Question

I’m just starting black berry development using eclipse and jre version 6.0.
What would be a good black berry device used to test the apps. I went to amazon and the prices ranges between
I’m looking at BlackBerry 8530 – Verizon Wireless, Blackberry Tour 9630 Unlocked GSM Cell Phone (Black), Sprint Blackberry Curve
Will all the black berries run the app with jre version 6.0, or must I buy certin ones?
-Ted

Answer 1

That’s a really difficult question to answer as there are so many different devices and OS versions that there is no one device you could test to give you 100% confidence across the range.

You also need to consider whether your app will/should support features that are only available on some devices, e.g. the touch-capabilities of the newer Storm and Torch models.

As a first step (assuming you haven’t already) I’d recommend thoroughly testing the application on the simulators available from RIM: https://swdownloads.blackberry.com/Downloads/entry.do?code=060AD92489947D410D897474079C1477

These simulators are limited in that it’s not always possible to see exactly how the app will look on the real device – but realistically you’re probably not going to be able to test enough different devices yourself to achieve this.

I’d therefore suggest a two-pronged approach:

1. By all means get the best/newest device you can afford and make sure it looks great on that
2. Recruit friends/colleagues/acquaintances with BB’s – as many as possible – and get them to test the app for you, perhaps in exchange for a free copy (or coffee, or beer, if that would be more appropriate)

I realise that doesn’t directly answer the question, but hopefully it helps in some way.