This might be a telling sign for PlayBook OS 2.0 launching. Quite a few large development shops like Rovio and others have been updating their games this week. NerdBerry noticed that Gameloft has now joined the club by updating their Lets Golf 2 HD, NOVA 2 HD, and UNO HD games to v2.0 from v1.0. Some of their games are still sitting at v1.0 so it could be they are waiting to be approved.

If you happen to own one of those games check out the updates in App World

If you liked this article, you might find these interesting:

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• Gameloft Updates UNO for BBM on BlackBerry 7 Smartphones

Posted by the BerryReview Team for ©BerryReview, February 9, 2012, 9:55 am. | Gameloft Updates Some of their Games to v2.0 | One comment |

Union has released some pretty sweet BlackBerry PlayBook games over the last few months but they had one fatal flaw. They did not support the BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 beta. Rezn @Berryfication noticed that Union has not changed that and added support for OS 2.0 on their 11 PlayBook games. That includes hot titles like Samurai II Vengeance, Burn the City, and Roboto.

Check out all of Union’s PlayBook games in App World. Anybody else seeing this as a clear sign of PlayBook OS 2.0 launching very soon?

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• Find Free Flash Games for your PlayBook on FlashPlayBook.com

Posted by the BerryReview Team for ©BerryReview, February 9, 2012, 9:52 am. | Union Games Updated to Support PlayBook OS 2.0! | One comment |

The developer of popular apps such as Blaq and Show Me the Images, Kisai Labs, let us know that they are giving away a 16GB BlackBerry PlayBook. They are doing it to thank all of their fans for supporting Kisai Labs. Its really easy to enter to win just follow the instructions below or from their announcement:

Here’s how to enter:

• Follow @KisaiLabs on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook
• Kisai Labs will choose a winner from either Facebook or Twitter. Double your chances by following and becoming a fan.
• Cheating = no chance. So, don’t bother
• Contest ends on February 16th at midnight

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• OtterBox Giving Away $500 In the Next 5 Days Over Twitter & Facebook
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• Blaq Twitter Client for the BlackBerry PlayBook Updated to v1.6

Posted by the BerryReview Team for ©BerryReview, February 9, 2012, 9:33 am. | Kisai Labs Giving Away a BlackBerry PlayBook to Facebook & Twitter Followers | Leave a comment |

I’ve never developed any apps for any platform before, so DevCon was a chance for me to see what the developer community was like and see what support there was for wannabe developers like myself. My conclusion after the event? Awesome. I dragged along my friend of 20+ years to the event as I wanted him to be involved in my new ‘venture’. (You see I’m a Graphic Designer, my friend is the Web Developer) – He’s had experience in building apps for iOS and Android, with him on-board it means both of us could work together, each using our strengths in our particular field and hopefully churn out some quality apps to the BlackBerry platform.

The future launch of BlackBerry 10 is what has wet my appetite to develop apps. It provides a great opportunity for new developers (like me) to join the community and start developing for a completely overhauled OS. It’s an exciting time. I honestly think BB10 will be RIM’s ‘game changer’.

So this post is literally from a newbie point of view; I had no knowledge of how to build an app or what tools were available. I’ve come away from DevCon with all the tools I need and the know-how. I can’t wait to get started.

From the first general session, with keynotes from new RIM CEO Thorsten Heins and VP of Developer Relations – Alec Saunders; you could feel the excitement grow about what the next couple of days would bring. There was the biggest ever turn out to any DevCon with over 2000 developers crammed into the auditorium and I would hazard a guess that almost half that number were NEW developers either to the platform or like me, completely new to app development.

I tweeted throughout the general session and by now you should have read about the highlights of the keynotes already, but I had a highlight of my own. – When Alec Saunders sat in front of me after his keynote, it was too much of a good opportunity not to try a cheeky tweet and get him to turn around and shake my hand. After he received a BBM message from someone at RIM Marketing who picked up my tweet, he turned around and shook my hand. Mission complete. He was also rocking a sweet T-Shirt with the message ‘Keep Calm – #BeBold’. – I want one!

