Today is the launch of the Gold version of the BlackBerry 10.1 SDK for Adobe AIR. Thank you to everyone that has been helping us test it so far! For a full list of API updates and fixes, please head over to the release notes.

Port your AIR apps

Re-compile your existing BlackBerry PlayBook AIR applications to BlackBerry 10. If you’re already using the fuse component set that debuted with the BlackBerry PlayBook SDK for Adobe AIR, the port should be quick and easy. You can get more details from this blog post.

For more details on what’s coming after Gold for the BlackBerry 10 SDK for Adobe AIR, please visit our Adobe AIR roadmap.

Hot on the heels of our last episode, which covered the Momentics tooling, this particular video will fill you in on our SDK for Adobe AIR. Julian Dolce joins us to discuss upcoming roadmap items that we’re looking at to improve the AIR SDK.

BlackBerry Jam Unplugged is an ongoing series that gives a bit of color and insight into the BlackBerry 10 SDK roadmap. We’ll run this video series leading up to BlackBerry Jam Americas in Orlando to give some background on the topics that we will discuss at length during the conference.

So tune in, and find out which upgraded version of the Adobe AIR Runtime will come to BlackBerry 10!

We are very excited to get the All Aboard BlackBerry Port-A-Thon underway very shortly. We have recently been made aware that Adobe Connect will undergo system maintenance during the following window:

Start:  December 14, 2012 at 08:00 PM PDT

End:    December 14, 2012 at 10:00 PM PDT

During the maintenance window, the Adobe Connect system may be intermittently unavailable. We want to ensure you are aware of this possible outage and that the Port-A-Thon will continue during those times and any apps submitted will be tracked and counted through our own system, which will not be impacted by the maintenance.

We are working with Abode to mitigate the impact to the Port-A-Thon, but again want to reiterate that should the Adobe connect room be unavailable intermittently during the above mentioned hours, the Port-A-Thon will continue and you can contact us at BlackBerryDeveloperProgram@rim.com should you need any support or have any questions during that time.

Today is the launch of the Gold version of the BlackBerry 10 SDK for Adobe AIR. Thank you to everyone that has been helping us test it so far! For a full list of API updates and fixes, please head over to the release notes. Below are some of the benefits of using the gold release of the BlackBerry 10 SDK for Adobe AIR.

BlackBerry UI / Same components as native

The BlackBerry 10 SDK for Adobe AIR has been rebuilt from the ground up to allow developers to create applications that adhere to the BlackBerry UI branding guidelines. Basically all of the components you would get if you were a native developer, you also get in the BlackBerry 10 SDK for Adobe AIR.

Performance

Developing Adobe AIR applications that perform well on mobile is a challenge, and is also one of the main reasons why so many Flash developers shy away from mobile development. The BlackBerry 10 SDK for Adobe AIR was built specifically for BlackBerry 10 and mobile development. If you use the components of the SDK, you can be assured that they are the best performing components for BlackBerry 10.

Multi-screen development

With the BlackBerry 10 SDK for Adobe AIR, developers can use the Container API to organize the application’s UI controls. By using a layout, a Container manages the positioning and size of any UI component that it contains. This allows developers to target multiple aspect ratios and orientations easily without having to specify set dimensions for their application.

Native capabilities

The BlackBerry 10 SDK for Adobe AIR has native capabilities baked right in. You can easily take advantage of things such as invocation, sensors, push, notifications, payment and more.

Port your AIR apps

Re-compile your existing BlackBerry PlayBook AIR applications to BlackBerry 10. If you’re already using the fuse component set that debuted with the BlackBerry PlayBook SDK for Adobe AIR, the port should be quick and easy. You can get more details from this blog post.

For more details on what’s coming after Gold for the BlackBerry 10 SDK for Adobe AIR, please visit our Adobe AIR roadmap.

I’m stoked to spread the word to all of our developers that as of version 2.2, you can now build apps with PhoneGap that target BlackBerry® 10!

Our very own official Apache Cordova contributor Gord Tanner (@gordtanner) has been hard at work making sure you can build PhoneGap apps for BlackBerry 10 today. What’s got me really excited about this news is that even though BlackBerry 10 is still in beta, a quick test revealed more than half of the APIs are already supported. With monthly updates to PhoneGap being released, this means that developers can start working on their BlackBerry 10 apps right away, and have peace of mind knowing that more and more support will be available in each release.

