We use the Zen Application Framework exclusively to build our mobile applications, and so can you. Zen is free for all ScreamingToaster Consulting clients, and its source code comes as part of the deliverables at the end of every consulting project. Zen training courses are available upon request to consulting clients only. ScreamingToaster has a commitment to open source software (OSS) and democratizing knowledge for the good of the developer community, and humanity as a whole, which is why we give Zen away for free to our consulting clients. Our clients can make changes or additions to the applications we build them, and they can also use Zen to build applications in-house after taking our BlackBerry developer training courses.

RainOrShine is a free location-based weather application for BlackBerry. It provides real-time, current weather conditions for your current location. Using ScreamingToaster technology, RainOrShine also delivers location-based real-time updates for any Wikipedia information available for your current location, and movie show times for theaters near your current location. RainOrShine is a showcase of location-based services (LBS) possible on the BlackBerry platform, brought to you by ScreamingToaster.

In this article, I am going to define what a BB app is. I will define the building blocks of every service-enabled BB app: the UI, enterprise information integration, and service orchestration. And I will tell you why there is no 80% complete, template-based, simple, BlackBerry app.