Back at Adobe MAX 2010, RIM announced a plan to encourage development of applications for their forthcoming PlayBook tablet. They promised a PlayBook for anyone who put a PlayBook app into their AppWorld prior to the release date of the tablet. I've blogged about the PlayBook previously, and I feel that it represents a significant step forward toward making a tablet a user's primary computer.
My son Arthur, who blogs about technology and creates YouTube training videos, took the challenge seriously. He dug into the public betas of Flash Builder and Flash Catalyst, got the PlayBook SKD, and went to town.
He developed in Flash Builder, which has several advantages to using the native language. Adobe includes many output paths from Flash Builder, including AIR Desktop, AIR for Android and (with the PlayBook SDK) PlayBook. It is also possible to package for iPhone, but it's a command line task as of yet. I do expect to see Flash Professional-like packaging in Flash Builder before too long, though. Having one development environment makes app creation, testing and deployment so much faster.
Along the way, he encountered one major hurdle in the development process: there's no device on which to test the app! While RIM offers a VMWare simulator, it lacks some key features like multi-touch screen interactions, accelerometer behaviors, geolocation, and more. While these features are accessible in apps, they are hard to simulate on a laptop.
Regardless, he got an app working and submitted to the store. The app is a browser for our CommuniPix service. He plans to expand it to be a more functional interface to the service, including camera access, in-ap ordering, and more. I look forward to seeing what he cooks up after he gets his hands on a device. Now, to get busy on my app...
Very impressive, AJ. Congratulations!
A chip off the old block, or should I say a "computer chip" off the old block!!! Yay AJ!!!
Mimi