Playbook to officially support Android apps

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Deeko

Deeko

Lifer
Jun 16, 2000
30,213
12
81
This has been rumored for awhile, but only just now became official. If you ask me - that's huge. This thing went from maybe a few hundred apps to 200,000 in a snap.

http://www.engadget.com/2011/03/24/rim-adds-android-app-support-to-blackberry-playbook/

You read that right -- RIM just announced that its forthcoming BlackBerry PlayBook will support both BlackBerry Java and Android apps. That includes native C/C++ development support, HTML5, Flash and AIR support, not to mention game engines from Ideaworks Labs (AirPlay) and Unity Technologies (Unity 3). That means that you'll have access to over 200,000 Android apps should you choose to procure one on April 19th, but you'll need to dive into one of two optional "app players" in order to do so. It's also worth noting that RIM's presser only focuses on Android "2.3 apps," and while we're assuming Honeycomb apps will eventually be supported, there's no mention of Android 3.0 just yet. Furthermore, devs can look forward to an imminent release of the native PlayBook SDK, which will specifically enable C/C++ application development on the BlackBerry Tablet OS. We're told that folks who are already building for the BlackBerry or Android platform can "quickly and easily" port their apps to run on the BlackBerry Tablet OS, with the two app players available to download from the BlackBerry App World at launch. So, now that you can look forward to digging into the near-limitless Android Market, are you actually considering the PlayBook? Let us know in comments below!
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cheezy321

cheezy321

Diamond Member
Dec 31, 2003
6,218
2
0
Fantastic news by BBM.

Man this thing has made HUGE strides since it was first announced. Most people even questioned that thing existed.

Now it exists, its at a competitive price point, and has an app store fully built out already.

Wow, RIM is really hitting the right marks on this thing so far.
 
P

pm

Elite Member Mobile Devices
Jan 25, 2000
7,419
22
81
Like you guys said... I'm suddenly now a lot more interested. Very smart move by RIM.
 
Deeko

Deeko

Lifer
Jun 16, 2000
30,213
12
81
So I looked into it a little more - its not quite as simple as automatically getting the entire Android market. Apps need to be repackaged and submitted to the Blackberry AppWorld. Apparently, there are no code changes required - devs just need to run the BB packager/signer tool and submit it. Not quite as interesting as if they had automatic access to the market, but I suppose this is a way for RIM to still get money from them...
 
Pliablemoose

Pliablemoose

Lifer
Oct 11, 1999
25,195
0
56
DivideBYZero said:
*yawn*

Haters gonna... fuck it you know the rest.
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If you have any RIM stock, sell it now, and buy it back later for a hell of a lot less money.

RIM is a good company, it's just got bad management and is gonna get ridden like a cheap whore by hedge fund managers for a few months...
 
DivideBYZero

DivideBYZero

Lifer
May 18, 2001
24,117
2
0
Pliablemoose said:
If you have any RIM stock, sell it now, and buy it back later for a hell of a lot less money.

RIM is a good company, it's just got bad management and is gonna get ridden like a cheap whore by hedge fund managers for a few months...
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Yeah, you post this every fucking time there's ANY good news regarding the PlayBook. Jog on.
 
DivideBYZero

DivideBYZero

Lifer
May 18, 2001
24,117
2
0
In addition to running Android Apps, the other interesting news was this:

Support from leading game engines: Ideaworks Labs (AirPlay) and Unity Technologies (Unity 3)

Very interesting. :)
 
Deeko

Deeko

Lifer
Jun 16, 2000
30,213
12
81
Oh Moosey - your inability to stay on topic is intruiging. In threads about RIM execs, all you can talk about is how much you hate th PlayBook. In a thread about the PlayBook, all you can talk about is how you consider a 30%+ raise in year of year profit/revenue to be phase 1 of demise.

The juvenility of your trolling continues onward.
 
Pliablemoose

Pliablemoose

Lifer
Oct 11, 1999
25,195
0
56
Deeko said:
Oh Moosey - your inability to stay on topic is intruiging. In threads about RIM execs, all you can talk about is how much you hate th PlayBook. In a thread about the PlayBook, all you can talk about is how you consider a 30%+ raise in year of year profit/revenue to be phase 1 of demise.

The juvenility of your trolling continues onward.
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RIM keeps trying to spin the news cycle to bolster it's stock price, we shall see how it does when it actually ships a product. We have less than a month to wait :)
 
M

Mopetar

Diamond Member
Jan 31, 2011
8,472
7,707
136
So what's the point of RIM having their own SDK for the Playbook at this point? Everyone will just tell users to get their Android version of that app. Hell, what's the point of just not doing a re-skinned version of Android at this point?
 
