Something that BlackBerry developers have been wanting for a while now has finally arrived. While it's just a tech preview for now, the BlackBerry Java Plug-in for Eclipse now runs on Mac OS X and is available for download today. You can head on over to the BlackBerry Developer page to get started. There, you can download the tech preview and get a good look at things to come on for BlackBerry developers running Mac OS X.

Features include:

• On device loading and debugging over USB. No BlackBerry Smartphone Simulator required.
• Includes all the features of the BlackBerry Java Plug-in for Eclipse v1.1.2, including:
  • The ability to package a BlackBerry smartphone app project for multiple versions of BlackBerry® Device Software
  • Support for Eclipse project artifacts and folder structures
  • The ability to leverage familiar Eclipse functionality for BlackBerry smartphone app development

• Click Here To Head On Over The BlackBerry Developer Downloads Page>>

2009 was a HUGE year for BB development. It started with BlackBerry App World, and has steadily snowballed from there. At DEVCON, RIM broke the news on several stunning new additions to the BB development world, highlights being Open GL, the 5.0 API library, and Widgets. With New Year's fast approaching, addicts the world over are looking forward to 2010 as a banner year for development. I am totally pumped to see the offerings brought forward this year by the development community as a whole.

Are you excited at the possibilities? Interested in getting involved, or maybe know someone who is? Perhaps you're already a developer, and you've been thinking about developing for BB? We would love to see what you can do! I would love to see our developer community grow, producing more and better apps for us to toy with.

To get you started, I'm going to compile the best of the links for developers from RIM, and finish off with some reference materials to give you a place to learn from. I'll start with Java apps, then cover Widgets. More info after the jump.

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Research In Motion (RIM) is becoming proactive when it comes to letting developers create applications for its BlackBerry device. In an increasingly competitive marketplace, RIM has recognized the need to expand the capabilities of the BlackBerry device beyond the usual push e-mail, messaging and phone functions.

RIM is hoping that by adding APIs (application programming interfaces) to the BlackBerry Java Development Environment, it will encourage the development of third-party applications for the Berry. These new APIs will encourage developers to access additional functions on the smartphones, including audio, messaging and mapping, in order to build social networking, location-based, multimedia and other forms of applications.

Developers can now insert custom made audio and video content into applications and use the BlackBerry media player. The new APIs support a variety of audio file formats including MP3, WAV, Windows Media Audio and Advanced Audio Coding.

With new consumer-oriented BlackBerries being released this year featuring an in-built camera, a new camera API will give developers the opportunity to build applications that can access pictures taken with the camera as well as applications that can receive notification when photos are taken.

In another example, developers can create custom mapping and location applications by using new APIs that provide access to information from a local GPS device and BlackBerry Maps.

RIM is also working on releasing additional APIs, including support for 3D graphics, MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service) and SMS (Short Message Service).

According to a statement from RIM, “The BlackBerry Java Development Environment (JDE) includes APIs that enable integration with BlackBerry phones and applications. Today, more than 125,000 developers have downloaded the BlackBerry JDE and around 500 software organizations participate in the BlackBerry ISV Alliance, a program that supports software developers.”