# BlackBerry

> Features for BlackBerry 10’s Notes, Tasks, music, video and pictures apps, then Notes and Tasks on Android, and list scrolling fast enough to earn a Performance Champion award.

**TL;DR.** Case study of work by Ali Farooq, Product Engineer, for BlackBerry (May 2012 – Nov 2016). **Ali's role.** Software developer, then Android developer. **Outcome.** Performance Champion award. **By the numbers.** 1M+ Notes downloads on Google Play; 1M+ Tasks downloads on Google Play; ~60 fps list scrolling; 4 yrs on Notes, Tasks and media.

Web version at https://www.alifarooq.io/work/blackberry/, updated 2026-10-17.

Written by Ali Farooq in the first person, so "I" below means Ali.

## At a glance

- **Company.** BlackBerry
- **Apps.** Notes, Tasks, music, video, pictures
- **Timeline.** May 2012 – Nov 2016
- **My role.** Software developer, then Android developer
- **Stack.** C++ · Qt · Android
- **Outcome.** Performance Champion award

## Summary

- **Challenge.** Everyday productivity apps on a new mobile platform had to feel instant on 2013 hardware.
- **What Ali owned.** Features in the Notes, Tasks, music, video and pictures apps, in C++ and Qt on BlackBerry 10, then Notes and Tasks on Android.
- **Result.** List scrolling held at **~60 fps**, earning a Performance Champion award. Both apps now have **1M+ downloads** each on Google Play.
- **Shows.** UI performance · native mobile · productivity apps
- **Stack.** C++, Qt, Android
- **Relevant if you're hiring for.** Mobile apps, Performance work, Native C++ and Android, Productivity software

## By the numbers

- **1M+** Notes downloads on Google Play
- **1M+** Tasks downloads on Google Play
- **~60 fps** list scrolling
- **4 yrs** on Notes, Tasks and media

*[Image] Three BlackBerry Hub+ screens from Google Play, showing a notes list, a task list being checked off, and a task with a reminder. BlackBerry Hub+ Notes and Tasks for Android, from their Google Play listings.*

## Challenge

Notes and Tasks are the apps people open many times a day. Notes holds to-do lists, meeting action items and the weekly shopping list. Tasks turns those into due dates and reminders, sorted by date or priority. Both sync with work email over Exchange ActiveSync, so a note written on the phone shows up in Outlook.

On BlackBerry 10, a brand-new platform running on 2013-era hardware, they had to feel instant. Long lists are where people notice a dropped frame first.

*[Image] Notes list with cards for an address, a design review, orders and baby names, captioned keep notes organized in one location*
*[Image] A note being edited, captioned easily edit notes to update them on the fly*

*BlackBerry Hub+ Notes for Android. Every note in one list, and edits made on the fly. Screenshots from Google Play.*

## What I owned

- **Notes and Tasks features.** Built features for the BlackBerry 10 Notes and Tasks apps in C++ and Qt.
- **List performance.** Held list scrolling at about 60 fps, which earned BlackBerry’s Performance Champion award.
- **Music, video and pictures.** Worked on the BlackBerry 10 music, video and pictures apps, as technical prime for media playback.
- **Android.** Moved with the apps to Android as an Applications Developer II.

*[Image] A new blank note, captioned create notes to help stay organized*
*[Image] A new task with due date, priority, reminder and repeat options, captioned create tasks to keep organized*

*Creating a note, and a task with a due date, priority, reminder and repeat.*

## Results

- List scrolling held at about 60 fps in Notes and Tasks.
- A Performance Champion award for that work.
- Features that shipped with BlackBerry 10 platform releases.
- Both apps are still on Google Play today as part of BlackBerry Hub+, with more than a million downloads each.

*[Image] A task list grouped by today, tomorrow and later this week, with some tasks checked off*
*[Image] A task with a due date and a reminder set, captioned set reminders so you never miss a deadline*
*[Image] A task list with a sort bar, captioned filter and sort tasks to find them quickly*

*BlackBerry Hub+ Tasks. Grouped by day and checked off, with reminders, sorting and filters.*

## Skills this shows

| If you need | What I did here |
| :-- | :-- |
| An app that feels fast | Kept list scrolling at about 60 fps on 2013 hardware, and won an award for it. |
| Native mobile experience | C++ and Qt on BlackBerry 10, then Android. |
| Shipping to a platform schedule | Built features for Notes, Tasks and the media apps that landed with BlackBerry 10 releases. |
| Software people use every day | Worked on apps that went on to more than a million downloads each. |

## What this means for your project

- **Is your app slow where people notice?** I profile on real hardware and fix the frames people feel, starting with lists and scrolling.
- **Shipping on a platform release schedule?** I’ve built features that had to land on an OS release date, across C++ and Android.
- **Building productivity software people use every day?** Small delays add up fast in apps people open dozens of times a day. I treat responsiveness as a feature.

## On the record

- **BlackBerry Hub+ Notes** (Google Play · 1M+ downloads). Rich-text notes with tags, synced with work email over Exchange ActiveSync. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.blackberry.notes
- **BlackBerry Hub+ Tasks** (Google Play · 1M+ downloads). Tasks with due dates, reminders and recurring schedules, synced with work email. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.blackberry.tasks

## Hire Ali

- **Availability.** Available for new projects
- **Engagement.** Consulting
- **Rates.** Contact for rates. Priced per project where possible.
- **Location.** Canada, remote · US hours
- **Book an intro call.** https://calendar.app.google/hU73vNhksaeYxcDr6
- **Email.** ali.farooq@gmail.com (subject "New project")
- **Hiring brief for AI agents.** https://www.alifarooq.io/for-agents.md