News & Rumors

CrackBerry Podcast: We Talk to RIM at MWC and Get Answers on WebKit Browser, Super Apps and BES Express!

by Kevin Michaluk

on 17 Feb 2010 06:34 AM

CrackBerry Podcast

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Following up on RIM's announcement of BES Express, demo of their WebKit browser and discussion on Super Apps yesterday in Barcelona at Mobile World Congress 2010, I had a chance to get some clarification and answers direct from RIM today. I haven't had a whole bunch of time to catch up on my RSS feeds and forum post reading since these stories broke, but from the little I have seen so far it seems there has been at least some confusion and questions (and even rumors) out there surrounding these topics.

I sat down with Rory O'Neill and Mike Kirkup of Research in Motion and in 18 minutes set the record straight and get some additional details as to what it all means for BlackBerry users. In case you missed our BlackBerry in Europe podcast back in November and don't know them yet, Rory is the Senior Director of Business Marketing in the EMEA region and Mike is the Director of Developer Relations. Huge thanks to them both for taking time out of their crazy schedule to talk to CrackBerry Nation.

Be sure to take a listen and let us know your thoughts in the comments. If you have any lingering questions that I missed and they didn't get addressed, let me know and I'll do my best to get the answers. Enjoy the show!

Filed Under: News & Rumors; Tags: BES Express, browser, Mike Kirkup, MWC10, Rory O'Neill, super apps, webkit, webkit browser

29 Comments

Posted by kasperapd Wednesday, Feb 17, 2010 725 days ago

Great job Kevin! Lots of good info packed in the podcast. I'm really looking forward to the new browser and BESX

Posted by jason_tee Wednesday, Feb 17, 2010 725 days ago

New browser is definitely a must. BESX, not works for me unless my company allow me to do so.

Posted by briswolf Wednesday, Feb 17, 2010 725 days ago

I am so excited for both of these amazing technologies, Besx and webkit. As soon as I get besx installed on our exchange server I will be taking my CEO to vodafone to get a BB and he can finally throw that windows mobile junk in the bin! Besx is like salt to a wound for the iphone guys in my company who can't get their phones working with our (seemingly broken) exchange server. I hope the webkit browsing speeds things up especially here in australia where I am never sure if the bb web browsing is slow because I am so far away from the bis or if it is just slow everywhere. Good catch getting Mike and Rory to give you the scoop!

Posted by briswolf Wednesday, Feb 17, 2010 725 days ago

Double posted. Get me the webkit browser, stat!

Posted by BBA Wednesday, Feb 17, 2010 725 days ago

Thanks kevin for the podcast! really interesting ideas in the developer-area coming up...! good news for a developer!
-fabian

Posted by f1l4 Wednesday, Feb 17, 2010 725 days ago

cannot view this right now (due to some restrictions on business computers here). Is there any word on time of release for the browser?

Posted by Kevin Michaluk Wednesday, Feb 17, 2010 725 days ago

official answer was "sometime this year"

so you'll have it on or before december 31st. hopefully much sooner that that.

Posted by hurricane87 Wednesday, Feb 17, 2010 725 days ago

I don't like how they danced around Kevin's question. Are we going to have to compromise things speed or media rich apps like video chat ect in the future so they can please these networks or not!!

Posted by Slipknotfanatic89 Wednesday, Feb 17, 2010 725 days ago

Not exactly sure I'd use the Facebook app as an example of an "amazing application". Perhaps a good example of a bad example. Still super psyched about the new browser though, the sooner the better!

Posted by 1magine Wednesday, Feb 17, 2010 725 days ago

on our blackberries without a 3rd party pod-trapper? Maybe by 2015. After all, others have been able to do this for just a few short years. Can't expect them to catch up that quickly.

Posted by wcmarchese Wednesday, Feb 17, 2010 725 days ago

You can download this podcast without a third party app. You just click on the link showing the podcast and choose to save -- it's then in your music selections. I've done it before.

