RIM has announced its launch of a BlackBerry JDE – Java Development Environment plug-in to work with Eclipse which allows Eclipse developers to make and test mobile applications for the BlackBerry platform using IDE — Integrated Development Environment.

Key benefits of using the BlackBerry JDE Eclipse plug-in are it extends familiar development experience to mobile application development, accelerates mobile application testing, simplifies mobile application development, optimizes application design for BlackBerry smartphones, and leverages BlackBerry Enterprise server.

Canadian company RIM also announced they have become a member of the Eclipse Foundation. A bête version of this BlackBerry plug-in is available immediately for free download via BlackBerry