Deeko

Deeko

Lifer
Jun 16, 2000
30,213
12
81
Mopetar said:
So what's the point of RIM having their own SDK for the Playbook at this point? Everyone will just tell users to get their Android version of that app. Hell, what's the point of just not doing a re-skinned version of Android at this point?
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Android is just another platform for the PlayBook - along with Adobe Air, WebWorks, C++, BB Java, etc. They've got their bases covered. Not every dev prefers the Android SDK - look at the hordes of Flash devs out there that can write PlayBook apps in Flex or ActionScript. Hell, I'm pretty fluent in Java and I don't really like the Android SDK either.

As to why not just release Android, think about it...this move was pretty damn smart. A dev with an Android app can port it to PlayBook with just a few keystrokes, but ultimately, that "Android" app is submitted to the Blackberry AppWorld, so RIM still gets their cut of the profits, instead of Google if they'd just skinned Android.

Plus, frankly, the QNX OS looks pretty damn solid so far, in my opinion anyway.
 
M

Mopetar

Diamond Member
Jan 31, 2011
8,472
7,707
136
Deeko said:
Android is just another platform for the PlayBook - along with Adobe Air, WebWorks, C++, BB Java, etc. They've got their bases covered. Not every dev prefers the Android SDK - look at the hordes of Flash devs out there that can write PlayBook apps in Flex or ActionScript. Hell, I'm pretty fluent in Java and I don't really like the Android SDK either.

As to why not just release Android, think about it...this move was pretty damn smart. A dev with an Android app can port it to PlayBook with just a few keystrokes, but ultimately, that "Android" app is submitted to the Blackberry AppWorld, so RIM still gets their cut of the profits, instead of Google if they'd just skinned Android.

Plus, frankly, the QNX OS looks pretty damn solid so far, in my opinion anyway.
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Yes, but people aren't going to bother targeting those other frameworks because it's just extra work for too little reward if they already have an Android version. It means there won't be many great native BB apps and no real reason for people to stay on the platform.

At that point they have to compete on hardware and considering how awful their last few touch screen smart phones have been, I'm not sure they could compete with other Android handset manufacturers.

Also, if the released their own version of the Android they don't need to include the Android Marketplace on it. They could just include their own marketplace and take the profit anyway.
 
Deeko

Deeko

Lifer
Jun 16, 2000
30,213
12
81
If the platform proves compelling, eventually they'll make a native port that likely performs better and better fits the form factor. They'll likely use the Android compatibility as a bridge until they get to that point. If this weren't the case, we'd never have had Android apps to begin with - all the devs would have just made mobile web versions of their apps, which is inherently cross platform, and you may recall, in V1 of the iPhone, that was the only method of app development.

Listen - people continue to insist that RIM should dump their OS for Android. Its just not going to happen. The benefits of being a platform owner are too high - especially when your user base is largely due to your infrastructure. Not to mention that for whatever reason, Blackberry customers are a lot more apt to buy apps than Android customers.

QNX appears to be a solid system, and adding Android compatibility only makes it more compelling, not less. This was unquestionably a smart move.
 
Deeko

Deeko

Lifer
Jun 16, 2000
30,213
12
81
Also you have to realize there is more to an operating system than 3rd party apps. In particular, qnx has fantastic multitasking and potentially the best mobile browser on the market.
 
QueBert

QueBert

Lifer
Jan 6, 2002
22,955
1,149
126
Mopetar said:
So what's the point of RIM having their own SDK for the Playbook at this point? Everyone will just tell users to get their Android version of that app. Hell, what's the point of just not doing a re-skinned version of Android at this point?
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Perhaps their SDK's better? Googles Market Place has been around for a good while now, and 99% of the apps still have UI's that look like a 5th graders project for their computer class. If RIM's SDK is more capable of making a good UI, that's one reason they need to keep it around. Android apps aren't getting any better looking, and it would be a shame to buy RIM's sweet tablet, and only have access to ugly ass Market apps.
 
DivideBYZero

DivideBYZero

Lifer
May 18, 2001
24,117
2
0
Also, to add even more fuel to anyones fire, there is talk of the USB port being enabled for USB host, so that means you can hook up USB devices such as USB storage, USB SD card readers, etc.

I. Need. UK. Release. Date. :|
 
M

Monster_Munch

Senior member
Oct 19, 2010
873
1
0
When they say android apps, I'm guessing that doesn't include widgets and other services that run in the background.
 
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