Category Archives: BlackBerry10

Projectile Physics Calculator released

I didn’t buy my first BlackBerry until January 2009, but the truth is that I actually started writing mobile apps way back in 2004. Back then my target was not smartphones and tablets, but rather my TI-83+ calculator. The majority of the applications that I wrote were silly little text based adventure games with the occasional ASCII graphics, however there was one program that had a more serious twist to it. In addition to all of the games, I also wrote an app that would do my physics homework for me by solving projectile motion problems. Nine years later I have decided to revisit the topic and release the app for the smartphone owning public.

IMG_00000203Granted the new version of the Projectile Physics calculator is much improved over what I was able to hack together years ago. For instance the new version of the app dynamically performs all calculations in real time, while on my TI-83+ it used to take three seconds of computation time to solve for each variable. Also, color touchscreens. However, when looking for an alternative in the current stores I haven’t been able to find anything nearly as complete as what I wrote in 2004.

Starting today, BlackBerry 10 users can download the free app from BlackBerry World while the app will be released for Android and Windows Phone in early November.

Links & Information

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BlackBerry, BlackBerry10, Projectile Physics

Canadian BB10 Carriers

For those who are wondering why Roger’s decision to sell the BlackBerry Z30 last week is such a big deal, simply look at the chart below that shows the distribution of BlackBerry 10 users on the three largest carriers in Canada over the past seven months.

CanadianCarriers

Every month Rogers has almost as many BlackBerry 10 users on their network as Bell and Telus do combined. Even with limited promotion it is entirely possible that Rogers will end up selling more Z30 BlackBerrys than any other wireless carrier.

BlackBerry, BlackBerry10, Statistics

Use of OS 10.1 grows another 5%

September continued to see growth in the number of users running OS 10.1 (or higher) on their BlackBerrys. While Stuff I Need users continue to be quicker to adopt new versions than Pixelated users, both saw an increase of about five percentage points over the previous month.

BB10OSVersionsSep2013-Pixelated

BB10OSVersionsSep2013-StuffINeed

This data was collected by BlackBerry World for downloads of the free strategy game Pixelated and the free checklist app Stuff I Need. Data shown on the chart is from the beginning of February 2013 through the end of September 2013.

BlackBerry, BlackBerry10, Statistics

More levels for Starbeams

IMG_00000024Starbeams has been expanded to 130 levels in version 1.3 and is available for download in BlackBerry World and the Windows 8 Store.

About Starbeams

The object of the game is to assign colors to each star in order to ensure that none of the stars are connected to another star of the same color. The game starts off easy, but quickly gets more complex, adding more colors and seven pointed stars that can not be changed.

New in Version 1.3

This versions adds levels 121-130 to the game. Additionally the game has been optimized so that the install size is smaller, and the app has a quicker start-up time.

Links & Information

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BlackBerry, BlackBerry10, Starbeams, Windows

Jack-O-Lantern app now supports BlackBerry 10

IMG_00000201

The Jack-O-Lantern app has been updated to version 2.0 in BlackBerry World in order to add support for all BlackBerry 10 phones. This app also continues to support older BlackBerry phones that have a touchscreen.

About the Jack-O-Lantern App

This application is designed to turn your BlackBerry into a virtual Jack-O-Lantern in order to help you celebrate the Halloween season on your phone. You can change the Jack-O-Lantern’s face by swiping in different designs from the left and right for the eyes, nose, and mouth. You can also change the back light colour of the design by tapping on the screen.

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BlackBerry, BlackBerry10, Jack-O-Lantern

Hockey Scores app ready for a new season

Z10The Hockey Scores app has been updated for a new season. This app supports all BlackBerry phones running OS 5.0 or higher, including all BlackBerry 10 phones.

About Hockey Scores

This application provides the day’s hockey scores is an intuitive and easy to use format. It also includes additional game statistics such as start times, goal scorers, shots on net, hits, faceoff percentage, team Corsi numbers, and lists out the goal scorers.

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BlackBerry, BlackBerry10, Hockey Scores

Simple Dice optimized for version 2.3

IMG_00000048The Simple Dice app has been updated to version 2.3 in BlackBerry World. This update greatly reduces the app’s overall instal size, and also includes some improvements in recovering in-app purchases.

About Simple Dice

This free app is exactly what it sounds like, just a virtual die that you can roll to get a random number between one and six. The app can also be downloaded from BlackBerry World for both BlackBerry 10 and older touchscreen BlackBerry phones.

