Case study · Native mobile · 2012–2016
BlackBerry
Release-defining features for BlackBerry’s Notes and Tasks apps, first on BlackBerry 10 and then on Android, and list scrolling fast enough to earn a Performance Champion award.
- Mobile apps
- Performance work
- Native C++ and Android
- Productivity software
- Company
- BlackBerry
- Apps
- Notes and Tasks
- Timeline
- May 2012 – Nov 2016
- My role
- Software developer, then Android developer
- Stack
- C++ · Qt · Android
- Outcome
- Performance Champion award
On this page
The apps today
BlackBerry Hub+ Notes and Tasks for Android, as they appear on Google Play. Scroll for more.
Problem
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.
What I owned
- Notes and Tasks features. Built release-defining 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.
- Media playback. Technical prime for BlackBerry 10 media playback.
- Android. Moved with the apps to Android as an Applications Developer II.
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.
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 release-defining features that landed with OS 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
© 2026 Ali Farooq