Research In Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM) released its BlackBerry Java SDK v7.1 beta for both the BlackBerry Java Plug-in for Eclipse and the BlackBerry Java Development Environment on Windows, with Mac support expected to follow in the near future. The updated SDK features a new NFC Peer-to-Peer API enabling applications to share data and other files via Near Field Communications-initiated communication with Bluetooth handover as well as an FM radio API giving apps the capability to manipulate FM tuner settings on BlackBerry smartphones with supporting hardware. Also new: A Profiles API bringing more Super App features to apps, allowing them to query current profile settings and adjust their own behavior accordingly or intelligently change the profile to match the user's current activities.
The BlackBerry Java SDK v7.1 additionally boasts a simulator for the BlackBerry Bold 9900 smartphone running 7.1 OS--RIM encourages developers leveraging net.rim.device.api.browser.field2.BrowserField to also download an updated standalone version of the Bold 9900 simulator designed to include a more stable environment for browser-based development. Click here to download the BlackBerry Java SDK v7.1; for more information and simulators, check out the BlackBerry 7 page on BlackBerry Developer Zone.
RIM unveiled BlackBerry 7 in May, promising improved performance and built-in NFC support. BlackBerry 7 powers the Liquid Graphics touchscreen, which touts faster, smoother performance for touch-based navigation, web browsing, pictures, video and graphics-intensive gaming--according to RIM, Liquid Graphics offers up to 60 frames-per-second performance with instant UI action/response. In addition to Liquid Graphics performance gains, the revamped BlackBerry 7 browser includes a JIT (just in time) JavaScript compiler to improve webpage load time speeds alongside support for additional HTML5 elements.
For more:
- read this Inside BlackBerry Developer's Blog entry
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