The rest of the day was spent attending sessions such as ‘BlackBerry® Tablet OS Graphical Aid – One Tool to Unite them All’ and ‘An Introduction to BlackBerry WebWorks: Applications Made Easy’ – Every session I attended; the subject and content was relevant and engaging. The Developer Relations team were on hand throughout to answer any questions and offer advice when asked. – If you go and come away not knowing something, its because you haven’t asked the right questions or asked for advice. There was plenty of opportunity to network with big players of the RIM Development Team and by all accounts I witnessed the majority of developers doing so. There really was a great buzz throughout the entire event.

After a great first day we were ushered downstairs to the DevCon Party which in a word, was epic. Just about everyone I chatted too were so impressed – RIM were really trying to woo developers into building apps for BlackBerry. It worked on me. – If this is how RIM treats developers, I want more of it. The evening was spent eating and drinking, washed down with a helping of App Circus, Karaoke and Networking.

The next morning we were back into sessions including ‘Think Super Apps!’ and ‘Responsive Applications & Liquid Graphics’ – again all really beneficial for a newbie like me. Sessions like these just give you the little ‘know-how’ that’s needed to literally start thinking about putting an app together. – The key point I have come away with; is the knowledge that we CAN build an app rather easily, the only thing we need to really consider is ‘how cool are we going to make it?!’

Overall the entire event was well organised, exciting and engaging. I couldn’t ask* for more; from fellow devs (I’m so calling myself one already!) to the RIM team on hand. I’ve walked away with a head full of ideas and the next few months will be interesting as we start the journey from concept to literally building our app for BlackBerry.

So thanks RIM for an awesome couple of days. If my excitement is anything to measure against – there will soon be no shortage of app developers for the BlackBerry platform. I can’t wait until the next #BBDevCon.

*The only thing I really wanted to take home with me was a new BlackBerry 9900. I was actually lucky enough to WIN ONE – and a whole truck load of other BlackBerry goodies thanks to a simple competition via @BlackBerryDev on Twitter! I walked away with the #BBDevConKit (Excuse the gormless look I have in the pic, I’m not usually so!  - Honest!)

If you liked this article, you might find these interesting:

• RIM Posts Up Replay of BlackBerry DevCon 2012 Europe Keynote
• RIM Shares BlackBerry DevCon 2012 Europe Day 1 Highlight Reel Video
• Thorsten Heins Rehearsing at BlackBerry DevCon Europe 2012!
• BlackBerry DevCon 2012 Europe Keynote Streamed Live Tomorrow at 10:30 CET
• Thorsten Heins Welcomes DevCon 2012 Europe’s 2,000+ Attendees

Posted by Ben Rowe for ©BerryReview, February 9, 2012, 8:54 am. | My Time @ BlackBerry DevCon Europe 2012 | 9 comments |

Earlier demos of the BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 release showed integration with Twitter and LinkedIn in the accounts page but there was no sign of Facebook. We knew that it had to be coming and now Kevin @CrackBerry noticed that it has been added in RIM’s demos at BlackBerry DevCon. Not a huge deal but its nice to see that it is integrated with everything including the unified messaging app. Definitely a good sign of what is to come in the future especially for BB10 phones.

Desktop Video Link | Mobile Video Link

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Posted by the BerryReview Team for ©BerryReview, February 9, 2012, 5:44 am. | Facebook Integration Spotted in Latest BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 | Leave a comment |

Feel like you are missed out on BlackBerry DevCon 2012 in Amsterdam? BlackBerry UK has you covered with a highlight reel of Day 1 of the event. It gives you a quick snapshot of what the show looks like and really makes the event shine. My buddy Matthias also managed to get his FileScout app in the video!

Check it out below:

Desktop Video Link | Mobile Video Link

If you liked this article, you might find these interesting:

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• BlackBerry DevCon 2012 Europe Keynote Streamed Live Tomorrow at 10:30 CET
• Thorsten Heins Rehearsing at BlackBerry DevCon Europe 2012!

