We really cannot thank Brightkite user Chris Hallgren enough for choosing to create a Blackberry application by himself, using our public API. BrightBerry, which is available here, has been quite the hit with our community — offering most of the basic functionality that makes Brightkite on the go so much fun.

Currently, you can use the app to:

• View and navigate your streams (Friends, Nearby, Universe, Mentions, and User)
• Post a Note to your current location
• Check in to Placemarks
• Send and receive Direct Messages
• View and post comments on a post

You can also check-in via GPS and via Place Search, but both of those still need some tweaking. This is a big undertaking for one person, so Chris has decided to make the app open source and we’re hoping that there might be a developer or two out there with some free time that would be willing to contribute.

In addition to GPS and Place Search check-ins, the following things are still being worked on:

• Posting photos from camera capture and media viewer
• Sending and responding to Friend Requests
• Creation of Placemarks
• Viewing a Place Stream
• Improving load times on streams
• Creating a better GUI based on the iPhone app

We would love to see this become a full-featured application and we are reaching out to you, one of the best communities out there, to lend a hand to one of your fellow Brightkiters.

Again, a big thanks to Chris and all the hard work he has put into BrightBerry, he has certainly made a lot of our users happy.

Here are a few links with more information about the app:

Main Website – http://bbhn.mobi
GitHub Repository – http://github.com/challgren/brightberry
Brightkite Profile – http://brightkite.com/people/BrightBerry

Posted by Lesley Yarbrough at 8:20 PM in API, Apps, Blackberry, Community 13718 commentshttp://blog.brightkite.com/2009/06/01/user-created-blackberry-app-goes-open-source/User-created+BlackBerry+App+Goes+Open+Source2009-06-02+03%3A20%3A53Lesley+Yarbrough