Research In Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM) introduced its BlackBerry WebWorks SDK 2.1 for Smartphones, touting new APIs and application functionality that continues the platform's convergence with the WebWorks SDK for BlackBerry Tablet OS. Chief among the new capabilities: A Banner Indicator API enabling developers to place their own icon and number in the banner area of the device homescreen, supporting notifications that alert users to application changes while it's running in the background.
BlackBerry WebWorks SDK 2.1 for Smartphones also features an enhanced Push API that leverages new capabilities in the latest iteration of the BlackBerry Push service. Other tweaks include NTLM and BASIC Authentication support, a Camera API supporting both photos and videos, and improved rendering speeds for apps that don't use loading/transition screens. The SDK is available for download here.
The WebWorks platform enables web developers to create full-featured BlackBerry apps entirely in HTML5, CSS and JavaScript, bringing together existing BlackBerry web development tools along with new resources and platform services. Research In Motion has already confirmed the BlackBerry Tablet OS powering its PlayBook tablet eventually will replace the BlackBerry smartphone operating system across all devices the company produces.
For more:
- read this Inside BlackBerry Developer's Blog entry
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