Posted by the BerryReview Team for ©BerryReview, February 8, 2012, 3:54 pm. | RIM Shares BlackBerry DevCon 2012 Europe Day 1 Highlight Reel Video | Leave a comment |

In case you have not noticed I have been a huge fan of the Marmalade SDK and the functionality it has brought to the BlackBerry PlayBook. Its nice to see that RIM caught up with Marmalade’s President Alex Caccia to discuss how they work with RIM to create apps and bring apps and games to the BlackBerry platform. Not a long video but it will make you feel like you are at DevCon 2012…

Desktop Video Link | Mobile Video Link

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Posted by the BerryReview Team for ©BerryReview, February 8, 2012, 2:38 pm. | Marmalade President Alex Caccia Talks BlackBerry Development | One comment |

It looks like that latest OS 7.1.0.247 leak for the BlackBerry Bold 9790 held more than just marginal updates to native apps. They also threw in a new feature called “Battery Saving Mode” in the menu spotted by N4BB. The new option lets you choose if and at what threshold the OS should kick into Power Saving Mode to adjust your settings to maximize remaining power. I am convinced BlackBerrys have been doing some of this stuff for awhile but have not exposed the options to users when it comes to doing things like turning off the radio at 5% battery.

Kevin @CrackBerry also managed to score a video of it running on a Bold 9900 at DevCon Europe:

Desktop Video Link | Mobile Video Link

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Posted by the BerryReview Team for ©BerryReview, February 8, 2012, 2:31 pm. | New Battery Saving Mode Option Shows Up in Latest OS 7.1 Leak | 2 comments |

Compilr is a really useful web based IDE for writing code without installing anything. In short it is an easy way to pump out or edit anything from PHP to C++ in a simple easy to use website. Compilr let us know that they have taken things a step further and released a launcher app for their Compilr service to get you up and running faster. They have over 80,000 users and I am really digging the HTML5 as an app sort of service.

I will be giving it a spin over the next few days. You can check out the service at www.compilr.com or download the PlayBook launcher app here.

PS: Anybody else think its weird that this app is rated “Teen”?

If you liked this article, you might find these interesting:

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• Devs: RIM Releases Quake3 Engine Port Source Code for PlayBook
• RIM Explains a Bit More about New “Cloud Based BES” Service

Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, February 8, 2012, 1:35 pm. | Write Code on Your PlayBook With the Web Based Compilr | Leave a comment |

Smarter Apps let us know that they are celebration the anniversary of Angry Farm’s launch with a sale. We recently let you know that they added 50 new levels bringing it to 250 levels. Now they have also dropped the price from $4.99 to $2.99 for a limited time. Check out the links below to pick it up:

You can download the free trial of Angry Farm or purchase the paid version of Angry Farm from App World

If you liked this article, you might find these interesting:

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• Angry Farm for BlackBerry Adds 50 Levels in Latest Version!

Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, February 8, 2012, 12:07 pm. | Smarter Apps Celebrates Angry Farm Anniversary with $2.99 Sale Price | Leave a comment |

T-Mobile has been offering odd value plans recently where you put a down payment and monthly cost to pay off a device. Now they have gotten back to classic deals by offering the BlackBerry Bold 9900 for free after a $250 rebate for Valentine’s Day. The deal is only good on Saturday Feb 11th and you get the $250 in the form of a card.

Check out the details below or on T-Mobile’s website:

Cupid’s Arrow Hits Mark: T-Mobile Offers Free 4G Phones to Celebrate Valentine’s

For one day only, on Feb.11, all of T-Mobile’s 4G smartphones and select mobile broadband devices are free with the switch to a qualifying two-year plan

BELLEVUE, Wash. — Feb. 7, 2012 — In the spirit of the season, T-Mobile USA, Inc. will show consumers lots of love with another jaw-dropping promotion for its “Valentine’s Day Sale.” For one day only, Saturday, Feb. 11, T-Mobile will give customers the chance to get their hands on the latest 4G smartphones and select tablets for free, making a perfect gift for loved ones or themselves. The promotion includes T-Mobile’s fastest 4G smartphones and select tablets running on America’s Largest 4G Network^® such as the Samsung Galaxy S^™ II¹ and the T-Mobile^® SpringBoard^™ with Google™.

New and existing eligible customers can take advantage of this deal receiving their device for free after a mail-in rebate card when they sign up for a new two-year contract on any qualifying Classic Plan^™2 or for a $0.00 down payment after mail-in rebate card when signing up on a qualifying Unlimited Value^™3Plan.

