Updating My BlackBerry PlayBook App

Posted on June 21, 2011 by Will Robertson

The PlayBook app I created for the launch of PlayBook App World was not fully baked. App World reviewers made this clear with an average rating of 2/5 stars. Quite deserved given the confusing limitations of the current version.

To rectify this situation I have been working on the app in my spare time to make what I had actually envisioned. Using RIM’s WebWorks SDK rather than Flash Builder and ActionScript I have been able to fix my app by starting fresh with a better toolset. HTML, CSS, and JavaScript are much easier to me and will greatly speed up the learning process.

My app, which I will be renaming Temp Notes (originally TempNote), will rollout in three updates:

  1. Switch to WebWorks, new icon, and new UI design
  2. Update with new features (multi-page, sharing, and advanced copy/paste feature)
  3. Integration of future “Send As..” API and integration with RIMs Memopad app

Here is a teaser of the first update, which should be submitted to App World this week.

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RIM Acquires Scoreloop – Mobile Gaming Platform

Posted on June 7, 2011 by Will Robertson

Scoreloop, provider of a mobile social gaming platform and tools for developers, announced they have been acquired by RIM this morning. They posted this neat message on their website framed in a PlayBook:

Looking at their current offering it appears they were very strong in Android gaming. Even going so far as to offer to port iPhone games to Android for developers. Scoreloop will likely integrate their social gaming features with RIM’s BBM Social platform on the BlackBerry and BlackBerry PlayBook.

I am curious if part of RIM’s motivation for this acquisition was to encourage Scoreloop’s Android developer partners to submit their Android games to App World for use on the PlayBook, once that is possible later this summer.

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Track BlackBerry PlayBook Visits in Google Analytics

Posted on June 1, 2011 by Will Robertson

If you run Google Analytics tracking on your website you may have noticed that it does not recognize the BlackBerry PlayBook as a mobile device, as a unique operating system, or a specific browser type. I was curious how many of the visitors to my website were on a PlayBook so I created a Custom Segment to isolate them.

Knowing the PlayBook’s screen resolution of 1024×600 I had a good idea of how many visits there were, but this resolution is not unique to the PlayBook so more work needed to be done. Filtering out other operating systems did the trick to eliminate these other devices.

Here are the criteria I used to identify the PlayBook in Google Analytics custom segments:

  • “Screen Resolution” matches exactly “1024×600″ OR “600×1024″
    AND
  • “Operating System” does not contain “Android” AND “Windows” AND “Macintosh” AND “Linux”

If you do not know where to set up Custom Segments, click this URL while logged into your account: https://www.google.com/analytics/reporting/add_segment

This segment isolated all but the PlayBook visitors for my website, however if you have a more diverse group of visitors you may need to add more operating system exclusions.

Here is a snapshot of some of my website stats, showing the general visits vs PlayBook visits. The bias is evident:

If you have a better way to isolate PlayBook visits let me know. Hopefully Google will update Google Analytics soon to identify the PlayBook as a mobile device, making segmenting easier and more reliable.

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HTC Design Day Toronto Event

Posted on May 31, 2011 by Will Robertson

Yesterday I attended HTC’s Design Day event in Toronto. It was a fancy party, complete with free drinks, delicious food, and even a draw for free HTC smartphones. Unfortunately I did not win the draw, though I did get a chance to play with HTC’s latest Android phones and the upcoming HTC Flyer, a seven-inch Android tablet.

Before this event I had not used an HTC phone for more than 30 seconds. After playing with a number of the Android smartphones, I was incredibly impressed with the build quality of the hardware and HTC’s custom Sense interface/apps that run on top of standard Android operating system.

Below are a few pictures from the event. Also check out The Cellular Guru and TekTok Canada, two blogs with pictures and writeups of the event.

A while ago I blogged about the various companies making Android smartphones and that they will have to work hard to stand out from the other companies also using Android. It seems HTC is doing a good job of this with their custom interface as well as creating exclusive versions of their phones for carriers, such as the HTC Panache that Mobilicity is heavily promoting.

For now I am still a hardcore BlackBerry user, loving my BlackBerry PlayBook and looking forward to the release of the Bold 9900. But if HTC keeps creating great products like the ones I tried out yesterday I may be tempted to try them out someday soon.

