Blackbird is a product by Flowfinity Wireless designed to enable Visual Studio developers to leverage their existing tools, skills and code to create wireless applications optimized for BlackBerry Wireless Handhelds. Blackbird applications are "wireless ready", which means that they are optimized for minimum network traffic and are resilient to loss of network coverage.

Blackbird is designed for enterprise developers familiar with ASP.NET technology.

Blackbird 1.0 has been released concurrently with Visual Studio 2005 on November 7, 2005. Download is available from flowfinity.com now.

No. Even though many existing ASP.NET applications may function properly with Blackbird, most existing applications are optimized for large screens. Creating an effective application for wireless handheld requires redesigning the user interface to account for smaller screen size and limited navigation capabilities on devices such as BlackBerry.

Yes, Blackbird is an extension of ASP.NET, and any .NET code is supported by Blackbird, including code invoking Web Services.

No, Blackbird depends on the server logic programmed in .NET, so when wireless connectivity is not available, Blackbird applications cannot continue processing data. Blackbird however is resilient to network service interruptions as it ensures that user data and application context are not lost when wireless connectivity is interrupted.

Blackbird automatically optimizes all wireless traffic to minimize network transmissions and user delays. Blackbird provides a rich set of on-device UI controls and generates screen layouts optimized for BlackBerry handhelds. Blackbird also features Flowfinity's patent-pending multi-tasking user interface which simplifies navigation inside of applications and allows users to complete tasks faster. All these benefits are automatically available to users without any special effort by developers.

Browsers do not provide an adequate user experience on wireless handhelds. Wireless connectivity is never guaranteed and browsers simply lose all user data when wireless connectivity is interrupted. Browsers are also not optimized for navigating application screens on wireless handhelds. The best way to understand what exactly this means is to try it yourself on your BlackBerry.

Programming distributed wireless handheld applications with client-side logic is a very investment-intensive task. While this development option provides the ultimate flexibility, it comes at a cost that is not acceptable for most enterprise application projects.

Blackbird requires ASP.NET version 2.0.

Blackbird requires one of the following editions of Visual Studio 2005:

• Visual Studio 2005 Web Developer
• Visual Studio 2005 Standard Edition
• Visual Studio 2005 Professional Edition
• Visual Studio 2005 Team Suite

Blackbird does not provide any custom controls. Developers developing with Blackbird use 100% standard ASP.NET controls- just like they usually do when developing web applications.

Blackbird supports the following standard ASP.NET 2.0 controls:

Label	TextBox	Button
LinkButton	ImageButton	HyperLink
DropdownList	ListBox	CheckBox
CheckBoxList	RadioButton	RadioButtonList
Image	Table	BulletedList
HiddenField	Literal	AdRotator
Wizard	MultiView	View
Panel	PlaceHolder	Substitution
Localize	GridView	DataList
DetailsView	FormView	Repeater
SqlDataSource	AccessDataSource	ObjectDataSource
XmlDataSource	RequiredFieldValidator	RangeValidator
CompareValidator	Login	LoginView
PasswordRecovery	LoginStatus	LoginName
CreateUserWizard	ChangePassword

Yes, however Flowfinity recommends implementing separate pages for the handhelds and for the web users due to significant difference in screen size. An alternative option is to implement conditional ASP.NET pages that render differently depending on the target platform.

To access Blackbird applications, users need to install Flowfinity Client on their handhelds. Administrators install ASP.NET applications with embedded Blackbird runtime on their IIS servers. User authentication and authorization are handled by IIS similarly to traditional web applications.

Blackbird does not convert any .NET code. All code remains in the original .NET assemblies and gets executed on the server. Blackbird replaces web browser and HTML rendering components of traditional ASP.NET applications to provide "wireless ready" user experience optimized for wireless handhelds.

Flowfinity Client communicates to IIS hosting Blackbird runtime via one of the three options: BES/MDS, BlackBerry Internet Service, or Direct TCP/IP connectivity. BlackBerry Internet Service and Direct TCP connectivity are subject to availability as defined for BlackBerry services by the carrier operating each particular network. Use of BES/MDS enables secure access to enterprise applications hosted behind the firewall. BlackBerry Internet Service and Direct TCP/IP connectivity provide access to applications deployed on external servers and are useful when BES/MDS is not available.

Blackbird supports all BlackBerry handhelds with color screens. Handhelds with 32MB or more of flash memory are strongly recommended. Blackbird requires BlackBerry OS 3.7.1.56 or higher.

Blackbird supports BES/MDS connectivity on all GPRS/EDGE, CDMA 1X/EvDO and iDEN networks that support BlackBerry. Alternative connectivity paths, such as BlackBerry Internet Service and Direct TCP/IP, are subject to network configuration by the wireless carrier.

Yes! Blackbird supports BES/MDS secure connectivity to applications behind the enterprise firewall as well as TLS/SSL connectivity to applications via either of the three supported transports. Blackbird however supports unauthenticated anonymous access as well for publicly accessible applications.

Flowfinity Client consumes over 1.5MB of flash memory on the handheld. A single Flowfinity Client download can be shared between multiple Blackbird applications on the same handheld. Each provisioned Blackbird application is configured with a separate start icon in Flowfinity Client.

Blackbird is available for use by enterprise customers free of charge. Use is subject to license agreement included with the product.

License to use Flowfinity Client for accessing Blackbird applications is included with Blackbird. There is no separate cost associated with Flowfinity Client.

Flowfinity has a deep product stack with multiple product offerings. Flowfinity believes that making Blackbird freely available for enterprises to use will help organizations leverage their Visual Studio and BlackBerry investments and will create new opportunities for organizations to adopt other Flowfinity products that are also tightly integrated with BlackBerry and Microsoft's server products including SQL Server and .NET platform.

The standard license does not allow redistributing Blackbird. Contact Flowfinity if you are interested in licensing Blackbird for redistribution.

Flowfinity provides developer support as well as runtime support services for Blackbird. All support services are provided on fee-for-service basis.

Currently, Flowfinity does not publish a training course schedule. Please contact Flowfinity for information on the next developer training session in your region.