“T-Mobile has a commitment to make the 4G experience affordable and accessible to everyone, so this sweet deal on smartphones and tablets is our Valentine’s gift to consumers,” said John Clelland, senior vice president of marketing, T-Mobile USA. “No matter where loved ones live, T-Mobile wants to bring them closer with unlimited talking, photo sharing, video chatting, texting, and more.”

A recent online Omnibus survey⁴ with Harris Interactive found that four-in-ten (44%) of first time smartphone buyers in 2012 say the cost of the data plan associated with the smartphone is the most influential reason they have not purchased a smartphone before. The value for customers extends beyond the “Valentine’s Day Sale” as T-Mobile offers the best rate plan pricing on America’s Largest 4G Network.

The following is a sample of the exceptional devices available during the “Valentine’s Day Sale” if customers choose to sign up on a two-year Classic Plan^™:

The “Valentine’s Day Sale” will be available on Feb.11 at participating T-Mobile retail stores nationwide and T-Mobile will support the promotion with a national television advertising campaign. For more information about T-Mobile’s “Valentine’s Day Sale” and details about qualifying plans, visit http://bit.ly/z36M9c.

¹ Devices must be supported with the following data requirements: voice phones: 200 MB data; most smartphones: 2 GB data; 42 Mbps devices (Amaze and Galaxy S II): 5 GB data.

²Standard upgrade eligibility rules apply for existing Classic customers that stay on a Classic plan; standard migration fees will apply for existing Classic customers that switch to a Value plan and have less than 18 months contract tenure.

³ $0 down payment offer not applicable in RI, CT, or Miami-Dade County, FL; customers in these regions will be eligible for a different offer. Equipment installment plans: On approved credit and 0 percent APR. Down payment and unfinanced portion required at purchase. Remaining balance paid in 20 monthly installments. Total post-rebate price of each device equals down payment amount plus monthly payment amount times 20.

⁴This survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Interactive on behalf of T-Mobile USA from December 20-22, 2011 among 2,573 adults ages 18 and older, among whom 235 will be first time smartphone buyers in 2012, and 988 are current smartphone users who will remain smartphone users in 2012. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables, please contactkmcfadzean@waggeneredstrom.com.

⁵Mail-in rebate not applicable in RI, CT, or Miami-Dade County, FL.

About T-Mobile USA, Inc.

Based in Bellevue, Wash., T-Mobile USA, Inc. is the U.S. wireless operation of Deutsche Telekom AG (OTCQX: DTEGY). By the end of the third quarter of 2011, approximately 129 million mobile customers were served by the mobile communication segments of the Deutsche Telekom group — 33.7 million by T-Mobile USA — all via a common technology platform based on GSM and UMTS and additionally HSPA+ 21/HSPA+ 42. T-Mobile USA’s innovative wireless products and services help empower people to connect to those who matter most. Multiple independent research studies continue to rank T-Mobile USA among the highest in numerous regions throughout the U.S. in wireless customer care and call quality. For more information, please visit http://www.T-Mobile.com. T-Mobile is a federally registered trademark of Deutsche Telekom AG. For further information on Deutsche Telekom, please visit www.telekom.com/investor-relations. For more information about T-Mobile’s 4G products, services and network availability, please visit http://www.t-mobile.com.

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• T-Mobile BlackBerry Bold 9900 Now Available for $299 With Contract
• T-Mobile Valentines Day Promotion – Every Phone Free on Feb 11th and 12th

Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, February 8, 2012, 10:08 am. | T-Mobile Offering BlackBerry Bold 9900 Free on Valentine’s Day | 2 comments |

In case you were not up at the ungodly time of the morning here on the east coast to listen to the DevCon 2012 Europe keynote you are in luck. Tom let us know that RIM has posted up a replay video of the whole keynote for you to check out in all its glory. This is the first time RIM’s new CEO has talked in public at a BlackBerry event so its a pretty big deal.

Check it out at www.blackberrydevcon.com/europe/webcast

If you liked this article, you might find these interesting:

• BlackBerry DevCon 2012 Europe Keynote Streamed Live Tomorrow at 10:30 CET
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• BlackBerry DevCon Europe is Sold Out!
• Thorsten Heins Welcomes DevCon 2012 Europe’s 2,000+ Attendees

Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, February 8, 2012, 7:09 am. | RIM Posts Up Replay of BlackBerry DevCon 2012 Europe Keynote | Leave a comment |

BlackBerry r0cks email up, down, and sideways. That’s a given. There is, however, always room to make a good thing better. Devcellent Solutions, Inc. has done just that with Email++, a powerful inbox enhancement app that adds all kinds of new functionality to the native Messages application.

