Category Archives: BlackBerry

ActionScript (Life without threads)

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With the release of the BlackBerry PlayBook next week, a good amount of time has been spent coding in ActionScript rather then Java. One of the main differences between ActionScript and most other object oriented languages is that ActionScript does not support threads.

Instead ActionScript is an event driven language. Instead of worrying about a main thread, or which one of many threads are running you instead just respond to events as they happen. Languages like Java are like this in some respects, such as reacting to key presses, but not to the point where you get rid of threads. As such in ActionScript methods doing complex work are never blocking, and you don’t have to create temporary threads for doing things like editing the main UI. Furthermore using the flash.utils.Timer class is a much cleaner way to periodically preform an action then any separate thread and loop system that you would otherwise have to do.

While the lack of threads may be limiting for the few uses that actually need them, for the most part ActionScript instead gives you an alternative for the instances where you were only using threads for lack of a more efficient option. The end result is that ActionScript can result in cleaner and more efficient code that is better for both the developer and the user.

BlackBerry, code, PlayBook

Use of Carrier Billing continues to rise

Since last looked at the usage of carrier billing has continued to rise in the first two months of 2011. Carrier billing now is responsible for 20.1% of all sales on BlackBerry AppWorld. The use of in-application payments will most likely continue to rise as it is being offered on more carriers. These carriers see their users twice as likely to upgrade to paid versions of applications as they otherwise would be.

BlackBerry, Statistics

Black Out game for the BlackBerry PlayBook

In time for the launch of the BlackBerry PlayBook we are releasing the game Black Out. This is a strategy game in which the goal is to black out all of the tiles. This is complicated because whenever you tap to flip a tile, it also flips all of the tiles surrounding it.

How to Play

Black Out is played by touching any of the squares in the grid to switch its colour. This also switches the colours of the surrounding tiles as well. Eventually the goal is to do this enough times in order to ‘black out’ the whole screen.

Options

The game give the option to set the grid size from anywhere from 3×3 tiles to 10×10 tiles. Additionally there are options for changing the colours and showing hints on how to solve the puzzles in case you get stuck. The game also offers achievements and high scores for each grid size.

Links & Information

Black Out, BlackBerry, PlayBook

RIM’s war on pre-OS 5.0 devices

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At the recent BlackBerry Developer Day RIM repeatedly pointed out that (as the chart shows) 90% of paid applications were downloaded by users running OS 5.0 or higher. Again and again this point was brought up along with the recommendation that developers not bother coding for the older operating systems.

The question of course is why. The answer being that it allows RIM to get away from the perception that there is a lot of fragmentation in developing for BlackBerry, and that it allows BlackBerry applications to look nicer. Given that BlackBerry has been around a lot longer then iOS or Android many developers view working for BlackBerry as a larger task because of the need to support these legacy devices. RIM in turn is simply telling developers not to bother with the older devices, and figuring that well over a year after release, anyone not going to update to OS 5.0 or higher probably isn’t going to download any applications anyhow. Additionally this can help make BlackBerry applications look nicer as developers will be less afraid of using the newer APIs. If instead a developer decided that they needed to support a lowest common denominator of OS 4.5 they wouldn’t even have the decor APIs available to them, and would look awful.

RIM themselves has been holding true to this minimum of OS 5.0 by requiring this for things like the newest version of BBM, and the upcoming BlackBerry Bridge. Like all other developers RIM too can get more done if they only have to support OS 5.0 and newer devices.

The launch of Twinkle last summer was the first Ebscer application to require a minimum OS of 5.0 and since then Liar’s Dice and Xploiding Boxes have had the same requirement. Meanwhile others like the Call-A-Human application support OS 4.6.0 and higher but work much better when integrated with Universal Search on OS 6.0 devices.

The final message is that if you haven’t updated to OS 5.0 yet you are already missing out. If you haven’t updated to OS 6.0 yet you soon will be.

BlackBerry, Statistics

The importance of Carrier Billing

Last week when looking at the increasing popularity of carrier billing I noticed that the percent of purchases made through carrier billing was larger then the percent of customers who had access to carrier billing. A quick look at the number for December then showed that users of AT&T were more then twice as likely to upgrade from Pixelated to Pixelated Plus then users from Verizon, Sprint, and T-mobile.

I attributed this difference to having the option of carrier billing, but AT&T is also the only one of these carriers to offer RIM’s flagship BlackBerry Torch. In order to double check these assumptions I looked at the three largest Canadian carriers who all offer the Torch, and only one (Telus) offers carrier billing through AppWorld.

In the interest of not actually reveling upgrade rates, the below chart instead shows rates normalized to the rate at Verizon, such that Verizon is always 1.0 and carriers with a higher upgrade rate show values higher then one. Additionally this is not a true measure of upgrade rates but a value of paid downloads over free downloads which is good enough to normalize the amount of purchases over the relative size of the carriers. This data is from the month of January.

As the chart shows the two wireless providers that offer carrier billing through AppWorld have roughly double the percentage of customers who are willing to spend money on an upgrade. As such one of the best things that RIM can do to help developers is to get more providers on board with carrier billing.

