But Tyler Lessard is keen for more innovative BlackBerry apps of all kinds.
Will the mobile web kill off the mania for downloadable apps? Google appears to think so, but Research In Motion isn’t so sure.
“How do you define what is an app versus what is the web?” says VP of global alliances and developer relations Tyler Lessard.
“Those lines are quickly blurring on many platforms. We continue to see developers investing in mobile-specific experiences for high-end smartphones, but whether that manifests itself as a thin-client app or a web-based app? The lines will continue to blur as time goes on.”
RIM is doing its bit to help developers blur those lines further, for example by allowing them to push web content to BlackBerry browsers, while sending users an alert that then launches the browser.
“It’s the first step to enabling web-based content to be thought of as an application,” says Lessard.
Article continues belowAdvertisement
Meanwhile, RIM is also encouraging developers to make their downloadable apps tie in more closely with the native features of BlackBerry handsets, particularly using push data.
“We feel there's a lot more people can be doing in this environment than they're doing today,” says Lessard.
“We’ve been able to deliver an industry-leading experience in terms of real-time and push-based data delivery, and we want to start seeing more third-party apps taking on those same characteristics.”
For ME’s full interview with Tyler Lessard, click here.