What is PhoneGap, you say?

PhoneGap is an open source framework that allows developers to quickly build cross-platform apps using HTML5, JavaScript®, and CSS. PhoneGap is powered by Cordova and is compatible with BlackBerry® OS 5+, BlackBerry® PlayBook™ OS, and now BlackBerry 10!

Have a PhoneGap app created for another platform? We’ve got 10,000 reasons for you to port it over!

If you already have a PhoneGap app available on other platforms, why not take advantage of the recent BlackBerry 10 support? By porting your app over to BlackBerry 10, and registering for the 10k Developer Commitment, we’re guaranteeing you will make at least $10,000 in 12 months or we’ll pay the difference!

Note: Conditions apply. For complete details, visit the 10k Developer Commitment webpage.

So, are you ready? Get started in 3 steps:

1. Visit the new PhoneGap Getting Started Guide for BlackBerry.
2. Head over to the PhoneGap website and download the SDK.
3. Win!

If you’ve got a success story, have a question, or just want to chat about apps, hit me up on Twitter @chadtatro.

We’re pleased to announce that Adobe® DRM for EPUB (Digital Rights Management for eBooks) is now supported on BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablets and our upcoming BlackBerry® 10 smartphones.

Adobe® Reader Mobile SDK is a software development kit (SDK) enabling mobile device and software developers to embed PDF and eBook support into their products. This ecosystem is used worldwide by thousands of publishers, libraries and content providers selling and lending millions of eBooks.

Support comes by way of the Adobe Reader Mobile SDK (RM SDK) maintained by Datalogics. The Adobe Reader Mobile SDK is Adobe’s EPUB and PDF rendering technology for eBook apps and devices. It powers hundreds of apps and devices which act as the front end of Adobe’s end-to-end eBook ecosystem.

With the latest release of the SDK, third party companies can now build eReaders that view DRM-encoded content. If you have already licensed the RMSDK, BlackBerry PlayBook tablets and BlackBerry 10 smartphones are now automatically supported. Developers can now write apps for BlackBerry 10 and the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet that can easily download, manage, and display PDF content and eBooks.

Looking forward to hearing comments and suggestions from the BlackBerry dev community – let us know in the comments!

In addition to developing applications with Adobe® Flash® Builder®, the BlackBerry® 10 SDK beta for Adobe® AIR® also gives you the option to integrate with FDT 5. FDT 5 is a flexible development toolkit in Eclipse™ for interactive developers. In my personal experience, FDT has a great work flow. The advanced refactoring capabilities, ASDoc support, SWF Bridge, and Haxe support make this a great package.

FDT 5 comes in 2 different versions, FDT 5 Free, and FDT 5 Max. FDT 5 Max has additional features that are unavailable in the free version but requires a license.  More information on the different versions can be found on the FDT 5 website.

Before installing the BlackBerry 10 SDK beta for Adobe AIR make sure that FDT 5 is installed. While installing the SDK you will be able to select Powerflasher’s FDT during the Integration Choice step. If you’ve already installed the SDK you can simply rerun the setup wizard.

There is a guide for creating your first application in FDT for BlackBerry 10 located in the documentation. If you need any help getting started or have any questions, please don’t hesitate to drop by the Adobe AIR development forum.

[YouTube link for mobile viewing]

Jerome Carty’s momentum has been building since he first decided to develop apps three years ago. A long-time Java® programmer, Jerome founded Kisai Labs and has used his knowledge to develop highly successful applications for BlackBerry® smartphones and the BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet – including Blaq, a popular Twitter client for the tablet. As a part-time developer, Jerome needs powerful development tools that are simple and efficient to work with. Working closely with the Research In Motion® (RIM®) development team and an engaged user base, Jerome has designed creative, useful applications that have generated buzz within the BlackBerry community.

Jerome talked to us about the importance of his engagement with RIM and his user base, working with BlackBerry® WebWorks™, newly released APIs, and developing a successful BlackBerry PlayBook tablet application in only one month.

Dev Blog: Why has your partnership with the RIM development team been so important?