Here’s a list of the many features Email++ adds to your toolbox:

• Email++Toolbar: Instant action buttons whenever you open an email. Custom colors to match your theme.
• Automatic Image Downloader
  
• Convert To: Instantly convert emails into Appointments, Meetings, Memos or Tasks.
• Forward/Reply with Edit: Respond to or forward emails with attachments and the ability to edit or even remove the original message.
• Unsend: Avoid send accidents. Unsend your sent emails and avoid the big “oops”.
• Set Priority: Set priority of new emails, as well as emails that are already in your inbox. A great way to flag messages.
• Block: Block/filter emails by address or subject (exact or keyword based) with customizable actions such as Move To Junk, Delete and Mark Read.
• My Availability: Get your availability for a specific day or a week.
• My Location: Instantly get your GPS/Cell tower coordinates, address and a map url with you on it and include it in your email.
• Message Preview: Microsoft Outlook-like popups no matter which app you’re working in, with instant action buttons such as Delete, Mark Read and View.
• Templates: Convert any email to a template for frequent reuse
• Each feature is fully customizable to suit your needs via the Email++ Preferences screen.

Email++’s deep integration allows you to quickly access availability, location, and fully customize when pop-ups appear. Don’t want email pop-ups to interrupt your game of BrickBreaker? No problem. Simply uncheck it in the Visibility list and you’re good to go.

Devcellent offers a free trial of 3 days (extendable by sharing the app with friends via email or social integration), free upgrades, and corporate rates. If you’re looking for ways to add power to your inbox, there’s no excuse for not checking out Email++.

Download Email++ from AppWorld (Free trial or $2.99)

Download Email++ from Mobihand (Currently ON SALE for $0.99!)

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Posted by rrrebo for ©BerryReview, February 7, 2012, 5:28 pm. | Email++ Powers Up Your Inbox | 5 comments |

RIM made it official that they are offering a free BlackBerry PlayBook to developers who submit a BlackBerry PlayBook app but they made it sound like it was for Android ports only. Marc pointed out to me that RIM is actually offering the free BlackBerry PlayBook app for any dev that releases a new BlackBerry PlayBook app and submits it to App World before February 13th. I cannot seem to confirm if current devs are also eligible but it looks like it.

If you are a PlayBook dev or a potential dev I highly recommend checking out the terms and conditions of this offer on RIM’s website. Its also nice to see RIM offer a promotion like this internationally.

If you liked this article, you might find these interesting:

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• Developers: Free BlackBerry PlayBook Offer Ends March 31st!

Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, February 7, 2012, 3:25 pm. | RIM Details Free BlackBerry PlayBook Offer for ANY Devs (Not Just Android!) | 3 comments |

RIM just posted up another video interview this time with one of my favorite and passionate people at RIM. Christopher Smith is RIM’s VP of BlackBerry Application Platform & Tools and is responsible for practically all of the framework and architecture design for BlackBerry development. In the video below he talks about RIM’s commitment to the future and also mentions some perks like RIM continuing to give away loads of PlayBooks to developers as seed devices.

Check out the video below:

Desktop Video Link | Mobile Video Link

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• HOT! PodTrapper Dev Details the BlackBerry Development Process
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Posted by the BerryReview Team for ©BerryReview, February 7, 2012, 2:15 pm. | RIM VP Christopher Smith Talks About Future of BlackBerry Development | One comment |

RIM has gone ahead and confirmed that BlackBerry Bridge will also be getting a v2.0. While on stage at BlackBerry DevCon Europe Vivek Bhardwaj, Head of Software Portfolio EMEA at RIM, tried to demo opening a picture you took on your BlackBerry smartphone on your PlayBook. This is a cool Open On feature that RIM is adding in PlayBook OS 2.0 but sadly it did not work during the keynote. Alex @RIM followed up with Vivek and had a chance to get a demo of it actually working below:

