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RIM updates screen resolution information for developers, inadvertently announces new BlackBerry devices

By Bla1ze on 20 Jun 2011 03:06 pm
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For developers, updating their applications to new devices can be easy but when new screen resolutions are introduced that task does indeed become a little bit harder. A prime example of this is when we were at BlackBerry World, Kevin, Adam and I tested out Angry Farm on the BlackBerry Bold 9900 to see if it would play any better with the new processor. Given that Angry Farm was not optimized for the Bold 9900 some portions of the game didn't fit the screen. The of course was because the BlackBerry Bold 9900 had a larger screen resolution then what the game was set to display.

So in short, developers will need to update their apps in order to make sure they work on the 9360, 9810, 9850, 9900 and 9930. Wait -- what? 9360, 9810, 9850? Yeah, Research In Motion just inadvertently outed the new BlackBerry Curve, Torch 2 and Torch 9850 via their own BlackBerry Developers blog. Although to their credit they are still listed as simulator models. However, we already know what they are due to all the previous leaks so I guess the real question here is -- when are you going to officially announce these devices RIM? You know, since even the simulators are now available and all.

Source: Blackberry Dev Blog; BlackBerry Device simulators

Topics: BlackBerry Torch 2 BlackBerry Apollo BlackBerry Bold 9900 BlackBerry Curve 9360 News & Rumors

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Bla1ze Bla1ze 2965 (articles) 6509 (forum posts)
42 comments

rroyy

Also simulators released :D seems we'll get that devices soooon!

Jimcmf

Analysts are never happy. Commenting on Android, this is what they say:

Software Problems Plague Samsung's New Galaxy Tab

Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal commented that, as the two rival tablets come with similar price tags, the Galaxy loses out because "its selection of fewer apps and weaker battery life put it at a disadvantage."

The key stumbling block to the product's success is proving to be Google's Android system and its stodgy user interface, which Business Insider described as being "a pain to navigate." "The Android Market is a mess," it said when reviewing the product. "Honeycomb is the only thing holding Android-based tablets back."

I guess a small 'turn on button' doesn't seem all that bad now, does it?

http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2011/06/21/2011062100766.html

ryork272

LOL! I agree. They make such a big deal out of the power button. Its such a non-issue. I have no problem with it at all. Now when are we getting an email client and Kindle?

kingbernie06511

A LOT HARDER!

RIM, KEEP RESOLUTIONS VARIABILITY TO A MINIMUM!!!!!

blueyestm

well now I can resize all my fav walls to 640 x 480 to be prepared for the new phone.

1magine

No post on all the simulators going up. No Post on Skype saying no to BB. No post on another Exec leaving RIM. Catch up guys.

jayemmbee

can you provide a link for that skype part? cuz even engadget doesnt have it and they are usually quick to post any negative blackberry news, for example them and bgr had the one two punch on the exec leaving for samsung, and wouldnt this be a post regarding the simulators?

BlackBerry Brian

http://n4bb.com/7484/skype-doesnt-want-to-support-blackberry-devices

Kiddo2050

This is not news. Skype has never worked on BB, and the post doesn't say Win Mobile either despite MSFT buying Skype.

If they announced no development for PB that would be news. If I was skype I wouldn't develop for BB OS either since I know all the new phones and PB will run QNX.

Bla1ze

Hence, why no post -- not news. As for the SIMS, uhh.. the post says they were updated -- and in case you didn't notice, they suck and are older then the previously leaked ones.

jayemmbee

ya this isnt news they only have it for verizon phones, but ya had they denied the pb thats something to report but based on images id like to believe the bb pb app is in slow development and no official announcement saying the app wont come

shabbs

And the iPhone 4 density of 326 ppi still crushes all of these. Come on RIM!

jthep

Does the iPhone4 screen resolution really matter as much as the Apple commercials would lead you to believe? I mean you are still looking at a 3"+ phone screen, not a 70" HDTV.

