Book Image

BlackBerry Java Application Development

Book Image

BlackBerry Java Application Development

Overview of this book

BlackBerry Smartphone was once the domain of jet-setting business users with power suits. Now you can hardly go anywhere without seeing someone using a BlackBerry to check their messages or make a call. It's this kind of explosive growth that makes the BlackBerry ecosystem a great place to develop and market applications through the BlackBerry App World store—this book shows you how to do just that! This step-by-step guide gives you a hands-on experience of developing innovative Java applications for your BlackBerry. With the help of this book, you will learn to build your own applications to illustrate the platform, and the various capabilities that developers can use in their programs. It explores the powers of Blackberry and helps you develop professional and impressive Java applications. The book teaches how to write rich, interactive, and smart BlackBerry applications in Java. It expects the readers to know Java but not Java Mobile or the BlackBerry APIs. We will learn to build rich, interactive, and smart Java applications for the BlackBerry. The book will cover UI programming, data storage, programming network, and internet API apps. As we move on, we will learn more about the BlackBerry's device features, such as messaging, GPS, multimedia, contacts and calendar, and so on.This book also helps you build your own applications to illustrate the platform, and the various capabilities that developers can use in their programs.
Table of Contents (18 chapters)
BlackBerry Java Application Development
Credits
About the Author
Acknowledgement
About the Reviewers
Preface

General device capabilities


BlackBerry handhelds, like many smartphones today, are very powerful in spite of their small size. The processing power and capabilities of these handhelds could accurately be described as smaller versions of our desktops or laptops. They have many strong capabilities yet have a small size that makes them convenient to carry around. This combination makes smartphones in general, and BlackBerry handhelds in particular, well suited for on-the-go applications.

But just what can they do? There are so many possibilities! Let's take a look at the general capabilities of BlackBerry handhelds.

  • Every handheld has a keyboard designed for typing on it. BlackBerry handhelds have always been specifically designed to send and receive e-mail, and as a result, the keyboards are well-suited for entering free-form data. The BlackBerry SDK offers no less than ten different kinds of text fields that can be used in nearly any kind of application. Plus, if you need something special, you can always create your own!

  • Another area that BlackBerry handhelds excel at is network connectivity. Again, this is by design in order to provide excellent e-mail service. This connectivity includes fully encrypted TCP/IP communication, and the ability to receive as well as send raw data. Whether it be HTTP or UDP, the BlackBerry SDK supports all of the major networking protocols and can handle receiving as well as sending data. Furthermore, you can leverage the same secure protocols that are used to deliver e-mail.

  • Most applications will need to store data on the local device. Applications can, of course, store data on the device in their own private stores, but they can also access and interface with other applications on the handheld. These include the pre-installed applications such as messages, address book, and calendar that come with the handheld.

  • Cameras are nearly ubiquitous on smartphones and can be accessed by an application as well.

  • Many newer devices include removable memory card slots for storage of large media files. Applications can access this storage as well to give applications with large storage needs the room to work.

  • Another feature that is extremely common on handhelds is a GPS receiver that enables location-based service (LBS). This is one area that many in the smartphone industry will say holds the most promise for the future.