Moving to position against Apple’s market-leading iPad, Research In Motion on Monday announced a software development kit for Adobe AIR. Developers can use the SDK to build apps for the BlackBerry PlayBook. But analysts said Adobe AIR alone isn’t enough to get developers on board the BlackBerry Tablet OS.
David Yach, CTO for RIM’s software division, noted that the PlayBook is the first tablet to be built from the ground up to run Flash Player 10.1 and Adobe AIR applications with full integration. He said the SDK unlocks opportunity for both the Adobe and BlackBerry development communities.
Yach isn’t merely blowing smoke. Partnering with Adobe is a clear differentiator from the iPad, if not other competing tablets. But this is clearly a competitive move for both companies against a common nemesis — Apple. There are more than three million Flash developers — and RIM is working to woo them to its PlayBook while Apple bans Flash from its iOS platform.
PlayBook Possibilities
Michael Gartenberg, an analyst at Gartner, said it’s too early to tell whether a PlayBook that’s tightly integrated with Adobe products will attract developers. As he sees it, AIR brings a lot to the table, but it also brings some limitations in terms of what you can provide versus native function.
“It’s important that RIM is getting the SDK out there because the company has to build developer momentum,” Gartenberg said. “One of the things that’s going to make the PlayBook a success or failure is going to be how attractive they can make the platform for third-party developers, both in being able to do interesting things and being able to monetize.”
The new SDK does offer developers support that paves the way for those “interesting things.” For example, it offers support for hardware-accelerated playback of video and graphics-intensive content, both in…