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

Chapter 8. Interfacing with Applications

Now that we've covered some of the basics of application development it's time to expand our horizons a bit and look at interfacing with other BlackBerry applications. You can create many great applications that don't do anything more complex than interfacing with the user and storing data. Sometimes though, developing an interesting application means doing something more or something special with the existing applications on the device. When you think about development from this point of view, there are suddenly a lot more applications that can be created than before.

The BlackBerry handhelds come pre-loaded with many great programs to help make a person more productive. While messages may be the most common reason a person will purchase a BlackBerry, the other Personal Information Management (PIM) applications often quickly become essential as well.

As a developer, you cannot ignore the other applications on the handheld. The more integrated an application...