Desktop Video Link | Mobile Video Link

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• RIM Shows Off BlackBerry PlayBook 2.0 Bridge Sharing Features on Video
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• AT&T to Finally Open Up BlackBerry Bridge Today
• Updated: BlackBerry PlayBook Screenshots Don’t Work When Bridge Enabled (BES)

Posted by the BerryReview Team for ©BerryReview, February 7, 2012, 11:56 am. | RIM Shows How “Open On..” Features Works for BlackBerry Bridge 2.0 | 6 comments |

While on stage during the DevCon Europe 2012 keynote Alec Saunders took to his “Myth Busting” again. He shared some updated details about BlackBerry development and how it compares to the competition and its ranking as the second most profitable app store after Apple’s App Store. According to the stats Alec cited there are now over six million daily downloads from App World. Here is how that breaks down:

• 6 million daily downloads in App World which is about 180 per month
• That translates into 2.4 apps per user per month or about 29 a year on average
• Over 2 billion downloads total reached in January 2012
• BlackBerry users download more paid apps on average than Android users do (Yankee  Group)
• BlackBerry apps generate 40% more revenue than Android apps (Vision Mobile)
• 13% of BlackBerry developers made $100,000+ from BlackBerry App World apps, considerably more than Android or Apple developers (Evans Data Corp)

Those are some pretty impressive stats for BlackBerry developers both new and old and clearly shows there is money to be made. Let us know what you are planning on making for BlackBerry!

PS: Ben let me know that Alec was carrying around a presentation clicker that looked like a “big red button.” Maybe he was using it to demolish the myths?

If you liked this article, you might find these interesting:

• RIM Hiring Developer Evangelists – Alec Saunders Wants to Win Devs Back
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• RIM’s Alec Saunders Says BBX “Designed for Dual Core” & Theme Studio Coming in 2012
• Latest Alec Saunders Interview details “The Road to BB10” & Cascades UI

Posted by the BerryReview Team for ©BerryReview, February 7, 2012, 10:44 am. | Alec Saunders Shares App World Stats – App World is Second Most Profitable App Store | 2 comments |

It is a pretty exciting day for BlackBerry devs with RIM’s new President & CEO, Thorsten Heins, welcoming over 2,000 attendees to the first ever BlackBerry DevCon Europe. If I am not mistaken that makes this the biggest DevCon ever which is impressive. RIM put out the press release below to announce the beginning of the event. Ben was covering the keynote on Twitter but we have more details coming soon!

7^th February 2012 – Thorsten Heins, President & CEO, Research In Motion (RIM), today opened the BlackBerry® DevCon Europe conference in Amsterdam. Admission to DevCon Europe 2012 is sold out with more than 2,000 attendees expected from across Europe, the Middle East, Africa (EMEA) and beyond.

Delegates at the two-day event will learn how to leverage the strength of the BlackBerry® platform in order to build high-quality apps for more than 75 million BlackBerry users worldwide. Attendees will also receive a free BlackBerry® PlayBook™ to help with tablet application development.

The conference will focus on showcasing the opportunities that the BlackBerry platform presents to developers and how they can most effectively drive revenue streams from their apps. RIM’s developer relations team will be on hand to demonstrate the simplified process for building apps for the BlackBerry platform and offer guidance on working with a number of innovative technologies, including:

• HTML 5: building HTML5 apps for BlackBerry smartphones and BlackBerry PlayBook tabletswith native-like capabilities using BlackBerry® WebWorks™, including integration with coresmartphone apps and features such as email, messaging, calendar, contacts, menus and multimedia
• C/C++: native software development for BlackBerry PlayBook tablets, which brings together the power of the BlackBerry PlayBook with a rich C/C++ toolset for building high performance apps that are visually stunning
• BlackBerry® Runtime for Android apps: porting Android apps to the BlackBerry PlayBook

Amongst the attendees is a group of more than 400 students from universities in Poland and the UK, the majority of which are affiliated with the BlackBerry® Academic Program. With over 300 academic institutions registered from 21 countries across the region, the BlackBerry Academic Program actively engages with students by encouraging participation at local events such as DevCon to facilitate application development in the classroom.

