Blackberries are very popular devices in the cell phone industry these days. A Blackberry is essentially a cell phone developed by Research In Motion (RIM). It combines the usefulness of having a phone and a PDA all in one. In the Blackberry development, RIM have developed many very useful application including BlackBerry Messenger, Facebook, Google Quick Search and Windows Live Messenger to name a few. They range from purely functional to absolutely fun.  What many are not aware of is the fact that you too can develop your own blackberry applications. It’s easier than you think!

You may require a special application for your organization which is only applicable to you and your organization. There would not be a market for Rim to design these personal applications so they give programmers the permission and tools to develop their own software for these cell phones.  As Blackberry uses Java you can easily develop any application that you could imagine.

As a first step it would probably be best to go to the developer labs on the Blackberry website. This ‘laboratory’ will assist to get you get started with developing applications and also offers hands-on exercises for beginners in developing applications for your Blackberry.

You need to have the Java 2 Platform SDK installed on your personal computer. This is available on the Sun website. Next you need to download and install the BlackBerry Java Development Environment (JDE) onto your computer. The JDE is essentially a simulation tool specifically designed for creating Java Micro Edition applications for BlackBerry. The next step is sitting down and writing the code for the application in Java.

Once you have completed the programming of the codes then you need to develop your user interface where you design a customized look for the application you are developing. Finally Download the BlackBerry MDS Studio which assists you in creating the wireless applications. Essentially the BlackBerry MDS Studio allows organizations to deliver their data wirelessly using the push technology. Once completed you need to install your application onto your Blackberry device and then test your application out. Once application has been installed on the BlackBerry then the Blackberry does not need to connect to the personal computer.

Possibilities for application software for your BlackBerry are as endless as your imagination. You therefore need to be specific in knowing exactly what you want from the application before you begin designing the program. Once you have designed and installed your application and you know that it is fully operational you have the option of sharing it with the BlackBerry community all over the world by uploading your application software onto one of the BlackBerry App websites.

If you do not know how to program, you can also download many free applications online. There are also applications which you may be required to purchase before you can use.  The advantage is that these applications have been tried and tested by other programmers however the disadvantage is that the ability to change the application to fit your need may be very limited if you buy an off-the shelf product.