I am happy to announce that updated versions of the BlackBerry® Java® Application Development tools are available for download on BlackBerry® Developer Zone, including the BlackBerry® Java Development Environment Plug-in for Eclipse and the BlackBerry® Java Development Environment. The BlackBerry Java Application Development v5.0 Beta 3 release builds on the previous beta releases available to the community and adds several new APIs and features including:
| Contact Linking API (net.rim.blackberry.api.pdap.contactlinking.*) |
Allows third-party applications to link into address book contacts and to provide their own custom data. |
| Push API (net.rim.blackberry.api.push.*) |
Makes using Push APIs even easier and more powerful for developers. |
| Location picker (net.rim.device.api.lbs.picker.*) |
Allows the user to select a location source such as their current location via GPS or a recently selected location. |
| Menu customization | Allows for easy UI customization of menu attributes such as background, border and font changes. |
| AbsoluteFieldManager | Allows for placement of fields at specific x, y positions on-screen rather than in relation to surrounding fields. Also allows for overlapping fields. |
| PictureScrollField | Draws a row of images that can be scrolled through from side to side using trackball or touch gestures. |
| EyelidFieldManager | Easily display text or static images for a defined period of time on top of existing UI objects. |
| ZoomScreen | Ability to zoom-in and pan around images. Also supports multi-touch. |
| Image API (via net.rim.device.api.ui.Image and net.rim.device.api.ui.ImageFactory) |
A single container for representing images at an agnostic level to hold bitmaps, PNGs, and other items. |
| Widget Extension API (via net.rim.device.api.web.* and net.rim.device.api.web.jse.*) |
Ability to register third-party Javascript® extensions to expose your own custom Java implementations for Web applications. |
Each of these new APIs is in addition to an already exciting list of new features and APIs as outlined in the Beta 3 release notes. I would love to hear what you think of the new BlackBerry Java Application Development v5.0 Beta 3 and to get your feedback on the APIs.
Download BlackBerry Java Application Development v5.0 Beta 3
BlackBerry Java Application Development v5.0 Beta 3 release notes
