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RIM launches BlackBerry developer blog

The blog is intended to get developers more engaged with the BlackBerry at a time of increased competition between smartphone platforms
Written by Matthew Broersma, Contributor

Research In Motion has set up a blog in hopes of getting developers more engaged with the BlackBerry platform.

The BlackBerry Developers Blog, launched on Tuesday, aims to promote technical discussion and provide best practices, code snippets and general technical information about building applications for its smartphone.

"One of the important aspects of a great blog is community engagement, and we're making that a primary focus," wrote BlackBerry development adviser Mike Kirkup in the blog's initial post.

RIM's blog arrives as different smartphone platforms, including Apple's iPhone, Google's Android, Microsoft's Windows Mobile and Symbian, face increasing competition for the attention of developers. Last month, for example, Microsoft launched its Windows Mobile App Store, competing with similar stores from Apple, Google and Nokia.

RIM opened its own outlet for third-party developers, the BlackBerry App World, in March. The blog is part of the company's efforts to generate interest in building applications for its device.

On the new blog, the company plans to share market trends and keep developers up-to-date on regional and local communities dedicated to their interests.

Its initial posts cover next-generation location-based services and recently released developer tools. Late last month, RIM released its first BlackBerry Web Development Plug-In for Eclipse, along with version 1.2 of its plug-in for Microsoft Visual Studio.

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