Jerome: For me personally, the ability to talk to actual people about the smallest details rather than hearing a canned response is an asset. I’ve dabbled with other platforms but keep returning to work with RIM, and a huge reason for that is the people who are willing to help. The development team has helped my applications gain exposure, and outreach by RIM on social media like Twitter® and within forums has been really useful. I can also say that the users themselves are very engaged with the applications and help promote it to others. A big part of Blaq’s success was the engagement of BlackBerry PlayBook tablet users. They built a ton of hype and word of mouth buzz before it even launched, which was crucial to its success.

Dev Blog: Why do you like working with the new BlackBerry Operating Systems?

Jerome: APIs are really important for me and any time you have a code that goes from up to 100 lines to just five, it makes any developer’s life simpler. That’s the reality of developing for BlackBerry now. For example, the new network and communication APIs have made it much easier to consume web services such as Twitter. Also, in the past you had to code a lot of images or processes like a JavaScript® Object Notation (JSON) by hand, but with these APIs my workload has dropped dramatically and my development time has been reduced. I’m also experimenting more with BlackBerry WebWorks. Learning that has been a relatively easy process.

Between the APIs and the other development software, I think that RIM is providing enough tools for any developer from any background to jump in and start. All you need is an idea and the means to do it.

Dev Blog: How were you able to develop Blaq – your successful BlackBerry PlayBook tablet application – in just one month?

Jerome: For this one, I used Adobe® Flash Builder software, which is an Eclipse-based development tool. It was my first full experience using Adobe® AIR® and ActionScript®. I found working with Adobe AIR to be relatively simple because of my past involvement with Java and all the great resources that were readily available online. I did an application when the Adobe AIR SDK first came out and it only took me four hours to come up with a simple browser. It’s easy for anyone with a Java or JavaScript background because Adobe AIR sort of combines the two. As I mentioned, the variety and quality of APIs took out a lot of the guesswork for me. In less than 30 days we went from concept to actual launch and it was the highest grossing launch of a paid app for the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet. Updating the application was also a smooth process.

Dev Blog: How have you integrated your applications with the native features and functions of BlackBerry smartphones and the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet?

Jerome: When it launched, Blaq was one of the only applications in BlackBerry App World™ storefront that had a real-time stream of Twitter, which was significant. When we launched the 1.5 version, we added native notifications, which is something that everybody wanted. The notifications turned out to be one of the best things that we included in the application. We use touch gestures, we can upload photos directly from the application and we have a native web-view inside the application. If you click on a link inside of the application you don’t have to exit the app and go into the browser. It feels like a full experience within the application. Incorporating these integrated characteristics really adds to the overall user experience.

Thanks for your time, Jerome!

Here’s a quick rundown of what’s available in the 2.0 beta 1 release of the Native SDK:

• Added Sensors API (magnetometer, gyroscope, and accelerometer support) (device only for now, not available for the simulator at this time)
• Added Payment Service support for subscriptions and in-app purchasing
• IDE improvements in usability, performance, and reliability
• Scoreloop SDK 1.0 Beta 1 is included – try out some social game features for your apps, such as leaderboards

Please note that the BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 Developer Beta is available for developers and is NOT designed for consumer use. If you’ve installed this build and would like to return your BlackBerry PlayBook tablet to the current version, check out our guide on the Inside BlackBerry Help Blog.

How to update your BlackBerry PlayBook OS to the Developer Beta Build

The information needed for native developers is being hosted off the Native SDK developer microsite. If you wish to upgrade your BlackBerry PlayBook tablet to this Developer Beta release, you will need to register your BlackBerry PlayBook tablet PIN using a form hosted on the microsite.

From the link to register your device PIN, simply enter your BlackBerry PlayBook tablet PIN and your email address; review the Terms and Conditions and check the box to indicate your agreement; then click “Submit”.

Within an hour, you should see a icon in the status bar on your BlackBerry PlayBook tablet. You’ll have 24 hours to complete the upgrade, which can be done by following these simple steps:

1. Tap in the top-right corner of the screen
2. Tap “Software Updates”
3. Tap “Check for Updates”
4. Complete the update.
5. If the update is still not available after an hour, or you experience any issues with the update, please visit the support forums.

Keep on coding – and send us your feedback!