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HTC Toronto Meetup on Monday

Posted on May 29, 2011 by Will Robertson

Tomorrow HTC is hosting an event in Toronto to present “Telephones Lines…From Rotary To Hands Free – The Evolution Of Telecommunications Design”, a look at the history of communication technology and to demo their latest products. I am hoping they have the HTC Flyer, their first foray into tablets, on display.

If you do not know too much about HTC it may be because their tag line being “Quietly Brilliant”. Doing a little research about the company I stumbled across an awesome page on their website about the company history. Check out the video embedded below and the page at: http://www.htc.com/quietlybrilliant

HTC got started in the mobile business making devices as an OEM. They were behind notable devices such as Palm’s Treo 850 and a number of Compaq/HP’s iPAQ devices. They were one of the primary makers of Windows Mobile devices and are now the leading Android smartphone producer. Just recently they released their first tablet running Android, the HTC Flyer.

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Kobo Bringing Touch Screen eReader and Reading Life to PlayBook

Posted on May 23, 2011 by Will Robertson

Today Kobo announced the next generation of their eReader, and with it came a great story on the Financial Post with many revealing statements indicating Kobo’s future plans.

Kobo eReader Touch Edition Demo Video from Kobo on Vimeo.

The most interesting statement to me was:

Mr. Serbinis said a version of Reading Life for Research In Motion Ltd.’s new BlackBerry PlayBook will likely be ready later this summer.

This is one of the features from Kobo’s iPad app that I have missed on the PlayBook version.

Other interesting statements in the article include:

  • Kobo is well aware that eBooks are moving towards interactivity and embedded media.
  • Kobo’s Reading Life, a system they introduced in their iPad and Android apps to reward heavy readers with virtual awards will expand to include offers from third-parties, which will include real rewards like free coffees. This is an interesting new business model, adding a third revenue stream to their current book sales and data analytics sales models.

It is great to see Kobo continuing to innovate and compete in a market where they are up against giants like Amazon, Apple, and Barnes & Noble. Reading Life and social media integration is a great differentiator, something no other competitor has implemented. It would be interesting to see Kobo integrate Reading Life’s social integration to Facebook Places and Foursquare.

It is great to see Kobo continuing to innovate and compete in a market where they are up against giants like Amazon, Apple, and Barnes&Nobles. The Reading Life and social media integration is a great differentiator, something no other eReading competitor has implemented. It would be interesting to see Kobo integrate Reading Life’s social integration to Facebook Places and Foursquare.

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Mini Maker Faire Toronto 2011

Posted on May 21, 2011 by Will Robertson

I had the opportunity to organize Autodesk’s table and display at the Mini Maker Faire Toronto, which took place on May 7th, 2011. Having never heard of a Maker Faire this was a great experience and a very fun event to attend.

We were demoing a couple of different things at the Faire, most notably was Autodesk 123D, a new 3D modelling application that is easy to learn and available for free. Targeted to the maker crowd – people who like to make things, anything – the application links up to 3D printing and fabrication devices and providers to easily turn what you design into real objects. At the table we were also demoing our iPad applications, including the just released SketchBook Pro for iPad v2.0. As a fun activity for the many kids at the Faire we brought cardboard assembly kits of a number of different animals. These kits are 3D models, that are broken down into layers and the pieces laser cut on sheets of cardboard.

Check out the video below to get an idea of what we were showing off at Maker Faire TO:

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Autodesk

Posted on May 20, 2011 by Will Robertson

This post was drafted when I was about to start at Autodesk, however with final exams, a trip to New York, finishing two jobs, and moving to Toronto, it got lost in the shuffle. But better late than never.

For my fourth co-op term I landed a position with Autodesk, as a Product Management Intern. As part of the SketchBook Pro team I will be involved with many aspects of the product line which includes the wildly successful SketchBook Pro for iPad, SketchBook Mobile for iPhone and Android, and SketchBook Pro for Windows/Mac. In addition I’ll be helping with Autodesk’s other products, such as Autodesk 123D and a number of unreleased apps coming very soon.

After just three weeks with Autodesk I’ve had a great experience. I had to opportunity to organize Autodesk’s presence at the Mini Maker Faire Toronto, demoing the just announced 123D product for easy to use 3D modeling. I also got to see the launch of SketchBook Pro for iPad v2.0. A major update that was incredibly well received by our very passionate customers.

