Monthly Archives: June 2011

Version 2.7 of Pixelated released

This past weekend Pixelated was updated to version 2.7 in BlackBerry AppWorld. Like with Pixelated Plus version 2.7 includes better navigation on the BlackBerry PlayBook, as well as support for the upcoming 9900, 9930, 9360, 9810, and 9850 BlackBerry models.

PlayBook interface

The BlackBerry PlayBook version of Pixelated Plus now has an interface that can be mostly controlled by swiping around the screen. The main menu can be swiped down from the top bezel as before, but now can also be swiped back up. Additionally these additional screens for statistics and options slide down from the top of the device, and can be swiped back up in order to return to the game. This is more consistent with general navigation throughout the PlayBook’s OS where most everything is opened and closed via swipes rather then button presses.

New Devices

Pixelated Plus now supports the soon to be released BlackBerry Bold 9900/9930, the Torch 9810, the Curve 9360, and the touchscreen only 9850. The full list of supported BlackBerry models are as follows: 8330, 8350i, 8520, 8530, 8900, 8910, 8980, 9000, 9100, 9105, 9300, 9330, 9360, 9500, 9520, 9530, 9550, 9630, 9650, 9670, 9700, 9780, 9800, 9810, 9850, 9900, 9930, and the BlackBerry PlayBook.

Links & Information

BlackBerry, Pixelated, PlayBook

Pixelated Plus updated to version 2.7

Pixelated Plus has been updated to version 2.7 in BlackBerry AppWorld. This new version includes better navigation on the BlackBerry PlayBook, as well as support for the upcoming 9900, 9930, 9360, 9810, and 9850 BlackBerry models. Also there was a bug fix in regards to the saving of in progress games that was added in version 2.6 of the game.

PlayBook interface

The BlackBerry PlayBook version of Pixelated Plus now has an interface that can be mostly controlled by swiping around the screen. The main menu can be swiped down from the top bezel as before, but now can also be swiped back up. Additionally these additional screens for statistics and options slide down from the top of the device, and can be swiped back up in order to return to the game. This is more consistent with general navigation throughout the PlayBook’s OS where most everything is opened and closed via swipes rather then button presses.

New Devices

Pixelated Plus now supports the soon to be released BlackBerry Bold 9900/9930, the Torch 9810, the Curve 9360, and the touchscreen only 9850. The full list of supported BlackBerry models are as follows: 8330, 8350i, 8520, 8530, 8900, 8910, 8980, 9000, 9100, 9105, 9300, 9330, 9360, 9500, 9520, 9530, 9550, 9630, 9650, 9670, 9700, 9780, 9800, 9810, 9850, 9900, 9930, and the BlackBerry PlayBook.

Links & Information

BlackBerry, Pixelated, PlayBook

BlackBerry Torch 2 may support CDMA networks

Yesterday RIM released simulators for a number of new BlackBerry devices such as the Torch 9810, Curve 9360, and the 9850. When first launching the 9810 simulator you get the screen seen to the right that asks about selecting CDMA or GSM compatibility. This is an option that is traditionally only seen on CDMA devices designed for Verizon or Sprint’s networks. In fact none of the current BlackBerry’s have any CDMA support unless they were specifically aimed at one of these two networks. This would seem to imply that the Torch 2 will be available on more networks in the United States, and not be limited to AT&T.

Now, none of the other leaks in regards to this device imply that it will be available through Sprint or Verizon, so there is a chance that this is just a fluke in the simulator and will not come to anything. On the other hand, now that RIM is using Qualcomm chips in all of their high end phones there is no technical reason why this single phone couldn’t support all of these networks. So here is to hoping that RIM’s best form factor is available to everyone.

