RIM unveils BBX: unified BlackBerry phone, tablet platform
updated 12:10 pm EDT, Tue October 18, 2011
BBX official with unified code
RIM at BlackBerry DevCon unveiled BBX, its unified platform for BlackBerry phones and tablets as well as even some embedded devices. Both share the same open-source, standards-focused QNX roots as the PlayBook. They also use an interface layer from RIM's acquistion The Astonishing Tribe.
The interface relies on Cascades, a new framework that can create complex presentations from simple code.
BlackBerry Balance, which splits home and work, is now OS-level. Visiting BlackBerry App World, for example, has a separate "work" section that will show a company's specific apps and which ones they're allowed to see.
Like on the tablet, it's optimized from the start for multi-core but still has a layer of security. HTML5 is now much more important and can be used as a "bridge" between BlackBerry 6, 7, and true BBX apps, RIM said, with WebGL and sensors recognized without needing to go beyond the web. Native is still an option for when performance is important.
BBX is expected to start in earnest with the first phone based on the platform, in early 2012.
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Apr 2005
Raspberry
That's what it should have been called... Does RIM even matter anymore? I saw this played out 6 years ago – it was called Palm. Next thing for RIM is phones with Windows Phone 7.