BlackBerry OS 7 Web Inspector: Easily Debug BlackBerry Websites & WebWorks Browser Apps

by Ronen Halevy on November 18th, 2011 · Leave a Comment

Posted in Developer Featured News

I use Web Inspector all the time to work on BerryReview and other projects on my desktop and I was really glad to see it included on the BlackBerry PlayBook. I knew that RIM managed to stick it into BlackBerry 7 and I finally got a chance to use it this weekend. In case you have never heard of Web Inspector before then here is a brief explanation. Web Inspector is a feature in WebKit (usually only desktop clients) which allows you to view and edit the page source, CSS, live DOM hierarchy, script debugging, profiling and much much more. For example, you can see what it would look like if you changed the text color or you can navigate what your script has done to the DOM.

 

Back to the topic at hand. I needed to debug a JavaScript error on the mobile version of BerryReview along with an issue with our CDN that did not show images or styling sometimes on BlackBerrys. I had tried debugging this issue on my Bold 9930 when it launched but the Web Inspector did not work that well in the early builds.

Now on my BlackBerry Curve 9350 I have to say Web Inspector is the easiest way to debug and test any mobile web apps or websites for BlackBerry. It is essentially like having the Chrome or Safari WebKit based Web Inspector tool for BlackBerry. From what I understand it even works with the BlackBerry 7 simulator so you don’t need a BlackBerry 7 device. There are a few tricks to get it running so read below:

 

To setup Web Inspector on your BlackBerry 7 device:

Let us know if it works for you! I am amazed how responsive it is and how fast it is. Even when you hover over elements on the DOM it hovers them on the BlackBerry browser. Changes are instant. Great work from the Torch Mobile team on this one!

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RIM Publishes Full Security Advisory for Old BlackBerry 6 WebKit Vulnerability

This latest security advisory goes to show why RIM’s current model for carrier approved OS updates is not ideal. RIM put out what they call a security notice about a BlackBerry 6 WebKit browser vulnerability back in March of this year for an exploit found in the BlackBerry 6 Browser at Pwn2Own that month. RIM said back then that devices updated to OS 6.0.0.526+ were safe from the vulnerability. They then finally issued a security advisory this week for the same old vulnerability with quite a few more details about it.

The reason RIM took so long to release the advisory was because RIM had to wait for carriers to approve the security software update. RIM provided the fix within two weeks of learning of the vulnerability. Now SIX MONTHS LATER RIM has found that “a sufficient number of wireless services providers” have made the update available to their customers.

Here is RIM’s explanation for the delay:

A sufficient number of wireless service providers must make a security software update for BlackBerry smartphones publicly available to customers before RIM will publish full details of the software update in a Security Advisory. RIM delivered the software updates to its wireless service provider partners. Where a wireless service provider may not have then provided the software updates to all customers, this policy is intended to protect those customers from increased risk of exploitation.

Within two weeks of learning of the vulnerabilities that this Security Advisory addresses RIM tested and delivered fixed software to our wireless service provider partners for their Technical Acceptance process. During the Technical Acceptance process, RIM monitored update availability for nine affected devices available through nearly 500 carriers globally until an availability level was achieved that allowed us to be confident that disclosure of the security vulnerabilities addressed by the software update would protect the interests of the majority of our customers.

RIM continues to work with our partners to expedite the process of software update delivery to BlackBerry smartphone customers.

Note: KB26132 was previously published as a Security Notice to responsibly advise customers about the existence of one of the three vulnerabilities, which had been publicly disclosed, and provide workaround options in lieu of a software update to address that issue for all affected customers. This Security Advisory replaces that Security Notice and provides full details of publicly available software updates that address that issue and two related issues, and urges affected customers to upgrade.

Six months to roll out a relatively critical software update is simply ridiculous in this fast changing security scene… Thankfully the PlayBook QNX based OS has been consistently pushing out security updates within 2 weeks or so.

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Google Improves Search on BlackBerry OS 6.0 Devices!

FINALLY. I have been waiting for Google to finally get their act together and realize that BlackBerry OS 6 has a WebKit browser just like Android and iPhone. They just announced on their blog that they have revamped Google search and a couple of related properties for the BlackBerry OS 6 browser. The new interface is really slick and really enhances the experience. The only real problem is that RIM still seems to be sending us to the desktop search page from the browser search bar… Still I love the new autocomplete feature.

Here are the new features:

According to Google “These features and more are available on most RIM OS 6.0+ devices with WebKit browsers like the BlackBerry Torch and BlackBerry Bold 9780, and can be accessed in 20 languages across 70 countries.”

To check it out simply go to www.google.com from your BlackBerry with OS 6.0. You may need to clear your cache to get it to work.

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