I apologize to everyone for the slow coverage of the BlackBerry Developers Conference this week. One cool thing that was announced at BB DevCon 2009 was Open GL ES coming to BlackBerry smartphones. This will allow developers to develop 3D games and graphics for BlackBerry, plus develop new interfaces for themes with the new BlackBerry Theme Studio. Open GL ES will be supported on several devices running OS 5.0, including the new Storm2, and Curve 8530. Skip on over to the full press release for complete details…

RIM Announces BlackBerry Application Platform Enhancements to Foster Rich Content Development
OpenGL ES Support, Java GUI Builder and Theme Studio to Help Developers Generate Dynamic User Experiences

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA–(Marketwire – Nov. 9, 2009) – 2009 BlackBerry Developer Conference – Research In Motion (RIM) (NASDAQ:RIMM)(TSX:RIM) today announced enhancements to the BlackBerry(R) Application Platform that will further enable developers to rapidly develop rich content and applications. The enhancements include support for OpenGL(R) ES for the development of 3D games and graphics; an upcoming Java(R) GUI builder for the rapid development of user interfaces for BlackBerry applications; and BlackBerry(R) Theme Studio for the creation of themes for BlackBerry(R) smartphones.

“We are making it easier than ever for developers, hobbyists and content providers to build graphic-rich experiences for BlackBerry smartphones,” said Alan Brenner, Senior Vice President, BlackBerry Platform at Research In Motion. “These new features will help drive a multitude of engaging themes, games and applications for BlackBerry smartphone users.”

OpenGL ES Support Enables 3D Games and Graphics for BlackBerry Smartphones

With OpenGL ES support, Java developers will have the ability to build 3D games and graphics for BlackBerry smartphones running BlackBerry OS 5.0 and higher. The OpenGL ES support is available through an update of the BlackBerry(R) Java(R) Software Development Kit (BlackBerry Java SDK). A beta version of the BlackBerry Java SDK 5.0 including OpenGL ES support is available at http://na.blackberry.com/eng/developers/devbetasoftware/javasdk5.jsp

GUI Builder for BlackBerry Java Plug-in for Eclipse to Simplify User Interface Design

An upcoming GUI builder integrated into the BlackBerry Java Plug-in for Eclipse will make it faster and easier for Java developers to build user interfaces for BlackBerry applications. Developers will be able to rapidly create and localize complex user interfaces with a WYSIWYG (what-you-see-is-what-you-get) view and drag and drop capabilities. The Java GUI builder will also allow developers to easily preview their user interface design on different BlackBerry smartphones.

The GUI builder for the BlackBerry Java Plug-in for Eclipse will be previewed this week at the 2009 BlackBerry Developer Conference (www.blackberrydeveloperconference.com). It is expected to be available in mid 2010.

New BlackBerry Theme Studio Enables Easy Theme Design, Illustration and Animation

RIM is also announcing the availability of BlackBerry Theme Studio – a free suite of theme design, illustration and animation tools that make it easier to create custom interfaces (themes) for BlackBerry smartphones running BlackBerry OS 4.2.2 and higher, including the new BlackBerry(R) Storm2(TM) and BlackBerry(R) Bold(TM) 9700 smartphones.

BlackBerry Theme Studio includes:

–  BlackBerry Theme Builder – a design tool for customizing a smartphone’s
user interface, including the home screen layout, fonts, icons, message
list colors, cursors, dialog boxes and home screen application icons.

–  BlackBerry Composer – an illustration and animation tool for creating
animated SVG graphics that can be used to add animation to theme buttons
and backgrounds as well as animate web sites and applications for
BlackBerry smartphones.

BlackBerry Theme Studio 5.0, which replaces the previously available Plazmic Content Developer’s Kit(TM), features the ability to import Adobe Photoshop files to BlackBerry Theme Builder, add ringtones and build screen transitions such as zooming, sliding, wiping and fading within themes. Ringtones and screen transitions are supported for BlackBerry smartphones running BlackBerry OS 5.0 and higher.

RIM also announced today that themes for BlackBerry smartphones can now be submitted to BlackBerry App World(TM).

BlackBerry Theme Studio is available for free and can be downloaded at www.blackberry.com/themestudio.

For more information about the BlackBerry Application Platform, visit www.blackberry.com/developer.

The event took place in Beijing Sept 18th and 19th. It is the only telecom event officially sponsored by the Ministry of Industry and Information, and PR China. It is the most prominent way to meet regulators, operators, vendors, and important customers and investors who come from across the globe.

Thanks to Owen from MMMOOO, we have some information and pictures to share with you of the event. This is BlackBerry’s 10th year, and they setting up their BlackBerry Office in China.  They are also hopefully going to cooperate with China Telecom and China Mobile to release the 8900 and Storm late this year (and we in N. America are anxious for the Storm too, and newer Curve, we take for granted what we have here). The vendors bring their products to show the Chinese visitors, and I posted a few pics for you in case you would like to see where it was held, what the booth looked like, and get an idea of how large scale it is.

It was a date hosted by RIM for T-Mobile’s release of the BlackBerry 8520. The Boy Genius Report has a picture that a reader who won sent in. The event had some goodies, a giveaway which is delivered by mail, and the new movie Transformers 2. You have to love RIM, they know how to treat a date!

And some people wonder why we BlackBerry addicts appear to love our phones and pay more attention to them than our significant others, wonder why?

[via: The Boy Genius Report]

Like magic RIM’s new BlackBerry App World is now live! Meaning your BlackBerry smartphone now has access to tons of free and paid applications. Prices range anywhere from $0 to $9.99 for most applications. App World works very similar to Apple’s App Store meaning you simply click the application you want and install. It’s simple and works perfect.All payments are only accepted via Paypal. Anyways if you haven’t already downloaded BlackBerry App World simply point your BlackBerry browser to http://blackberry.com/appworld/download and install it right from there.

Want more details on BlackBerry App World? See Blackberry.com/appworld.

A new rumor is floating around that RIM is getting set to release a full episode TV service for BlackBerry, meaning you can watch your favorite TV shows on the go. Apparently the service will only run via Wi-Fi to downloads the video which leaves CDMA users in the dark. Apparently RIM could be announcing the new TV service as early as April 1st during CTIA 2009. The service is expected to be a monthly fee and will provide access to unlimited downloads. What do you think? Are you up for BlackBerry TV?

P.S. The image above is just a image of the Bold playing video. Not the TV Service.

_{[Source via BGR]}