. I always keep that on my phone, it’s a lifesaver when you’re driving. Forum For BlackBerry has gained some popularity as well, and I really like the idea of being able to find a forum that meets your needs and interests. The challenge was for Super Apps. What other apps do you use that you would call a Super App?

[via: BlackBerry Partners Fund]

In this webcast, you’ll learn how the BlackBerry Push Service can:

• Push any type of data, text or images without restrictions. Developers can even send large amounts of data (more than 8 KB) by using multiple pushes that get reassembled on arrival.
• Use true push technology to turn your app into a Super App.
• Deliver data to BlackBerry smartphones in the background, providing the user with an always-connected BlackBerry experience.
• Create network-efficient apps. Unlike competitor apps that repeatedly poll servers for new data, BlackBerry Super Apps optimize data usage and battery life.

If you are interested in attending, be sure to sign up! RIM usually makes the presentation available on demand a day or two after the live webcast, so if you can’t make it that option is also available, from the registration link.

For more information on becoming a BlackBerry app developer, or to see what other tools RIM has made available for development, be sure to check out the Developers section at BlackBerry.com.

From The Land Down Under, BlackBerry presents Developer Day for Developers. A big shout out goes to Thomas for letting me know about this event. The event is free for developers and has many benefits. The event will not teach you to build likeable apps, but lovable apps, apps that BlackBerry refers to as Super Apps!

When? March 24th, 2010

Where? The Hilton Sydney, 488 George Street, Sydney Australia

What? Here’s the agenda to explain what you can look forward to:

As per the BlackBerry Developer page. This is created to help you design a best in app experience. If you are able to make it, we recommend it. It is a first come, first serve basis. This event also goes in with what we’ve been hearing about Super Apps, so if you attend, please let us know what you have learned from it. We’re very interested and can’t wait to see what type of Super Apps come from these events.

[via: BlackBerry Developer]

• Wirelessly synchronize their email, calendar, contacts, notes and tasks
• Manage email folders and search email on the mail server remotely
• Book meetings and appointments, check availability and forward calendar
  attachments
• Set an out-of-office reply
• Edit Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint files using Documents To Go(R)
• Access files stored on the company network
• Use mobile applications to access business systems behind the firewall

The new BES Express is expected to launch this March. You can find more details at www.blackberry.com/besexperss.

Press Release:

RIM Introduces BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express
Free New BlackBerry Software for Microsoft Exchange and Microsoft Windows Small Business Server Allows Companies to Empower All Employees with Wireless Access to Their Corporate Email Without Compromising Security or Manageability

WATERLOO, ONTARIO–(Marketwire – Feb. 16, 2010) -

Research In Motion (RIM) (NASDAQ:RIMM)(TSX:RIM) today introduced BlackBerry(R) Enterprise Server Express – free new server software that wirelessly and securely synchronizes BlackBerry(R) smartphones with Microsoft(R) Exchange or Microsoft(R) Windows(R) Small Business Server.

The new BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express software will be provided free of charge in order to address two key market opportunities. First, the software offers economical advantages to small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) that desire the enterprise-grade security and manageability of BlackBerry(R) Enterprise Server but don’t require all of its advanced features. Second, more and more consumers are purchasing BlackBerry smartphones and the free BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express software provides a cost-effective solution that enables IT departments to meet the growing demand from employees to be able to connect their personal BlackBerry smartphones to their work email.

BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express works with Microsoft Exchange 2010, 2007 and 2003 and Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2008 and 2003 to provide users with secure, push-based, wireless access to email, calendar, contacts, notes and tasks, as well as other business applications and enterprise systems behind the firewall. Importantly, the new server software utilizes the same robust security architecture found in BlackBerry Enterprise Server.

“Today we are announcing an exciting new offering that further expands the market opportunity for the BlackBerry platform,” said Mike Lazaridis, President and Co-CEO, Research In Motion. “In a marketplace where smartphones are becoming ubiquitous, BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express significantly raises the bar by providing a cost-effective solution that allows companies of all sizes to support enterprise-grade mobile connectivity for all employees without compromising security or manageability.”

With BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express connected to Microsoft Exchange or Microsoft Windows Small Business Server, BlackBerry smartphone users will be able to:

–  Wirelessly synchronize their email, calendar, contacts, notes and tasks

–  Manage email folders and search email on the mail server remotely

–  Book meetings and appointments, check availability and forward calendar
attachments

–  Set an out-of-office reply

–  Edit Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint files using Documents To Go(R)

–  Access files stored on the company network

–  Use mobile applications to access business systems behind the firewall

For IT administrators, BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express also offers the following:

–  Runs on the same physical or virtual server as the Microsoft mail server
or on its own server. BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express is also
certified for use with VMware ESX

–  Over 35 IT controls and policies, including the ability to remotely wipe
a smartphone and enforce and reset passwords