As is the nature of a job where I work on new products and features that have yet to be announced to the public, there are a ton of great things coming soon from Autodesk that I’ve been working on and would love to blog about. Those posts will have to wait until the projects see the light of day!

Below are two videos that we just posted about SketchBook Pro and the launch event:

1 – Autodesk presents The Digital Canvas, our event in San Francisco showcasing the amazing artists that use SketchBook.

2 – SketchBook Pro for iPad v2.0, a demo video of the latest update to our iPad version.

Stay tuned for more posts on the what I’ll be working on while at Autodesk for the next four months.

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BlackBerry Smartphone as Wireless Keyboard for PlayBook

Posted on May 19, 2011 by Will Robertson

UPDATE January 15, 2012: Looks like RIM had the same idea, and took it even further. At CES 2012 RIM previewed the 2.0 update to the PlayBook OS and with it announced a new feature for BlackBerry Bridge: Remote for BlackBerry PlayBook. Here is how they describe it:

Making Your BlackBerry Smartphone and Tablet a Powerful Pair:

  • Remote control for the BlackBerry PlayBook – new BlackBerry® Bridge™ features allow a user’s BlackBerry® smartphone to act as a keyboard and mouse for their BlackBerry PlayBook – effectively providing a wireless remote control for their tablet. Perfect for pausing a movie when a BlackBerry PlayBook is plugged in to a TV with an HDMI connection, or for using the tactile QWERTY keyboard on a BlackBerry smartphone to compose a message or document on the BlackBerry PlayBook.
  • Opening content on the BlackBerry PlayBook – BlackBerry Bridge allows you to take documents, emails, multimedia files and web pages found on your smartphone and open them quickly and directly on the BlackBerry PlayBook so you can use the larger high resolution display for an optimized viewing and editing experience.

Here is RIM’s Jeff Gadway and Michael Clewley demonstrating the feature at CES:

Original Post:

The BlackBerry PlayBook includes support for the connection of bluetooth mice and keyboards. A great feature that expands the usefulness of the tablet. Rumour is that RIM will be releasing either a keyboard dock or bluetooth keyboard for the PlayBook soon. Rumours also suggest the accessory may include some sort of track pad or mouse control.

However there is an even cooler feature I am hoping to see RIM release.

With BlackBerry Bridge connecting BlackBerry smartphones to the PlayBook tablet, I would like to see RIM update the BlackBerry Bridge application with the ability to send keyboard input to the PlayBook. The bluetooth connection is already there, it would only be a matter of pushing more over it.

The smartphone would become a wireless keyboard for the PlayBook letting BlackBerry users leverage their thumb-typing skills on their new device. This would be beneficial when entering text while the PlayBook is connected to an external display or in a stand. It could also function as a remote control when doing a PowerPoint presentations on a display or projector.

This feature would increase the value of having both a BlackBerry smartphone and a BlackBerry tablet. Current BlackBerry smartphone users would feel more comfortable getting a PlayBook if they knew they would still have easy access to a hardware keyboard. PlayBook users without a BlackBerry smartphone may be more interested in getting a BlackBerry based solely on the feature. Win-win for RIM and for users.

How it would work

Users would open the BlackBerry Bridge app on their smartphone and turn ON an option called Bridge Keyboard. While that user is in BlackBerry Bridge with that option on all keyboard input would be sent to the PlayBook.

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PlayBook Uploads Images and Files in the Browser

Posted on May 18, 2011 by Will Robertson

One of my favourite PlayBook features – as a recovering iPad-addict – is the ability to upload images and files in the browser.

You can upload any image or file from your PlayBook using the standard upload file prompts found everywhere on the web. This is a feature that other mobile platforms lack, and was a major impediment when I tried to use my iPad as a PC replacement. It eliminates the need for many apps, which really only exist to upload files and images.

For example, you can:

- upload images directly to photo sharing sites such as Flickr, Facebook, and Picasa
- upload files to online file storage websites like DropBox, YouSendIt, and Box.net
- upload files to web based email applications like Gmail, Hotmail, or Outlook Web Access
- upload files to web forms, such as when applying to jobs

This is a basic feature that is a necessity for getting real work done. It astounds me that the iPad still lacks the capability – PlayBook had it on Day 1.

This is what RIM means when they say the PlayBook has the real web, as opposed to limited experience the iPad’s browser provides.

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