A few weeks ago, we decided to fly to Johannesburg to attend the “Meet The BlackBerry® PlayBook™” event at the forum | the campus on 24th May 2011 in association with Adobe. The event was split into a business track and a developer track, which catered for most of the attendees. A few of us went to both tracks and found the presentations to be very useful, gave us an insight into what markets BlackBerry are aiming PlayBook at compared to the Apple iPad and other tablet competitors. After chatting to many of the BlackBerry representatives at the event, they all said there has been a lot of interest from small, medium and large enterprises in South Africa regarding the PlayBook. So we are looking forward to the official launch of the device next month.

The reason ThoughtFaqtory is so interested in this device, is because we can leverage our existing Adobe Flash and Flex skills to develop great user experiences for the enterprise market. If you are interested in getting an app developed for the BlackBerry PlayBook, please get in touch with us on our website at www.thoughtfaqtory.com or email us inquiries@thoughtfaqtory.com.

We have also ported some of our apps over to the device already, if you are interested in seeing any of them please let us know via the details above.

Also, check out this video below regarding the “BlackBerry PlayBook Tablet for Business”.

Another video called “BlackBerry PlayBook – Flash”.

“AppsWorld” – powerful word wouldn’t you say… makes me think of how our world is changing and revolving more around Apps in the IT Industry… hence the reason we didn’t want to miss out on the opportunity to a be a part of an exciting conference happening this week. ThoughtFaqtory is thrilled to have the chance to exhibit our thoughts and experiences at the AppsWorld Africa 2011 in Cape Town at the CTICC on Wednesday, 1^st June and Thursday, 2^nd June 2011.

This conference will offer you and us the opportunity to engage with leading developers and a whole host of different specialists involved in the Mobile Apps Development industry, who will be able to swop useful information and find out more about what is actually happening in that world some of us know a pinch of salt about….!!!

Our founder, Simon of ThoughtFaqtory will be on the Enterprise App Developer Panel & the MD, Phillip will be chairing the Developers Workshop Stream.

We will have some exciting new mobile apps to showcase.

For more information about the conference go to AppsWorld Africa 2011.

BlackBerry Tablet OS key details

• Reliable, high-performance kernel engineered for multi-core hardware
• Multi-threaded POSIX OS (Portable Operating System for Unix) for true multitasking
• Built from the ground up to run WebKit and Adobe® Flash®
• Built with the security, efficiency and seamless connectivity from the ground up you’d expect from RIM

Application development approaches

There are currently two application development approaches for the BlackBerry Tablet OS:

• Web Applications with HTML5 — Developers will be able to create compelling applications using HTML5, CSS and JavaScript®, which leverage the WebKit rendering engine.
• Web Applications with Flash — Leveraging Adobe’s tools, developers will be able to create visually rich applications using Flash 10.1.

Application distribution through the BlackBerry App World™ storefront makes it easy for end-users to discover, download and use your application.

Application creation

Leverage your existing Adobe Flash tools and content and create breakthrough mobile applications for the new BlackBerry Tablet OS.
Or add a new dimension to your BlackBerry development skills and create compelling applications for a new mobile form factor that complements your existing application.

Traditionally, RIM exposes the hardware and software on the OS for developers to create rich and stunning applications.

Learn more about the Flash Platform Development for BlackBerry Tablet OS

Register now for early access to the BlackBerry Tablet OS Software Developer Kit (SDK)

Award-winning health insurance provider uses the Adobe Flash Platform to create a unique interactive online service empowering customers to lead healthier, happier lives.

A new take on healthcare
For many people, the concept of wellness is relegated to an occasional visit to the doctor at the first sign of illness or for an annual check-up. But with climbing insurance premiums — particularly for employees who make contributions to employer-sponsored plans — and frequent coverage from news outlets about the dangers of an unhealthy lifestyle, more citizens are rethinking their approach to healthy living.

“We’ve always viewed ourselves as a leader and innovator in the insurance industry,” says Paulo dos Santos, CIO at PruHealth. “Encouraging and rewarding our customers with discounted premiums and other services for living a healthier lifestyle would certainly distinguish us from our competitors. We needed to create a unique program to deliver that message. Adobe software and technologies proved to be the most logical choice to achieve that goal.”

Working with our business applications development team at ThoughtFaqtory, PruHealth adopted the Adobe Flash Platform, including Adobe Flex Builder, to create an interactive online, incentive-based curriculum that encourages physical activity, healthy eating, and smoking cessation among the many ways for customers to earn redeemable points and valuable rewards. The challenge for us was to build a rich experience, that was easy to use, enjoyable to work through and be able to retain the users interest throughout the completion of the health and fitness goals process.

With the Adobe Flash Platform, PruHealth provides customers with richly detailed and dynamically animated graphs and charts, giving them a comprehensive understanding of how their habits affect their health and wellness.

Leveraging the Adobe Flash Platform and Adobe Flex Builder 3, PruHealth delivered its innovative online Vitality Interactive application, a secure online portal to accompany the long-standing Vitality Program. The dynamic portal features a range of interactive wellness tools that enable customers to create their own health and fitness goals and timelines.

“With the Adobe Flash Platform, we created a richly animated site that brings a unique visual perspective to show customers how their daily habits contribute to their overall health and wellness,” says Greg Peringuey, development manager for PruHealth Online.

The application provides customers with a questionnaire about their current lifestyle choices—exercise habits, calorie intake, and lifestyle choices, among many others. They can watch as rich-media charts and graphs update instantly with their answers to paint a comprehensive picture of lifestyle changes they can make to live healthier, and save money.

The full Adobe Success Story is available here.