Strategies for rich Blackberry web pages

Question

a client wants to "modernize" a 5 year old web/html-based Blackberry "application". The application allows field service technicians and franchisees to inquire on warranty and service status. Currently they use very simple php/html pages.

Application seems slow, especially on repeated inquiries which require constant reload. Blackberry/Java seems to be obvious choice, but client seems to think that development and maintainace is expensive, which I suppose is true because this skill is not very common around here.

I am thinking of maybe loading all pages in a single initial load and use a javascript hide/show type technique to reveal pages as user requests them, and using ajax to populate/update data.

They want to target javascript enabled Blackberry devices (OS 4.5 and later). I know that issues and limitations with css and js on early browsers. i would like to hear other people's experiences.

I know jQuery so that would be obvious choice, but it is pretty fat for wireless. Is there a better toolkit for this purpose - I found the iqTouch site, but that was not Blackberry specific. Any sites with examples that I can harvest?

Answer 1

have you looked at features available in HTML 5?

Answer 2

If you're targeting OS 4.5 and later, all I can say is good luck. BlackBerry support for HTML was pretty poor in older devices, and you're hit and miss at best with anything more than the most basic use of JavaScript. I've had very little luck with anything other than non-dynamic HTML websites with the older browsers.

With OS 5.0 and later you have a lot more options. Support for the Gears APIs and better JavaScript. The Widget SDK even lets you easily create HTML/JS based 'Widgets' for BlackBerry that can contain a bunch of pre-cached data. BlackBerry 6 of course, with its WebKit based browser and HTML5 support can do pretty much anything that iOS or Android devices can.

So my recommendation is to only go dynamic if you can target 5.0 and later. Or potentially a site that degrades gracefully to browsers that don't support JS well (either user agent detection or some fancy JS coding) and users with older devices have to deal with a slower experience.