–  A Web-based interface that allows remote administration and makes it
easy to install the software, connect BlackBerry smartphones and apply
usage policies

BlackBerry(R) Enterprise Server v5 continues to be the recommended solution for deployments that require additional security policies, monitoring features or high availability. BlackBerry Enterprise Server also continues to be required for certain other enterprise solutions such as BlackBerry(R) Mobile Voice System (for bringing desk phone functionality to BlackBerry smartphones), BlackBerry(R) Clients for Microsoft(R) Office Communications Server and IBM(R) Lotus(R) Sametime(R) (for enterprise instant messaging), IBM Lotus Connections (for enterprise social networking), IBM Lotus Quickr(TM) (for document sharing and collaboration), and Chalk(R) Pushcast Software (for corporate podcasting).

BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express is expected to be available as a free download in March. For more information, visit www.blackberry.com/besexpress.

About Research In Motion (RIM)

Research In Motion is a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of innovative wireless solutions for the worldwide mobile communications market. Through the development of integrated hardware, software and services that support multiple wireless network standards, RIM provides platforms and solutions for seamless access to time-sensitive information including email, phone, SMS messaging, Internet and intranet-based applications. RIM technology also enables a broad array of third party developers and manufacturers to enhance their products and services with wireless connectivity. RIM’s portfolio of award-winning products, services and embedded technologies are used by thousands of organizations around the world and include the BlackBerry wireless platform, the RIM Wireless Handheld(TM) product line, software development tools, radio-modems and software/hardware licensing agreements. Founded in 1984 and based in Waterloo, Ontario, RIM operates offices in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. RIM is listed on the NASDAQ Stock Market (NASDAQ:RIMM) and the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX:RIM). For more information, visit www.rim.com or www.blackberry.com.

This Mobile World Congress 2010 is shaping up to be pretty sweet. RIM co-CEO Mike Lazaridis’ keynote speech starting off with a preview of RIM’s upcoming WebKit Browser in action! The new WebKit browser loads web pages very fast and effectively. The new browser will support:

• HTML 5
• CSS3
• DOM L3

Unfortunately there is no details as to when the BlackBerry WebKit browser will launch, but I can tell you we’re very excited… What are your thoughts on the upcoming Browser?

RIM is presenting another free webcast for application developers. Titled Small Screens, Big Dreams: a Detail-Oriented Approach to User Interface Design, the focus this time around is making the most of your user interface (UI) design. Presented by Brian Zubert, Sr. Application Development Consultant, the webcast is scheduled to take place Tuesday, February 16 2010 at 2PM EST.

Be sure to register and attend the webcast if you are interested in finding out what RIM recommends as far as making your application design both unique and user-friendly.

Register today and in the meantime check out the latest edition of In The Zone, the BlackBerry Developer Newsletter!

The Bipartisan Policy Center has announced some details on event coming up called the Cyber Shockwave. When you think about how vulnerable our countries are when it comes to technology, it puts it in a different light. So why should we be concerned and what’s a Cyber Shockwave?

Over a decade we’ve seen stories as an example. The Slammer worm shut down Bank Of America ATMs, Continental Ticketing system, and Seattle’s 911 network. Chinese hackers hacked Google and 30 other major US and international countries. When Russia invaded Georgia, the first step was to attack Georgian websites. It’s been going on, and it’s not likely to stop anytime soon. The more advanced our technology becomes, the more advanced the attacks will be.

From your cellphone to the military’s most sophisticated weapons system, cyber espionage and cyber hacking represent an economic and national security threat.

So what is Cyber Shockwave? It’s a simulated cyber attack on the U.S. The event will highlight the potential risk for an attack such as this, and examine the possible responses needed should an attack such as this occur. The Bipartisan Policy Center has organized a working group of high-ranking former White House, Cabinet, and national security officials to stage this real-time exercise. The mission: To advise the President as the nation mounts a response to the crisis.

Companies participating are: Bipartisan Policy Center, SMobile Systems, General Dynamics, Southern Company, and Georgetown University.

The following are the participants:

It will be a two hour long event and is one you will want to keep posted on. For more details as they come, please head over to the Bipartisan Policy Center website and you can keep track of the countdown.

Why is this relative to the readers? Think about it, the very BlackBerry you are using could be hacked, but also it can be used to do the hacking as well. And it could affect you in that it may be something downloaded, your service interrupted, so many things. As we’ve come to rely on technology, it could be our weakness too. I realize it’s not specific to BlackBerry, but it relates in the way that it’s including mobile devices and smartphones, including BlackBerry. I wouldn’t have chosen to post this if I didn’t think that we wouldn’t have something to learn from it.  This event will bring awareness to the actual threat of cyber attacks and what can be done. Are we prepared? It’s going to be interesting as we find out.