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BlackBerry, BlackBerry10, Simple Dice

Deploy BlackBerry 10 apps with device name instead of ip address

DeviceNameWhen using a script (or the command line) in order to deploy apps to a device you can use the phone’s device name (which seconds as a network name) in place of the ip address. For example instead of

blackberry-deploy -installApp -launchApp -device 192.168.1.104 -package PixelatedShapes.bar -password password

you could use

blackberry-deploy -installApp -launchApp -device BLACKBERRY-Z10E -package PixelatedShapes.bar -password password

This shortcut is particularly helpful to use when writting scripts, so you do not have to update the file every time that the phone is assigned a new ip address.

BlackBerry, BlackBerry10, code

Pixelated Shapes released

IMG_00000102Pixelated Shapes has been released for BlackBerry 10, PlayBook, and Android. The game is a twist on the classic version of Pixelated that replaces the familiar squares with triangles and hexagons.

Additional Features

In addition to the standard triangle grid, you can also play the game with hexagons, or a micro sized grid of triangles or hexagons after paying for a one time in-app upgrade of $2.99 USD. This single upgrade also unlocks the the full range of option in the game such as the ability to adjust the difficulty level or to change the color scheme of the game. Purchasing the upgrade also allows you to display a full range of statistics (such as win percentages), and to see the number of remaining moves that you have on the top of the main game screen.

How to Play

Pixelated_ShapesStarting with the shape in the upper left corner you can change the colour of this pixels in order to match that of the surrounding shapes. The color of the upper left shape is set by using the controls on the bottom of the screen. This is done repeatedly allowing the block to grow, until eventually the entire screen is a single colour. The object of the game is to get to this state in as few moves as possible. Under the default settings you must clear the screen in under 29 moves in order to win. If you wish to play until you clear the board you can adjust the ‘end game condition’ dropdown on the options page.

If you have any feedback feel free to contact me at eric@ebscer.com

Links & Information

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Android, BlackBerry, BlackBerry10, Pixelated, PlayBook

Popularity of US carriers for BB10 users

The below chart shows the relative popularity of the four largest carriers in the United States by BlackBerry 10 users.

BB10USCarriersAug2013

While there has been some month to month variation in general there is roughly an equal number of BlackBerry 10 users on AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile. The biggest surprise here is the relative popularity of T-Mobile among the BlackBerry 10 user base as it lags significantly behind the other two in overall subscribers.

This data was collected by BlackBerry World for downloads of the free checklist app Stuff I Need. Data shown on the chart is from the beginning of April 2013 through the end of August 2013.

BlackBerry, BlackBerry10, Statistics

OS 10.1 should be the new minimum for developers

This past August saw BlackBerry 10 users continue to quickly upgrade their OS systems to the newest version. Use of 10.1 (or higher) is up across both Pixelated and Stuff I Need from the previous month.

BB10OSVersionsAug2013-Pixelated

BB10OSVersionsAug2013-StuffINeed

The Stuff I Need app showed 91.0% of users on the newest OS version, while for Pixelated the number was 81.9%. Given the aggressive rate of growth, and the large number of users that have upgraded, I think it is safe for developers to begin writing apps that require 10.1 as a minimum OS version. BlackBerry 10 is seeing an adoption rate of the new versions that the older BBOS never came close to.

This data was collected by BlackBerry World for downloads of the free strategy game Pixelated and the free checklist app Stuff I Need. Data shown on the chart is from the beginning of February 2013 through the end of August 2013.

BlackBerry, BlackBerry10, Statistics

Stuff I Need app updated to version 2.2

IMG_00000060The Stuff I Need app for BlackBerry 10 has been updated to version 2.2 in BlackBerry World. This update improves the app’s start up time, and also adds an option to uncheck all items in the current list with a single button.

About Stuff I Need

Originally conceived as a grocery list app, this minimalistic checklist app can be used to keep track of the stuff you need to get, or the stuff that you need to do. Items on the list can be edited (or deleted) by giving them a long press. Lists can be switched by pulling down on the tab at the top of the screen. This will expose a spinner that shows all of your current lists. New lists can be added by using the “+” button on the right side of the expanded tab. Making use of three or more lists requires the use on a one time in-app purchase.IMG_00000128

Links & Information

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BlackBerry, BlackBerry10, Stuff I Need