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There are a couple of things BlackBerry users have been looking forward to. First is HTML and Rich Text email, which we know we’re not getting for a while. The other, though is Java-enabled browsing. Thankfully, Research In Motion has announced a Java Development Environment (JDE) plugin for Eclipse, which is the development platform for the BlackBerry. This plugin will allow Eclipse developers to add Java-based applications to their repertoire. I’m not too familiar with application development, so I’ll let the press release do a lot of the talking.

Extends Familiar Development Experience to Mobile Application Development – The plug-in is a free download that seamlessly integrates within the developer’s existing and familiar Eclipse environment, enabling them to develop rich client applications in Java for the BlackBerry platform without having to learn a new development environment…The plug-in will enable developers to leverage the development, testing, debugging and optimization tools available with the BlackBerry JDE, as well as the inherent security, network efficiency, system integration capabilities, reliability and push-based architecture of the BlackBerry platform.

I’ll be sure to report once we see some of these applications hit the marketplace. Are there any Eclipse developers out there who can give us more of a first-hand account of this development?

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