Recently I cant help but have mixed feelings about device App Stores run by manufacturers. Back in the day when there were no App Stores any developer could release their own application without having to be accepted or modify their applications for the platform. For example, anybody could write up some code and offer it or sell it for Symbian, Windows Mobile, BlackBerry, & more.
Nowadays I can’t go a day without hearing about some crazy story about App Stores. My favorite this week is Apple’s rejection of a chess game with built in chat because Apple thinks they have trademarked glossy chat buttons!
Its not promising when innovative first time BlackBerry developers like Screaming Toaster go on a rant about how BlackBerry development is totally toxic. (His words not mine) I know that RIM has a whole team that is working hard to help and entice developers along with their new Developer Conference but I think they have a long road ahead.
Here is a perfect example. Yesterday Prosanta posted this great article on the brand new BlackBerry Developer’s Blog about using AJAX in the BlackBerry browser. This is a really cool idea and could lead to web apps kind of like we see on the iPhone. The only problem is that AJAX requires JavaScript which is DISABLED BY DEFAULT on all devices currently sold as far as I have seen! The Browser in OS 5.0 is supposed to fix this but from what I am seeing it is not that much of a JavaScript improvement in the beta OS’s. So in short this great feature that would allow for Web 2.0 applications will not be used by developers for at least a year or two until a majority of users are on OS 5.0+.
The App World is yet another example of this. RIM is pushing the App World to developers to help users discover and install applications. The sad part is that the App World is not installed by default on ANY new BlackBerry which almost defeats the purpose. I have run into over 5 first time BlackBerry users this week and not one of them had App World installed.
So are there any developers out there who want to follow in the footsteps of Screaming Toaster and Versatile Monkey and share their experiences? I am curious if things are improving fast enough especially with RIM’s efforts to release tools such as a developer bug tracker, forum, & blog along with their developers conference and Eclipse/Visual Studio plugins.
In my opinion app development and innovation is where the future stands in terms of cool new applications that change how we use our BlackBerrys. It is sad that until this day very few developers can make a quality app that even holds a candle to apps created by RIM internally. (and this is not due to lack of talent)
Ronen Halevy ( View Profile) - Posts: