One feature we’re excited about is that an application can now determine how it was invoked from within the BBM application. This feature is particularly useful if you would like to run some logic within your app to see if the application was invoked through a personal message, chat bubble, or profile box title clicks. For example, your application updates the user’s BBM personal message with an achievement and is seen by their BBM contacts. When a BBM contact invokes the link, your app now has the insight from where in the BBM application it was launched. This helps you as a developer understand how users are interacting with your app through BBM and the BBM Platform.

Here are some other highlights -

• Users can manage their settings in order to “Allow [app name] to connect you with other app users”. With this feature, the user has the ability to prevent dialog boxes from prompting when making/requesting to join public connections.

• Users can easily enable the Profile Box by clicking the checkmark “Post recent activities to BBM Profile” when the app initially connects to BBM.

• The character limit for setting personal messages within the user profile has now been increased to 160.

You can now download the latest version of BBM v6.1 from the BlackBerry App World™ storefront.

To get started with the BBM Social Platform and review all the features supported, be sure to check out the BlackBerry Developer Zone’s BBM Social Platform page – and stay tuned to the Inside BlackBerry Developer’s Blog for more updates!

As a contribution to this positive momentum, we are very happy and proud to announce that the latest version 2.2 of the BlackBerry WebWorks SDK for Smartphones (release notes) is now available for download. Known as the Golf release, this update enables many new features that can be used by developers to build highly functional, and business related capabilities into their BlackBerry WebWorks applications.

What’s new in this release?

• Mac OSX Support – Need we say more? This very exciting and highly demanded feature is now available. A Mac version of the WebWorks SDK installer is available for developers to use and build WebWorks applications using OSX.
• Payment API – the same API that was recently made available for the BlackBerry® WebWorks™ SDK for PlayBook OS can now be used to sell digital goods through WebWorks applications running on BlackBerry Smartphones. This feature gives developers an incredible monetization opportunity for increasing the revenue of their applications. Read more about our payment service.
• BB7 net_rim_api.jar – The underlying API library used by the BlackBerry WebWorks SDK has been updated to the BlackBerry® 7 developer APIs. This means that WebWorks developers can now create their own JavaScript Extensions and make use of APIs found in BlackBerry Device Software versions 5.0, BlackBerry 6 and BlackBerry 7.
• BBM APIs – Developers can now find the BlackBerry WebWorks APIs needed to integrate their applications with the BBM Social platform automatically included as part of the BlackBerry WebWorks SDK. Read more about the BBM Social Platform SDK.
• Side by side installs – The installer has been modified to produce a standalone install of the WebWorks SDK for Smartphone. This feature gives developers the ability to build different versions of their applications based on different versions of the BlackBerry WebWorks SDK, which is often a requirement for supporting production code.
• Memory leak fixes – many performance and stability improvements have been made to the BlackBerry WebWorks SDK to fix memory problems encountered with WebWorks applications running on BlackBerry 6 and 7 OS smartphones.

Payment API code sample

Use the payment API to monetize digital goods from within your BlackBerry smartphone application. The following example demonstrates how to sell additional levels in a puzzle game. A button linked to the payment API purchase() method enables users upgrade the application to a premium version:

function upgradeApp()
{
   var paymentObj = {
	"digitalGoodID"   : "12345",
	"digitalGoodSKU"  : "101010101",
	"digitalGoodName" : "Levels 11-20",
	"metaData"        : "pin=" + blackberry.identity.PIN,
	"purchaseAppName" : "Puzzle Mania"
   };
   blackberry.payment.purchase(paymentObj, onSuccess, onFailure);
}
...

<button onclick="upgradeApp()"> Upgrade to Premium </button>

More Info

Stay up to date with the BlackBerry WebWorks Platform by bookmarking http://developer.blackberry.com/html5 and http://blackberry.github.com/.

In conjunction with BlackBerry WebWorks SDK v2.2, this documented set of APIs is designed to give developers the ability to accomplish the following with BBM:

• Access and update fields in the user’s profile such as status, avatar and personal message
  create app-specific custom areas within the user’s profile for promoting your app and recent activity
  related to it, e.g. achievements
• Initiate BBM chats with BBM users
• Initiate file transfers
• Share applications for download virally with friends in the contact list
• Initiate application-to-application background communication through BBM for sending and receiving application signaling, data

Furthermore, we’re excited to share a few changes that complement this SDK since the last beta release and here’s what you can expect to see:

• Published sample code and documentation for a BBM version dependency checker
• included all BBM WebWorks APIs into the BlackBerry WebWorks SDK as of version v2.2
• BBM WebWorks API documentation now published with BlackBerry WebWorks API Reference

To get started, download the SDK of the BBM Social Platform for BlackBerry WebWorks from the BlackBerry Developer Zone. For on device testing with the BBM Social Platform SDK, you will need to upgrade to the latest BlackBerry Messenger 6.0 version available on BlackBerry App World™. BBM-Connected Applications are supported on BlackBerry smartphones versions 5.0 and later.