The upgrade in resolution is adequate, but not earth shattering I will agree. Things will look good on these screens. Although I think its the Curve model will have 2.44" screen? Why get that when the Bold 9900 will have a 2.8" with similar form factor?

Xterra2

WHAT ?????
It matters a lot, I have iPood touchh 4G and 2G though I sold the 2G, I use it to play games[angry birds included] and browse and skype, and use some oda apps of app store -things my 9780 can't do

And it does matter, the Retina Display is absoolutely amazing, superb beyond amazing,

shabbs

It's a small upgrade from say the 9700 @ 245 ppi. Comparing a BlackBerry's display side by side with an iPhone 4, to me it is a significant difference. Would love to see the Torch match it. Right now, the 9800 has a ppi of 188 which is ridiculous. The Torch 2 has a 249 ppi I believe. They're getting there. We'll see how it looks in the real world when they are out. Specs are specs, how it performs will tell the tale.

imrank128

The unaided human eye can generally not differentiate detail beyond 300 PPI...

So there really isn't much difference in terms of sharpness between this phone and an iphone 4. I highly doubt you will be able to tell the difference between the two.

The only improvements that apple can make to the iphone 4 screen are to make it bigger (which I think is what the iphone 5 will have when it's released). But the human eye literally can't do much better than the bold 9900 or the iphone 4.

DrewDT

I don't think I can deal with another sub 3" screen for internet browsing.

Kiddo2050

Get a playbook.

DrewDT

Can't put a playbook in my pocket.

chrisryan44

the 9850 has a 3.7" screen, sounds pretty decent. same size as the Droid 2 and I'd say thats a nice middle ground between tiny screens and the huge ones in the droid X and similar phones, which barely seem pocketable.

DrewDT

No disagreement on that. The only problem I have with that device is that it doesn't have one of the most important reasons I still have a BlackBerry... The physical keyboard.

Rootbrian

Alt+Trackpad scrolling, that'll solve the issue. i do it all the time, fonts are large enough so i don't need to squint or zoom. Bolt and opera mini FTW! Oh and the BB stock browser is also good with HTML5, that is, including Ogg video and audio.

Ebscer

Oddly the 9850 simulator is an older OS then the simulator for the 9850 that leaked a week ago

Frank2029

Where is the Touch? or the Storm 3 or whatever they call it?!!!?

misterBB84

i think they are refering to that as the "9850". Just a guess, I could be wrong.

SurrealCivic

That's the last one on the list, the 9850.

Frank2029

The article says its the torch 9850

BGK

Quuote So in short, developers will need to update their apps in order to make sure they work on the 9360, 9810, 9850, 9900 and 9930. Wait -- what? 9360, 9810, 9850? Yeah, Research In Motion just inadvertently outed the new BlackBerry Curve, Torch 2 and Torch 9850 via their own BlackBerry Developers blog end Quote

So why is it that Rim "inadvertently" releases stuff they don't plan on telling us? How often have they done this anyway? Somebody needs to check into the RIM PR department ...... or is that just the way they do things?

DrewDT

Only the developers that plan on sticking around.

EdwardBlackberryHands

In answer to the question about whether the resolution on the iphone matters because the screen is still a phone screen and not a big screen TV. Yes it does make a difference. The screen is so clear that smaller print is in fact easier to read.

Not sure why BB has not upped the resolution on their newer phones.

imrank128

from wikipedia: "It has been observed that the unaided human eye can generally not differentiate detail beyond 300 PPI"

The iphone 4 has a ppi of 329 (or something like that). I highly doubt that you will be able to tell the difference between a 287 ppi device and a 329. The difference will be extremely slight. 329 is definitely overkill. The only reason they probably went that high was to keep the aspect ratio intact. But yeah, complaining about a 287 ppi device is kind of nitpicky.

Also, this phone has a higher ppi than any android phone (correct me if I'm wrong).

MobileMadness002

I hope they allow programmers to access screen resolutions from code so they accommodate each without having to make code for each. MaxResX aand MaxResY would be good. Otherwise why develope for them in the first place.