BlackBerry, Statistics

Hockey Scores updated to version 2.5

The Hockey Scores BlackBerry Application has been updated to version 2.5 this weekend. This version fixes a bug so you can once again see the goal scorers in the game, and also includes improvements to some of the team logo graphics.

In-Application Payments

You can still make an optional in-application payment to remove the advertising from this application. This application’s use of this feature was recently highlighted on the official Inside BlackBerry Blog.

Links & Information

BlackBerry, Hockey Scores

Call-A-Human updated to version 1.2

The Call-A-Human application has been updated to version 1.2 with expanded listings, and updates to some current ones. This application allows you to easily call straight to a customer service person at hundreds of companies without having to go through the hassle of going through a phone tree. The application also includes a built in search field, and for BlackBerry devices running OS 6.0 or higher it integrates with universal search so you can just start typing without even opening the application.

Efficiency Improvements

Using this application is far faster then manually going through the phone menus or even just pounding zero. The first three columns in the chart shows the time (in seconds) it takes to get to an actual human by using the menu, by just hitting zero, and by using the Call-A-Human application. The final two columns show the percent increase in efficiency that the application provides.

CorporationPhone MenuZero StrategyCall-A HumanEfficiency (menu)Efficiency (zero)
American Eagle441714214%21%
FedEx1363514871%150%
Hertz33241883%33%
Mutual of Omaha31181782%6%
Norwegian Cruise Line321111191%0%
RBC723314414%136%
Time Warner Cable603626131%38%
US Bank624018244%122%
WalMart56XXX11409%∞%

Links & Information

BlackBerry, Call-A-Human

Carrier Billing increasing in popularity

Carrier billing has increased from account for just 3.5% of sales in August, to 17.5% of sales in December. This method of buying applications so far is proving to be very popular, and will only continue to increase in popularity as the option becomes available through more wireless carriers.

During this time frame carrier billing was available only to customers of AT&T which has made these BlackBerry users more likely to purchase applications. In December 2010 the upgrade rate from the free version of Pixelated to Pixelated Plus among customers on AT&T’s network were over twice the rate of customers of Verizon, and T-Mobile (USA), and over three times the rate of customers on Sprint network. As such RIM adding more partners for carrier billing is great news for developers.

BlackBerry, Statistics

Version 2.5 of Pixelated Plus released

Pixelated Plus has now been updated to version 2.5 and is available for download through BlackBerry AppWorld.

As previously announced, this new version of Pixelated Plus adds support for the upcoming BlackBerry PlayBook. Additionally improvements were made to navigating the application on trackpad devices, as well as some other minor improvements and bug fixes.

Improved trackpad navigation

For users navigating Pixelated Plus with a trackpad or trackball rather then a touchscreen, version 2.5 adds a number of navigation improvements. First you can now scroll up and down on the trackpad to move the colour selector in the game. While at first this may not seems as intuitive as scrolling left and right, many users feel scrolling up and down is a more natural motion. Additionally after a game is over you can now use keyboard shortcuts to decide between replaying the same game or starting a new game.

BlackBerry PlayBook

In Version 2.5 of Pixelated Plus support has also been added for RIM’s upcoming tablet, the BlackBerry PlayBook.

Customers who have already bought Pixelated Plus on their BlackBerry will be able to download the application to their PlayBooks without having to repurchase the game.

About Pixelated

Pixelated is currently the second most popular game in BlackBerry AppWorld, and is an addicting puzzle based strategy game that requires a mixture of skill and luck in order to accomplish.

The object of the game is to change the colour of the squares until the entire screen is a single solid colour. Starting with the square in the upper left corner you can change the colour of the blocks in order to match that of the surrounding squares. This is done repeatedly until the entire screen is a single colour.

The object of the game is to clear the screen in as few moves as possible. Under the default settings you must do so in under 22 moves in order to win.

Links & Information

BlackBerry, Pixelated, PlayBook

Version 1.2 of Xploding Boxes

This weekend Xploding Boxes has been updated to version 1.2 adding 10 new levels to the game, bringing the total number of levels up to 130.

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 clicks, and requires a different strategy to solve. The first 25 levels are free, while the rest of the levels can be accessed by making an in-application payment.

Links & Information

BlackBerry, Xploding Boxes

RIM taking steps to prevent BBM pin spam

Back in January I complained about how the reviews in BlackBerry AppWorld were beginning to be overrun with people posting their BBM pin rather than leaving useful reviews of the applications. At the time I proposed that RIM filter out reviews in the same manner that they filter out curse words.

In the past two weeks it has appeared that RIM has begun to do this. While some pin spam is still getting through, around 80% of the reviews that include a pin have been automatically denied. Hopefully this is enough that it will discourage the whole culture of trolling for BBM contacts in application reviews. Then when looking for new applications, users will have actually relevant reviews to look at instead.

BBM, BlackBerry

10 months of BlackBerry OS usage

Usage of OS 6.0 in February was only up slightly from the month before. The increase was only a little under 1.4% and the growth of OS 5.0+ was even smaller. RIM is continuing to not make these upgrades as much as a priority as they should, and it is looking doubtful that there will be any more significant growth until OS 6.1 is released this summer.

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