[ppsivya]

Hi,

I am looking into developing a blackberry application using .NET. I am just exploring the available options
1) ASP.NET Mobile application (Very Limited Functionality)
2) MDS Application (Not Tried Yet)

I am not sure about MDS application. I mean what are the pros and cons of going with Mobile application VS MDS application. Is there any other option to develop application using .NET. We are mainly looking for rich client (as much as possible) application. Also, one of our requirement is to display PDF on the device

Thanks,

Pavi

[brcewane]

A good place to start to take a look at the possibilities is the video library that just went up.

BlackBerry - Developer Video Library

The main Pros are that you get with going MDS Application are:
- full on device integration with PIM and other applications.
- You can add menu items into existing blackberry PIM apps
- launch custom 3rd party apps from your app or have them launch you
- Save data locally and interact with it offline
- Store and forward for queued up data to go to your back end
- Interact with server web serivces
- Native look and feel with icon on the ribbon
- push support for data

The main Cons to the MDS Application are:
- Your screen layout options are more limited than say HTML/CSS
- They need to be installed through a BES (BlackBerry enterprise server)
- The new BlackBerry Bold has DHTML support that isn't available in MDS Application

Both can do GPS if the device supports it.