Designing and developing for different BlackBerry devices and software versions
As you start designing an application, decide which BlackBerry Device Software version you want to develop for. The version defines the minimum set of features that you can use.
After you decide which device software version to develop for, decide which devices to design for. If you are designing for more than one device, design the UI to accommodate the different screen sizes and pixel densities among BlackBerry devices. Use BlackBerry UI components to help make the layout more extensible. You can also group BlackBerry devices according to screen size and choose a reference device for each group. If you lay out the screens for each reference device, then you do not have to design the screens for each device—but you can adjust the layouts if necessary.
Verify the layout of each screen on each device that you are designing for. Try to create a UI that works the same way on all of the devices running a specific version of device software. Carefully consider compromises that you make to consistency for the sake of simplifying development. Compromises should be made only when necessary.
When you are ready to create an application, the information in the following table can help you design a UI for devices that run on recent versions of BlackBerry Device Software and BlackBerry Tablet OS. For more details, see the "Display specifications and interaction methods for BlackBerry devices" topic in the UI guidelines that correspond to the software version that you're designing for. Visit www.blackberry.com/go/uiguidelines and select a version of the UI guidelines from the drop-down list.
|
Model |
Screen size (pixels) |
Pixels per inch |
Interaction |
Application icon size (pixels) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Version 5.0 | ||||
|
BlackBerry Bold 9000 |
480 x 320 |
217 |
Trackball & full keyboard |
80 x 80 |
|
BlackBerry Bold 9650 BlackBerry Bold 9700 |
480 x 320 |
245 |
Trackpad & full keyboard |
80 x 80 |
|
BlackBerry Curve 8330 |
320 x 240 |
163 |
Trackball & full keyboard |
52 x 52 |
|
BlackBerry Curve 8350i BlackBerry Curve 8520 BlackBerry Curve 8530 |
320 x 240 |
163 |
Trackball/trackpad & full keyboard |
52 x 52 |
|
BlackBerry Curve 8900 BlackBerry Curve 8910 BlackBerry Curve 8980 |
480 x 360 |
245 |
Trackball/trackpad & full keyboard |
80 x 80 |
|
BlackBerry Curve 9300 BlackBerry Curve 9330 |
320 x 240 |
162 |
Trackpad & full keyboard |
52 x 52 |
|
BlackBerry Pearl 9100 BlackBerry Pearl 9105 |
360 x 400 |
238 |
Trackpad & reduced keyboard |
72 x 72 |
|
BlackBerry Storm 9500 BlackBerry Storm 9530 BlackBerry Storm2 9520 BlackBerry Storm2 9550 |
360 x 480 (portrait) |
184 |
Touch screen & virtual keyboard |
73 x 70 |
|
BlackBerry Tour 9630 |
480 x 360 |
245 |
Trackball & full keyboard |
80 x 80 |
| Version 6.0 | ||||
|
BlackBerry Bold 9650 BlackBerry Bold 9700 BlackBerry Bold 9780 |
480 x 360 |
245 |
Trackpad & full keyboard |
68 x 68 |
|
BlackBerry Curve 9300 BlackBerry Curve 9330 |
320 x 240 |
162 |
Trackpad & full keyboard |
44 x 44 |
|
BlackBerry Pearl 9100 BlackBerry Pearl 9105 |
360 x 400 |
238 |
Trackpad & reduced keyboard |
63 x 63 |
|
BlackBerry Style 9670 |
360 x 400 |
196 |
Trackpad & full keyboard |
63 x 63 |
|
BlackBerry Torch 9800 |
360 x 480 (portrait) |
188 |
Touch screen, trackpad, full slider keyboard & virtual keyboard |
68 x 68 |
| Version 7.0 | ||||
|
BlackBerry Bold 9790 |
480 x 360 (portrait) |
245 |
Touch screen, trackpad & full keyboard |
68 x 68 |
|
BlackBerry Bold 9900 BlackBerry Bold 9930 |
640 x 480 (portrait) |
287 |
Touch screen, trackpad & full keyboard |
92 x 92 |
|
BlackBerry Curve 9350 BlackBerry Curve 9360 |
480 x 360 |
245 |
Trackpad & full keyboard |
68 x 68 |
|
BlackBerry Curve 9380 |
480 x 360 (portrait) |
189 |
Touch screen, trackpad & full keyboard |
68 x 68 |
|
BlackBerry Torch 9810 |
480 x 640 (portrait) |
253 |
Touch screen, trackpad, full slider keyboard & virtual keyboard |
92 x 92 |
|
BlackBerry Torch 9850 BlackBerry Torch 9860 |
480 x 800 (portrait) |
253 |
Touch screen, trackpad & virtual keyboard |
92 x 92 |
| Version 7.1 | ||||
|
BlackBerry 9620 |
480 x 360 |
245 |
Trackpad & full keyboard |
68 x 68 |
|
BlackBerry Bold 9790 |
480 x 360 (portrait) |
245 |
Touch screen, trackpad & full keyboard |
68 x 68 |
|
BlackBerry Bold 9900 BlackBerry Bold 9930 |
640 x 480 (portrait) |
287 |
Touch screen, trackpad & full keyboard |
92 x 92 |
|
BlackBerry Curve 9220 BlackBerry Curve 9310 BlackBerry Curve 9320 |
320 x 240 |
164 |
Trackpad & full keyboard |
46 x 46 |
|
BlackBerry Curve 9350 BlackBerry Curve 9360 |
480 x 360 |
245 |
Trackpad & full keyboard |
68 x 68 |
|
BlackBerry Curve 9380 |
480 x 360 (portrait) |
189 |
Touch screen, trackpad & full keyboard |
68 x 68 |
|
BlackBerry Torch 9810 |
480 x 640 (portrait) |
253 |
Touch screen, trackpad, full slider keyboard & virtual keyboard |
92 x 92 |
|
BlackBerry Torch 9850 BlackBerry Torch 9860 |
480 x 800 (portrait) |
253 |
Touch screen, trackpad & virtual keyboard |
92 x 92 |
| Version 1.0 and 2.0 | ||||
|
BlackBerry PlayBook tablet |
1024 x 600 (landscape) |
169.3 |
Touch screen & virtual keyboard |
86 x 86 |
Considerations for existing applications
If you have an existing application and want to make it available on BlackBerry devices with a touch screen, you must adjust the layout to accommodate touch interactions. For more information on touch interactions, see the "Touch screen" topic.
You must also decide whether to display the application in portrait mode, landscape mode, or both. If you use BlackBerry UI components, the orientation mode is managed automatically.
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