Research In Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM) overhauled its BlackBerry Maps client, promising developers access to 34 new countries as well as an updated visual design. BlackBerry Maps now covers markets including Brazil, Australia, Argentina, New Zealand, Taiwan, Nigeria and the Philippines--writing on the BlackBerry Developer's Blog, RIM application development consultant Shadid Haque notes "I have no doubt that the addition of these new countries in our database will open up a lot of opportunities for app developers in those regions." BlackBerry Maps also touts an improved rendering engine as well as a new color scheme and new POI databases for hospitals, universities, police stations, train/subway stations, shopping centers, parks and airports.
While the new map coverage and map design is available across all devices running BlackBerry 4.5 and up, the new POI icons are optimized only for smartphones running BlackBerry 6.0 as well as BlackBerry 5.0 after Bundle 1057.
For more:
- read this BlackBerry Developer's Blog entry
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