Alec Saunders, VP, Developer Relations & Ecosystem, RIM said: “The record-breaking attendance for DevCon Europe is testament to the interest in BlackBerry app development across this important region. DevCon Europe 2012 provides delegates with the opportunity to explore the full potential of the BlackBerry platform and to engage directly with our developer relations team. With cutting-edgedeveloper tools, streamlined processes and a high level of dedicated support, we’re making it easier than ever for developers to enjoy a strong experience developing for the BlackBerry platform and to effectively monetise their offerings.”

Finding success on BlackBerry

At DevCon Europe, sessions will showcase how developers are already benefiting from BlackBerry® App World™ Two billion apps have been downloaded to date and the momentum continues with 6 million downloads per day. In addition to serving an installed base of more than 75 million devices, the BlackBerry platform is also recognised as one of the most profitable for developers:

• BlackBerry users download more paid apps on average than Android users do (Yankee  Group)
• BlackBerry apps generate 40% more revenue than Android apps (Vision Mobile)
• 13% of BlackBerry developers made $100,000+ from BlackBerry App World apps, considerably more than Android or Apple developers (Evans Data Corp)

The path to BlackBerry 10

Attendees at DevCon Europe will also learn more about the BlackBerry® 10 developer roadmap and how this new operating system will open up even more opportunities for app developers. BlackBerry 10 combines the best of BlackBerry OS and QNX®,  offering developers a single, converged platform, built from the ground up to deliver the most powerful, secure and social mobile computing experience yet. The platform is comprised of a next-generation mobile OS and services, as well as native and HTML5 application development environments.

HTML5 will be the bridge that allows developers to tap into the millions of BlackBerry devices on the market today, plus the next generation of BlackBerry handsets. Developers are able to use it for development now and indeed, already one-quarter of all apps on BlackBerry App World today have been built using  HTML5 and the enhancements and native-like integration offered by BlackBerry WebWorks, RIM’s web development toolset.

If you are interested in learning more about BlackBerry DevCon Europe 2012 or to keep up to date on all the latest from the show, visit www.blackberry.com/devconeurope.

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• BlackBerry DevCon 2012 Europe Keynote Streamed Live Tomorrow at 10:30 CET
• BlackBerry DevCon Europe is Sold Out!

Posted by the BerryReview Team for ©BerryReview, February 7, 2012, 9:55 am. | Thorsten Heins Welcomes DevCon 2012 Europe’s 2,000+ Attendees | 3 comments |

DevCon 2012 Europe is about to begin and RIM has posted up a video welcoming everybody to the show. If gives us a bit of a taste of what it looks like out there in Amsterdam. We will be keeping you up to date as the show progresses. Check out the video below with Rob Orr – VP, EMEA Product Management & Rory O’Neill – VP, EMEA Marketing giving their thoughts on the first BlackBerry DevCon Europe.

Desktop Video Link | Mobile Video Link

If you liked this article, you might find these interesting:

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• BlackBerry DevCon Europe & Asia – Cities & Dates Announced

Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, February 7, 2012, 3:20 am. | RIM Gives Us a Look @ DevCon 2012 Europe With Video & VP Interviews | Leave a comment |

We know that Thorsten Heins will be presenting at the keynote tomorrow in Amsterdam so it may be worth listening in. The keynote will be tomorrow February 7th at 10:30 CET which is an obscene 4:30AM EST so I doubt I will be listening live. Those of you around the world can simply stream in live at the link below. Ben Rowe will be covering the event for us along with a few other BerryReview regulars so we should have the latest for you when it comes out! Also feel free to send in tips to our tipline.

You can find the live webcast of the DevCon 2012 keynote here

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Posted by the BerryReview Team for ©BerryReview, February 6, 2012, 5:57 pm. | BlackBerry DevCon 2012 Europe Keynote Streamed Live Tomorrow at 10:30 CET | Leave a comment |

While most carriers have not yet released OS 7.1 RIM added a slick new feature for NFC in the OS update. They are calling it BlackBerry Tag and it essentially lets you do things like send files to your friends device by tapping your phones. What this does is essentially add a new option in the “Send to” menu called Tag that syncs over NFC and then initiates a quick secure Bluetooth connection. So say you want to send a video, picture, or contact card to a friend who also has an NFC BlackBerry on OS 7.1 you can just select the tag option and tap your phones together.