To get started with the BBM Social Platform SDK 1.0 for BlackBerry WebWorks and review all the supported features, be sure to check out BlackBerry® Developer Zone’s BBM Social Platform page, and as always, stay tuned to the BlackBerry Developer Blog for more updates on our platform.

We look forward to hearing about your experiences combining the power of the Web and the BBM Social Platform!

The winners of the Most Addictive Social App using the BBM™ Social Platform have been announced by the BlackBerry Partners Fund at BlackBerry DevCon Americas. These apps showcase the power of the BBM platform, and how you can use it to add engaging, social elements to BlackBerry® smartphone applications. Congratulations to these developers and thanks to everyone that participated in the challenge! We look forward to seeing more of your BBM connected apps in the future!

North America:

• Grand Prize Winner – SeaBattleSE (Vendor: Toysoft Development Inc)
• First Runner-up – AP Mobile World Edition (Vendor: The Associated Press)
• Second Runner-up – Jingu (Vendor: Jingu Apps Inc.)

Latin America:

• Grand Prize Winner -  MTV Nightfinder (Vendor: Consultora Eudaimonia SRL)
• First Runner-up – Social Game Center (Vendor: Walkover)
• Second Runner-up – Navita Translator (Vendor: Navita Tecnologia)

Europe, Middle East and Africa:

• Grand Prize Winner – Wikitude (Vendor: Wikitude GmbH)
• First Runner-up – FancyTran (Vendor: FancyApps Limited)
• Second Runner-up – GPSLogger II – The free AIO GPS Solution (Vendor: Matthias Marquardt)

Asia Pacific:

• Grand Prize Winner – Cricket with Friends (Vendor: Synqua Games)
• First Runner-up – Menoo (Vendor: PT Elasitas Multi Kreasi)
• Second Runner-up – GiftnTake – Personalized Gifts for your Social Friends (Vendor: Risto Mobile Solutions Pte Ltd)

In addition, the BlackBerry Partners Fund has recognized the following applications in North America and Latin America to receive a Recognition Award in the categories below. Stay tuned for more updates on Recognition Award winners beyond these regions.

North America:

• Best B2C application developed for a customer by an Agency or ISV – QFolio – NASDAQ OMX Portfolio Manager by The NASDAQOMX Group
• Most useful enterprise application – Box by Box.net
• Best website conversion using the BlackBerry WebWorks platform – Hockeycentral by Rogers Media
• Most creative implementation of Super App characteristics – ScoreMobile for BlackBerry by Score Media Ventures
• Top Performers – Most innovative use of Payment Service and/or Advertising Service – Odesys LLC
• Academic – Most compelling application created by student or faculty – Pashto Script Tutorial by Sukhrob Karimov

Latin America:

• Best B2C application developed for a customer by an Agency or ISV – Sonora by Terra Networks
• Most useful enterprise application – Workforce Automation by Sensebyte Mobile
• Best website conversion using the BlackBerry WebWorks platform – La Cuarta by Patagonia Labs
• Most creative implementation of Super App characteristics – Engarrafora Vonpar by Binario
• Top Performers – Most innovative use of Payment Service and/or Advertising Service – Navita Tecnologia
• Academic – Most compelling application created by student or faculty – Fast Horse by Tiago Schenkel

Winners of the BBM competition and Recognition Awards received passes to BlackBerry DevCon, BlackBerry Smartphones and a BlackBerry PlayBook, BlackBerry Accessories and more.

To read the full announcement by the BlackBerry Partners Fund, go to http://www.blackberrypartnersfund.com/challenge.

The Research In Motion® (RIM®) Developer Relations team recently hosted a BBM™ Hackathon event in NYC. Developers were invited to apply for a chance to participate in the event, getting one-on-one time with BlackBerry® platform experts and network with other developers while working on integrating social elements into apps using the BlackBerry® Messenger (BBM) APIs.

Attendees told us that they found the direct contact with our social platform experts to be invaluable – and we liked hearing that so much that we’ve decided to host more of these hackathon events across the globe in the coming weeks.

The first of these events happened yesterday in our company hometown of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, with the second event happening today, September 29th. Following this, we’ll be hosting BBM Apps Hackathons in Toronto, Chicago, San Francisco, Boston, Jakarta, Amsterdam, London and more. Here are the scheduled dates:

Updated Dates!

