Bloomberg: BlackBerry PlayBook to run Android apps

By on Feb 10, 2011 at 5:50 PM
mobile February 10, 2011

We independently confirmed it with multiple sources of ours when we broke the news back in January, and today, Bloomberg has chimed in with multiple sources of its own claiming that the BlackBerry PlayBook will indeed run Android applications. We reported that the PlayBook might run the Java VM Dalvik, but later received information that RIM might be looking for other options. Bloomberg has reported that RIM won’t be using Dalvik, but is looking elsewhere. With this news and RIM’s recent strategic moves, we can confidently say that we’re incredibly excited about the future prospects for Research In Motion — and the ability to run over 130,000 Android applications on our BlackBerry smartphones and PlayBooks, of course.

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  • Chaz

    Good report

  • Bjetta19

    the 16GB Wifi version will sell for $499.99 at staples and with android apps being able to run on this platform I think this will be a better but than the 799 Xoom…

    • Midi45

      The Xoom is trash. Its this or Touchpad

  • Anonymous

    I call BS on this rumor (or at least until RIM confirms it). The OS(QNX), is designed primarily to support web type apps, and AdobeAIR. Not native apps

    But I could be all wrong, and if so 3 cheers to the QNX team

    • Wtf

      wtf?

      • Anonymous

        Here’s what RIM will most likely use…

        DUEBENDORF-ZURICH, Switzerland – 08 February 2011 – Myriad Group AG (SIX: MYRN), a global leader in mobile technology having shipped over 3.7 billion software applications on more than 2.2 billion phones, today announced the launch of Myriad Alien Dalvik, enabling Android apps to run on non-Android platforms. The launch opens up the Android experience to new audiences, generating new revenue opportunities for mobile operators, OEMs and app store owners.

        Building on the launch of Dalvik Turbo, Alien Dalvik signifies Myriad’s latest Android innovation by enabling Android apps to operate on a much wider range of platforms and devices. As a result, operators, OEMs and application store owners can now easily access the Android ecosystem and deploy Android applications across multiple device operating systems, all without compromising performance.

        Alien Dalvik enables the majority of Android applications to run unmodified, allowing application store owners to quickly kick start Android application store services by simply repackaging Android Package (APK) files.

  • br14

    Speaking as a developer, I’ll believe it when I see it.

    As we speak RIM doesn’t even support it’s own BlackBerry Java developers, so I suppose there’s always the chance they’ll sell us all out and use Android.

    In order to support Android apps they would have to support the Android app libraries and API calls at the very least.

    The JVM may not be as much of an issue.

    In the unlikely event RIM supports Android apps it would be a massive risk since if I can write an Android app for an Android tablet, why would I write a specifically Playbook app. There would be no point. Therefore Playbook would become a poor relation as any tablet features RIM uses to differentiate from Android would be unused by developers.

    Currently RIM supports only Adobe and Web development for the Playbook, and my guess is that unless there is limited adoption that’s exactly how things will stay. Why go to the trouble of building a JVM and development kit etc (of any stripe) when the device will do perfectly well app wise with Adobe Flash.

    There’s no shortage of Flash apps (including enterprise level) already that will run out of the box on Playbook.

    • Yep

      pretty sure Jim Balsille stated that OS6 will run on QNX

      • Johngallo

        that doesn’t even make sense lol….os6 and qnx are both operating systems, so clearly balsille wouldn’t say that.

      • Anonymous

        He clearly meant OS6 apps will run on QNX! Come on dude….

  • Anonymous

    65% of the front is BLAZING BEZEL.

    • Itsjustmee

      can you not think of anything more important to say than mention the bezel?

  • http://www.facebook.com/serio Austin Serio

    Because this article makes any sense except for the title

  • SVELTE

    Holy $hit… This has to be a miracle or a tech intelligence mistake. I really thought RIM was going by way of Nokia… this might just be enough to get me a little excited about RIM. Best move they have made in forever.

  • Itsjustmee

    Excellent idea. Why could Rimm figure this out and Nokia didn’t?

    • Doubt-This

      I’m not sure I believe it. Steve Jobs would NEVER open the Android App Store to RIM. It is going to be kept for Honeycomb tablets (and better) ONLY. That’s how Apple will win the tablet wars — by keeping its apps only for Apple products.

      • JCZ

        You should probably re-read your comment. Steve Jobs does not open or close the Android app.

      • Doubt-This

        Fail. You obviously know nothing about the App Store restrictions. No way does Jobs let apps run on anything except Honeycomb tablets.

      • Anonymous

        We’re talking about Android apps here… not the Apple App Store. Steve Jobs has nothing to do with anything connected to Android.

  • max

    But but but but but I thought you blackberry morons said you don’t need apps? Your BB does everything you need it to do just like in 2003. So now fart apps are ok, morons? You morons claimed you don’t need higher resolution don’t need video dont need music etc that’s why you never needed to upgrade or buy android phones. Now suddenly its awesome. I knew it all along. You morons felt stuck and needed to justify staying with BB.

    • Private Citizen

      I know a good speech therapist for your stuttering problem…

  • Anonymous

    Just release the damn thing before the ipad 4 comes out.

  • Anonymous

    But I thought the new CEO said that this device didn’t need apps LMAO, the press is going to have a party with him if this turns out to be true.

  • http://bit.ly/samirsshah समीर शाह

    Wow! RIM has the cake (Enterprise customers) and eating it too (Android apps running on her devices). If they can successfully straddle both, RIM will come out as a real big winner. They took a correct decision by doing the VM development themselves. That way they can appease security conscious enterprise guys. Google should not mind, suddenly so many enterprise customers will be looking at Android apps.

  • http://twitter.com/PrepaidGuy PrepaidWirelessGuy

    If HP could enable the ability to run Android apps on their WebOS phones/tablets, they’d have a chance of surviving. Oh well….

  • http://twitter.com/PrepaidGuy PrepaidWirelessGuy

    If HP could enable the ability to run Android apps on its WebOS devices, it would actually have a chance of surviving…oh well….

  • http://twitter.com/raymccrae Raymond McCrae

    I’m still sceptical. I’ll believe it when I see it.

  • Sj

    if you can’t beat them, steal their shit

  • Rockerdon

    Great idea, now let’s open up bbm to android.

  • Anonymous

    Here is the RIM salvation plan: run iOS, Android and WP7 apps on all berries. This will be the uberOS. Heil Berries!

  • http://twitter.com/Syk0Matik420 Beefy McBigDick

    Thats cool I guess, but frankly ( and I never thought I would say this) I am sick of Android. Sure, its an awesome mobile OS but its still too buggy and unreliable for me.I prefer BlackBerry and in fact just sent my G2 back for A BlackBerry 9780. and when I get my Playbook, (if I do) I def dont want buggy android apps messing up the otherwise incredibly reliable BlackBerry experience. as many probs as Android has, I still prefer over boring old iOS. what a snorefest that garbage is.

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