It will ask you to turn on NFC when you select the Tag option in the send menu but the reciever will need to turn it on manually. Cory from RIM has been kind enough to walk us through a regular scenario of how we can use BlackBerry Tag now. Check out their tutorial and let us know how it works for you.

As we mentioned before RIM plans on using BlackBerry Tag to allow you to:

• Invite your friend to BBM
• Share contact information
• Share content from the media applications
• Share voice notes
• Share documents from within Documents To Go®
• Share a URL from the browser
• Create Bluetooth® pairing with ease
• Transfer files

If you liked this article, you might find these interesting:

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Posted by the BerryReview Team for ©BerryReview, February 6, 2012, 5:20 pm. | RIM Explains How to Use BlackBerry Tag NFC Features in OS 7.1 | Leave a comment |

All the signs have been pointing to RIM’s new CEO Thorsten Heins keynoting at BlackBerry DevCon 2012 in Amsterdam. Its nice to see a preview of what we have in store for tomorrow which is the first DevCon Europe ever! Trk let us know that Alec Saunders has posted up a pic on Twitter of Thorsten Heins rehearsing at BlackBerry DevCon 2012.

Can’t wait to hear what he has to say tomorrow!

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Posted by the BerryReview Team for ©BerryReview, February 6, 2012, 4:24 pm. | Thorsten Heins Rehearsing at BlackBerry DevCon Europe 2012! | One comment |

The guys over at N4BB spotted something interesting today. It seems like stores in the UK are starting to put up advertisements for the BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0. This is definitely a good sign that the PlayBook OS 2.0 launch is just right around the corner. Now, considering that the PlayBook OS 2.0′s official release should be just weeks away, things are looking positive!

PlayBook OS 2.0 will finally bring some features that we have been patiently waiting for: native PIM apps with email, calendar, contacts, and a video store. The update will also bring a revamped UI and quite a few other improvements. I am pretty confident that they won;t let us down. I’m excited, are you? With DevCon on going, hopefully we do get some nice little positive surprises!!

via N4BB

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Posted by Terrence T for ©BerryReview, February 6, 2012, 12:57 pm. | PlayBook OS 2.0 Advertisements Showing up in Stores in the UK | 7 comments |

We know that the BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 update is right around the corner and RIM plans on doing a big refresh campaign for it with its new features. N4BB has scored an image of a store in the UK showing off the PlayBook OS 2.0 features with its new email, contacts, calendar, and video store. I am hoping RIM has finally also thrown in a store demo mode so that devices stay up to date and do not get vandalized. Lucas also noticed that RIM’s latest blog post about free PlayBooks for Android developers shows a refreshed look for App World.

Anybody else excited to see PlayBook OS 2.0 launch?

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Posted by the BerryReview Team for ©BerryReview, February 6, 2012, 12:54 pm. | PlayBook OS 2.0 Displays Arriving in UK Stores | 7 comments |

I love when RIM gives us some insight into how they make our favorite devices. Their latest interview is with Ryan who is a a Hardware Engineering Technician in the Hardware Support Lab at RIM. His job is to test BlackBerrys to ensure they are durable and reliable. The best part is he shares some videos of how they perform some of these tests. This sort of reminds me of the testing demos you see at Ikea stores where they open and close a drawer 2 million times.

Check out the videos below but here are some of the tests RIM performs on devices:

• Moisture Ingress test to see where water enters a BlackBerry
• Digital signal tests
• Drop testing – dropping every BlackBerry hundreds of times to make revisions that improve its design. (Its cool how BlackBerrys are actually designed to absorb the impact wave and absorb the shock)
• Bend testing to see what will happen if people sit on their BlackBerrys. (They know who you are!
• Electrostatic discharge test to make sure you don’t shock your BlackBerry dead.

Check out the videos of the BlackBerrys being tortured in these tests below. Warning: The videos below depict graphic violence against BlackBerrys.

Water Testing:

Desktop Video Link | Mobile Video Link

Drop Testing:

Desktop Video Link | Mobile Video Link

Bend and Flex testing:

Desktop Video Link | Mobile Video Link

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Posted by the BerryReview Team for ©BerryReview, February 6, 2012, 11:36 am. | RIM Shares How They Torture BlackBerrys to Test Their Durability | 7 comments |