BlackBerry

BlackBerry 7 icons should only be 76×76 pixels

Recently RIM has suggested that icons for BlackBerry 7 devices such as the 9900 should be 92×92 pixels. A quick look at this in the simulator, however reveals that this is way to big, and a 92×92 pixel icons looks absurdly large. While using the whole 92 pixels may be appropriate if you are filling the edges with transparencys and drop shadows, a more realistic size for a normal icon is 76×76 pixels. At 76 pixels you can still get a high quality icon, but also one that doesn’t dwarf all of those around it.

BlackBerry, code

Updated PlayBook sales estimate

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I took a crack at estimating PlayBook sales about a month ago, but with RIM set to release sales number tomorrow, I figured that I would take one more guess to see how accurate any of my estimating actually is.

The Wall Street Journal reported that analysts expect that RIM has shipped about 436,000 PlayBooks. CrackBerry is estimating sales under 200,000 units. I think the Wall Street Journal is much closer.

As of yesterday I am estimating that RIM has sold between 258,000 and 800,000 PlayBooks. My best guess is that they have sold 429,000 tablets, which is very close the the analyst guess.

This estimate is based on a lot of assumptions, and guess work but is based on the number of downloads of the free game Pixelated. However, as Pixelated has remained one of the top 10 most popular applications on the PlayBook, I feel that I have better numbers then most people to base this guess on.

BlackBerry, PlayBook, Statistics

Breakdown of BlackBerry OS use

Use of BlackBerry OS 6.0 is up slightly from last month to 25.9% of all users. The growth of users at OS 5.0 or higher saw slightly larger gains, and is now up to 85.8% of all BlackBerry users.

There were also some users of OS 7 in the logs, although those were left out of this chart. Besides the 9900/9930 there are also indications of devices in the Torch and Curve families running OS 7 (which is in line with leaks that have come out).

As usual this data is taken from downloads of the popular BlackBerry strategy game Pixelated. Data starts from the release of version 2.0 in April of 2010, and goes through the end of last month.

BlackBerry, Statistics

New version of Xploding Boxes

Xploding Boxes has now been updated to version 1.5 in BlackBerry AppWorld. This version adds 20 new levels to the game, bringing the total number of levels up to 180. The game also now supports the recently announced BlackBerry Bold 9900/9930 as well.

About Xploding Boxes

Xploding Boxes (also known as Exploding Boxes) is a strategy game for BlackBerry where the goal of the game is to start a chain reaction that will explode all of the boxes on the screen. Each level gives you a different number of touches, and requires a different strategy to solve. The first 25 levels are free, while the full 180 levels can be accessed by making an in-application payment and requiring no further downloads.

Links & Information

BlackBerry, Xploding Boxes

Developers need access to Payment API as well

With OS 1.0.5 being released earlier this week for the BlackBerry PlayBook, one of the new features is “in-app payment support”. But there is a catch. Developers only have version 1.0.2 of the SDK in order to compile their code against. Without any sort of upgrade developers can not actually make use of this option, and therefore consumers will continue to not have a chance to use in-app payments either. RIM needs to keep the updates to the PlayBook coming early and often, and that means both to users and developers.

In-App payments are awesome. They have helped make Xploding Boxes a success, and will give developers more opportunities on the PlayBook. RIM just needs to complete all of the pieces to make this viable.

BlackBerry, PlayBook

Free Binary Clock Application

Now in BlackBerry AppWorld you can download the Binary Clock app for free. This app displays the time as a binary coded decimal, with the hours, minutes, and seconds of the day displayed in the colour of your choice.

How to read

A binary coded decimal can be read with each column added up with each light worth (from top to bottom) 8, 4, 2, and 1, and the column on the left being worth 40, 20, and 10. For example the time in the above image would be 16 hours, 9 minutes, and 25 seconds.

Supported Devices

This app requires a minimum OS of 4.6 and supports the 8330, 8350i, 8520, 8530, 8900, 8910, 8980, 9300, 9330, 9500, 9520, 9530, 9550, 9630, 9650, 9700, 9780, and 9800.

Links & Information

Binary Clock, BlackBerry