WCM

Posted by 1magine Wednesday, Feb 17, 2010 725 days ago

This link exceeds the download limit on BBs

Posted by 1magine Wednesday, Feb 17, 2010 725 days ago

This link exceeds the download limit on BBs

Posted by Revyrah Wednesday, Feb 17, 2010 725 days ago

... on the Storm 2 without a 3rd party app's help. I just did it.

Posted by gafly Wednesday, Feb 17, 2010 725 days ago

...it worked fine for me on a Storm 9530 without help from a 3rd Party App.

Posted by StormJH1 Wednesday, Feb 17, 2010 725 days ago

In further defense to that, PodTrapper is an awesome application, and I shudder to think of what would replace it equally as effectively--1st or 3rd party. I'm on the 25th day of my trial, and will gladly hand over $9.99 to get easy access to thousands and thousands of hours of FREE content over the next few years.

Posted by wingnut91 Wednesday, Feb 17, 2010 725 days ago

"There's a reason we showed it on the 9700". I'm scared as to what that might mean for older phones. I'm not sure where the 8900 is on the new to old spectrum.

Posted by wingnut91 Wednesday, Feb 17, 2010 725 days ago

"There's a reason we showed it on the 9700". I'm scared as to what that might mean for older phones. I'm not sure where the 8900 is on the new to old spectrum.

Posted by StormJH1 Wednesday, Feb 17, 2010 725 days ago

Good point. I do happen to be a 9700 owner, but I wonder what was meant by that. Could be that it will only work with the 9700, or he could have meant more generally that the 9700 has slightly more power than other BB's, so it would obviously run "the best" on a 9700. Hopefully it's just the latter, for the sake of my CrackBerry bretheren!

Posted by Pyrrhic Wednesday, Feb 17, 2010 725 days ago

No need to read it as being particularly negative (that said I haven't listened to the podcast so maybe it's in the tone?) - maybe it was more about reassuring users of existing devices that it would be released for the existing models currently sold on the market? (as opposed to say showing it on more powerful prototype hardware)

Posted by 1magine Wednesday, Feb 17, 2010 725 days ago

sees a sea of green and does not realize it is an ocean and not a forest. It is clear that there is little to no focus on the details.

We could sure use some BB user advocacy.

Posted by rion_j Wednesday, Feb 17, 2010 725 days ago

Thanks for the scoop Kevin. Keep up the podcasts. I'm curious to find out later this year if the Tour will be part of the webkit phones that get this. Hopefully, this will be made available to all BB users.

Posted by stkola Wednesday, Feb 17, 2010 725 days ago

I just hope the new browser works on the 8900

Posted by jacmeister68 Wednesday, Feb 17, 2010 725 days ago

Hey Kevin, good job with the questioning.

Lets hope they roll it for WES

Posted by StormJH1 Wednesday, Feb 17, 2010 725 days ago

Actually, I thought the RIM guy was being pretty evasive. But some information is better than no information, and I'm sure the interviewer sensed that was all he would get.

When I first booted up the BB Browser, I was a little disappointed, but I also felt like there were so many design choices they made with the OS and with some of the non-touch devices (I have a 9700 Bold) that there was really only so much software could do to make it better.

I'm very excited for a new browser, whenever it comes, but you only need to look at the limitations of Bolt or Opera Mini on BlackBerry before you question what "full fidelity of the web" really means on a BB. Truth be told, I would rather use a well designed mobile site that retains simplifies most of the site's original functionality than try to load up a 400k+ website on my AT & T 3G connection and have nothing work.

Posted by smiddereens Wednesday, Feb 17, 2010 725 days ago

Way to not press the guy about the browser.

Posted by devildrifterX Wednesday, Feb 17, 2010 724 days ago

I didnt even listen to it, mostly because my Bold will be gone by the time this comes out.

Posted by Propa Wednesday, Feb 17, 2010 724 days ago

im so looking forward to all the releases, glad i got my 9700

Posted by vbev84 Thursday, Feb 18, 2010 724 days ago

Kevin, good job you held you own against Dieter and phil. Why were those guys being such sharks??? Anyways I cant wait for the new browser.