JAGWIRE

9850 is the BlackBerry TOUCH or Storm3... thought the original leak said they are doing a CDMA and a GSM version for the Storm3 and Next-Gen Curve????

You know though if RIM calls it "Black Berry Touch" then Apple will have issues sayingthey are copying the name for their MP3 player

danielcj

This is sad..doesn't matter what RIM puts out or doesn't put out..if developers don't want to support the OS, RIM's future is looking bleak.

paolomusic

As long as the screen resolution is as good as or better than the 9700 I'll be happy. To me its clearer and sharper than some of the Amoleds that samsung use

Bla1ze

The 9900 screen res is awesome.. havong played with it plenty of times at BlackBerry World I can say -- it may not be as high specced as the iPhone 4 but realistically, you can't tell the difference. It has the best screen I've ever seen on a BlackBerry.

shabbs

That's good to hear. Looking forward to seeing one in action, in person.

JustinGTP

THIS of course was because the BlackBerry Bold 9900 had a larger screen resolution THAN what the game was set to display.

Rutero

HAHAHAHA!!! YEAH SURE, ALLRIGHT...! HEADS UP DEVELOPERS: TRY UPDATING YOUR

APPS SOMETIME IN THE NEXT DECADE, CAUSE THAT'S THE TIME RIM TAKES WHEN IT

COMES TO THROWING NEW (OUTDATED) PHONES ON THE MARKET!!! COMPLETE FAILURE

IN EVERY LEVEL OF THE GAME RIM!!! COMPLETE FAILURE IN THE WORLD PHONE

MARKET!!! BY THE TIME THESE SO CALLED NEW (OUTDATED) PHONES HIT THE MARKET

THERE WILL BE ABOUT 5 DIFFERENT ANGRY BIRD GAMES FOR ANY OTHER

PLATFORM... AND RIM THINKS SHOWING OFF WITH THE FIRST ANGRY BIRD GAME IS SO

COOL??? HAHAHAHA!!! AND THE FUNNY PART IS YOU GUYS FEED ON THIS B.S. LIKE ITS

THE NEWEST THING IN THE AVENUE...

UHH, NEWS FLASH: RIM SUCKS PERIOD!!!!

imrank128

why are you even reading this website?

redrumsilence

Get this, I've got an iPhone, and HTC, and a BlackBerry
Actually, let's straighten this out, I've got an iPhone4, an HTC Desire and a Blackberry Torch
All touchscreen
All big screens
Rated
3rd: iPhone4
2nd: HTC Desire
1st: Blackberry Torch

I develop for Blackberry, and I develop for Android, gave up devving for iPhone
BlackBerry is definitely the best platform to develop for, so open, no jailbreak, no root required, just get on with it.
Yeah, maybe bits of the OSs aren't "so up to date" with everyone else's, but who gives a shit? My HTC's crashed a few time in the last few months, my iPhone crashes WEEKLEY at least -.-
The BlackBerry? Nah, had it 7 months, never crashed
Sooooo yeah, it's a bit outdated in comparison to some others, BUT IT'S STABLE AND IT WORKS.
If you don't like it, STFU & GTFO
Love to the #CrackBerryMassive :D

DrewDT

The best platform to develop for really? That is an interesting observation and rant at the end. Can you explain why it seems most developers have adopted the other platforms over BlackBerry? Maybe it is just my imagination, but everywhere I turn I see "apps available for iPhone and Android and rarely for BlackBerry" (not including BlackBerry specific websites like this).
Why in your estimation is this happening? Also the phenomena (with few exceptions) of developers that create apps for other platforms in addition to BlackBerry seem to put more effort and make the app better on the other platforms and what they do for BB costs more and is less appealing?
I'm not trying to bash RIM, just merely pointing out my observations and concerns. I own a Tour and have decided to forego upgrading my phone until the end of the year to decide which direction I want to go but the obvious lack of developer support in comparison to other platforms is very troubling to me.