Playbook to bbphone bridge - not all apps see internet

**dbook** · 05-15-2012, 10:34 AM

I have a playbook and bb curve 8530. I'm new to both. I have the bridge up and running and currently only use email and calendering on the playbook not the phone. I noted that when the bridge is up I can access the internet on the playbook via browser. However the built in email app with 2.0 says no internet. Other internet depended apps also complain that they have no internet connection. An example of this is Poynt. Is this correct? I can't seem to find a reference to this though it seems like someone would have questioned this? Thanks

**westronic** · 05-15-2012, 11:31 AM

This is working as designed.

Some internet-enable apps will work with Bridge, some will not.

I think that one has to code an app to use the bridge internet for it to work.

**BuzzStarField** · 05-15-2012, 12:06 PM

Originally Posted by Westronics

This is working as designed.

Some internet-enable apps will work with Bridge, some will not.

I think that one has to code an app to use the bridge internet for it to work.

True: Some apps, notably Poynt, work via Bridge (I just checked mine) and others (notably PB App World and Bing since 2.0.1) do not.

False: Behaviour is not controlled by code, at least for ordinary 3rd-party developers. My app works via Bridge for getting location using your postal code and I did nothing special to enable auto-switching between WiFi and Bridge. In fact, I am not aware of any method for my Adobe Air app to determine programatically which channel is active.

**spike12** · 05-15-2012, 12:45 PM

Originally Posted by BuzzStarField

True: Some apps, notably Poynt, work via Bridge (I just checked mine) and others (notably PB App World and Bing since 2.0.1) do not.

False: Behaviour is not controlled by code, at least for ordinary 3rd-party developers. My app works via Bridge for getting location using your postal code and I did nothing special to enable auto-switching between WiFi and Bridge. In fact, I am not aware of any method for my Adobe Air app to determine programatically which channel is active.

Interesting.. then what makes the difference between apps that can access bridge data and those that cannot?

**BuzzStarField** · 05-15-2012, 02:45 PM

Originally Posted by spike12

Interesting.. then what makes the difference between apps that can access bridge data and those that cannot?

Some privileged developers have access to many APIs that mere mortal developers like myself do not. RIM has chosen to block App World access via the Bridge whereas my app must rely on whatever scheme RIM decides is appropriate. In this case, it's not such a bad thing - at launch last year our apps were out of luck if WiFi was unavailable - but now the channel switches automatically if need be.

Another example of privileged access to APIs: RIM and Poynt use can use Bluetooth APIs but neither the Air SDK nor NDK have APIs that we can use.

**Tomcat_Alley** · 05-15-2012, 02:58 PM

I believe apps which are high data usage or high speed necessaries are locked to wifi only.

Those that would perform poorly such as games, and things like app world which could result in stupidly high phone bills, require wifi access.

**cletis** · 05-15-2012, 03:21 PM

Originally Posted by BuzzStarField

Some privileged developers have access to many APIs that mere mortal developers like myself do not. RIM has chosen to block App World access via the Bridge whereas my app must rely on whatever scheme RIM decides is appropriate. In this case, it's not such a bad thing - at launch last year our apps were out of luck if WiFi was unavailable - but now the channel switches automatically if need be.

Another example of privileged access to APIs: RIM and Poynt use can use Bluetooth APIs but neither the Air SDK nor NDK have APIs that we can use.

Doesn't this mean that instead of False, you should have said that the behavior being code-dependent is True? After all, the last I checked, APIs are invoked from code...

**salexs11** · 05-15-2012, 03:49 PM

This is normal.

Bridge will allows *some* apps to use the data on your phone as bridged data. This includes the browser and all bridge PIM apps (read: non-native) such as calendar, messages, and bbm. A good way to visualize this is that while bridged, the playbook is just a mirrorroing some of the apps and the information on your blackberry.

If it is your intention to use the blackberry as a portal to the internet (i.e. as a modem), you will want to set up tethering (go to options > internet tethering on your playbook). This will open up data access to all apps on your playbook, including native email, weather, etc.

Caveat: Make sure your data plan supports tethering and make sure you have enough data to do this. Tethering eats up data quickly.

Also note: If your plan supports tethering, and you have OS 7.1 on your device, you can use your phone as a mobile hot spot.

**BuzzStarField** · 05-15-2012, 03:58 PM

Originally Posted by cletis

Doesn't this mean that instead of False, you should have said that the behavior being code-dependent is True? After all, the last I checked, APIs are invoked from code...

The correct response is "false" because our code does not control whether Bridge is used or not. In the case of "normal" 3rd-party apps, code does not determine bevaviour. While it is true that we invoke an API from our code, it is code belonging to the OS that decides for us which communication channel to use, whether it be tethered BT, Bridged BT or WiFi.