RhoMobile Suite 4.0 Feature Complete Beta Released

We are excited to announce the final feature complete beta for RhoMobile Suite 4.0 (including RhoElements 4.0 and RhoConnect 4.0).  Please find it available for download here .

As the release number implies, RhoMobile Suite 4.0 is a huge step forward for the product.  Beyond just aligning release numbers between RhoElements and RhoConnect, it offers a rationalized API that will be easy to take forward into the future (we not plan on any significant changes to the existing API for quite some time).

Specifically the biggest feature in RhoElements 4.0 is support for JavaScript as a peer to Ruby.   You can now perform device capability calls in JavaScript.  See our JavaScript API guide for details.

We also now have a Common API for consumer devices (from iOS to Android to Windows Phone) AND industrial devices (Motorola ruggedized devices running Windows Mobile and Android).  Previously RhoElements had a single API for consumer devices. But similar functionality for Motorola devices could often require a different API call.  Highlights of the Common API simplification include Barcode (combining Barcode and Scanner), Application (combining RhoApplication and Application), and Network (combining AsyncHttp, FileTransfer and Network). Details are available in the Release Notes. Note that RhoElements 2.2 APIs are still available but they are deprecated.  On Windows Mobile only the deprecated APIs are supported.

We also have support for iOS7 and Android JellyBean (including forthcoming MSI Android JellyBean devices). We also have support for Windows Phone 8.  This includes providing a new way to write RhoMobile apps: our Visual Studio plugin.  Also note that on Android we now using the stock browser for rendering (instead of Motorola WebKit).

RhoConnect, our app integration and sync server, includes several new features including using JavaScript to write source adapters, a new Model-Controller capability for Ruby source adapters (separating routes from implementations), and support for multiple Redis instances (providing horizontal scalability across multiple Redis servers).

We plan to release the final version of RhoMobile Suite in late September. In the meantime, we encourage you to try the feature complete beta and file specific issues on GitHub. More general discussion should be on the RMS 4.0 Beta Launchpad section.

We will be holding a webinar on the RMS 4.0 Feature Complete Beta next Wednesday at 8:00am PST. Register for it here.  Please attend and participate if you have further questions about RhoMobile Suite 4.0.    We look forward to talking to you more about RhoMobile Suite soon.