Do you ever have one of those videos on your BlackBerry, maybe a video podcast, music video or an interview where you just don’t need to particularly watch the video and just listen to it instead? BlackBerry 10’s native video player pauses whatever it is you’re playing immediately once it’s placed into an active frame. Enter Playback Plus….
Playback Plus, developed using native, Cascades including given Built for BlackBerry status comes with the intention in bringing multitasking one step further and also considering our precious battery life. It’s as simple as this: It plays videos regardless to what else you’re doing, whether it’s placed into an active frame, it will run in the background without a problem. If you happen to close the app, Playback Plus will resume playback progress right from where you left off from. You also have the option to make a playlist of videos. If you’re concerned about your battery, Playback Plus also gives you the option to toggle off the video and keeping only the audio running with options to reduce the brightness of your screen’s display.
Playing a video in the background isn’t unknown to BlackBerry. As seen on the PlayBook, I’m betting BlackBerry 10 is probably much capable of doing the same thing (and better?) However, up until now, it still remains to be seen. Whether it’s a battery constraint or just not a much needed or requested feature, having the option to play videos in the background is a nice addition and a nice touch to multitasking BlackBerry 10 already delivers.
The developer also reassured me that more codec compatibility will be coming in future updates, which is definitely a big plus, considering you can then just choose open any video file from your Desktop (Remote File Access) and play it on your BlackBerry 10 device. This app is definitely one to keep an eye out for.
Purchase Playback Plus (£1.50/$1.99) for BlackBerry 10 today