[RIM announced enhancements to their developer platform including: OpenGL ES, Eclipse GUI Builder plugin, and Theme Studio.]

San Francisco, CA - 2009 BlackBerry Developer Conference -- Research In Motion today announced enhancements to the BlackBerry Application Platform that will further enable developers to rapidly develop rich content and applications. The enhancements include support for OpenGL ES for the development of 3D games and graphics; an upcoming Java? GUI builder for the rapid development of user interfaces for BlackBerry applications; and BlackBerry? Theme Studio for the creation of themes for BlackBerry? smartphones.

"We are making it easier than ever for developers, hobbyists and content providers to build graphic-rich experiences for BlackBerry smartphones," said Alan Brenner, Senior Vice President, BlackBerry Platform at Research In Motion. "These new features will help drive a multitude of engaging themes, games and applications for BlackBerry smartphone users."

OpenGL ES Support Enables 3D Games and Graphics for BlackBerry Smartphones

With OpenGL ES support, Java developers will have the ability to build 3D games and graphics for BlackBerry smartphones running BlackBerry OS 5.0 and higher. The OpenGL ES support is available through an update of the BlackBerry? Java? Software Development Kit (BlackBerry Java SDK). A beta version of the BlackBerry Java SDK 5.0 including OpenGL ES support is available at http://na.blackberry.com/eng/developers/devbetasoftware/javasdk5.jsp

GUI Builder for BlackBerry Java Plug-in for Eclipse to Simplify User Interface Design

An upcoming GUI builder integrated into the BlackBerry Java Plug-in for Eclipse will make it faster and easier for Java developers to build user interfaces for BlackBerry applications. Developers will be able to rapidly create and localize complex user interfaces with a WYSIWYG (what-you-see-is-what-you-get) view and drag and drop capabilities. The Java GUI builder will also allow developers to easily preview their user interface design on different BlackBerry smartphones.

The GUI builder for the BlackBerry Java Plug-in for Eclipse will be previewed this week at the 2009 BlackBerry Developer Conference (www.blackberrydeveloperconference.com). It is expected to be available in mid 2010.

New BlackBerry Theme Studio Enables Easy Theme Design, Illustration and Animation

RIM is also announcing the availability of BlackBerry Theme Studio - a free suite of theme design, illustration and animation tools that make it easier to create custom interfaces (themes) for BlackBerry smartphones running BlackBerry OS 4.2.2 and higher, including the new BlackBerry Storm2(TM) and BlackBerry Bold(TM) 9700 smartphones.

BlackBerry Theme Studio includes:

-- BlackBerry Theme Builder - a design tool for customizing a smartphone's user interface, including the home screen layout, fonts, icons, message list colors, cursors, dialog boxes and home screen application icons.

-- BlackBerry Composer - an illustration and animation tool for creating animated SVG graphics that can be used to add animation to theme buttons and backgrounds as well as animate web sites and applications for BlackBerry smartphones.

BlackBerry Theme Studio 5.0, which replaces the previously available Plazmic Content Developer's Kit(TM), features the ability to import Adobe Photoshop files to BlackBerry Theme Builder, add ringtones and build screen transitions such as zooming, sliding, wiping and fading within themes. Ringtones and screen transitions are supported for BlackBerry smartphones running BlackBerry OS 5.0 and higher.

RIM also announced today that themes for BlackBerry smartphones can now be submitted to BlackBerry App World(TM).

BlackBerry Theme Studio is available for free and can be downloaded at www.blackberry.com/themestudio.

For more information about the BlackBerry Application Platform, visit www.blackberry.com/developer.

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