• Toronto: October 6th and 7th
• Chicago: October 10th and 11th
• San Francisco: October 16th and 17th (just in time for BlackBerry DevCon Americas 2011!)
• Boston: November 3rd and 4th
• Jakarta: November 14th and 15th
• Bangkok: November 17th and 18th
• Amsterdam: November 24th and 25th (updated)
• London, England: November 28th and 29th (updated)

To enter for your chance to attend one of the BBM Apps Hackathon events, follow this simple process to apply: Visit the site bbmappshackathon.com and fill out an application, outlining among other things (i) why you feel social platform integration adds value to mobile applications; and (ii) give an example of previous mobile apps you have developed.

Developers who are selected to attend a BBM Apps Hackathon event will also receive a BlackBerry gift bag, which includes a BlackBerry® 7 OS device. In addition, those selected to attend the Toronto, Chicago and San Francisco Hackathon events will also receive a pass to attend BlackBerry DevCon Americas 2011 and three night accommodation at the San Francisco Marriott Marquis for the duration of the conference.

We definitely recommend that developers of any level apply to attend these collaborative events. The BlackBerry Social Platform gives developers a way to tie existing apps to BBM, or to build social apps from the ground up. One of the benefits to these social aspects is the added viral buzz that an app can gain from integrating with BBM. At these hackathons, developers will discover valuable strategies that will help them add social aspects to their apps.

Would you be interested in this type of event? Let us know which hackathons you’ll be applying to attend!

The release of the BlackBerry® Messenger (BBM™) Social Platform opens a gigantic world of possibilities to application developers. While some are obvious, such as allowing your users to chat with each other, others may be a little more subtle. This post is the first in a series that will talk about how to easily add social features to your application using the BBM Social Platform. And there’s no better time to update your app! The 2011 BlackBerry Developer Challenge is on, and submissions for the Most Addictive social app using the BBM™ Social Platform category will open later this summer.

One of the greatest benefits of the BBM Social Platform is enabling application developers to access the enormous social graph of their users. Friends often place a much greater level of trust in each other’s suggestions when compared to anonymous reviews and advertisements. With the BBM Social Platform, leveraging this ability to help expand your reach and increase your user base is so simple that I will demonstrate it here.

While you may or may not want to add social features to your app, there is one feature that every app should definitely implement: the “Invite to Download” feature. This feature is so easy to implement – and can have such a great effect on app reach and downloads – that there is really no reason not to take advantage. The idea is simple: The developer adds a button or menu item to their app that allows the user to invite a friend from BBM to download the application. The user, finding the app to be of great utility or enjoyment, decides that this app needs to be shared and selects the “Invite to download” option. Once selected, the user is presented with a list of users from their BBM list. After selecting a user, the rest is out of their hands (and yours), and the platform dutifully goes off and presents the invited user with a message stating that their friend would like them to download an application. Most importantly, it provides a link that will take the user directly to the app in BlackBerry App World™ for a quick and easy download.

What the inviter sees:

What the invitee sees:

All you need to do to enable this feature is to call the following code in Java® or BlackBerry® WebWorks™:

Java
MessagingService messagingService = platformContext.getMessagingService();
messagingService.sendDownloadInvitation();

BlackBerry WebWorks
var result = blackberry.bbm.platform.io.inviteToDownload(onComplete);

The first line for the Java code is just a call to the platform to obtain a reference to the Messaging Service, and isn’t necessary in the BlacKBerry WebWorks implementation. The sendDownloadInvitation() and inviteToDownload() methods are where the magic happens. The platform will automatically show the user a Contact Picker UI field populated with their BBM contacts who do not already have the app installed. The user can select a contact or cancel if they change their mind, either way, control is returned to your app as soon as the user makes a selection. This method should always be called as a response to a specific user request to invite their contacts to download your application.

Be sure to check out the KB article How to – Invite contacts to download your application using the BBM Social Platform for Java and WebWorks for more information, and register for our upcoming three-part Webcast series “Integrating with the BBM Social Platform, One Step at a Time”, where we will cover Download Invitations and more. We’ll follow up this blog post’s corresponding webcast with two more webcasts covering user profiles and embedded chat using the BBM Social Platform. See the details below for more information and register today!

Integrating with the BBM Social Platform, One Step at a Time
Step 1: Viral Distribution and the BBM Contact List
Date: Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Time: 2:00 PM EST / 11:00 AM PST
Register at: http://webcast.streamlogics.com/audience/index.asp?eventid=98450433

Integrating with the BBM Social Platform, One Step at a Time
Step 2: User Profile and Custom Profile Box
Date: Thursday, July 21, 2011
Time: 2:00 PM EST / 11:00 AM PST
Register at: http://webcast.streamlogics.com/audience/index.asp?eventid=69648378

Integrating with the BBM Social Platform, One Step at a Time
Step 3: BBM Chat and Embedding Chat within your App
Date: Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Time: 2:00 PM EST / 11:00 AM PST
Register at: http://webcast.streamlogics.com/audience/index.asp?eventid=87217347