BlackBerry PlayBook will support Android apps, RIM rep proclaims [video]

By on Feb 27, 2011 at 5:05 PM
Tablets February 27, 2011

BGR exclusively reported in January that Research in Motion was hard at work trying to add support for Android applications to the BlackBerry PlayBook and its QNX-based OS. The move would be a major one, as access to the second-largest mobile development ecosystem would give RIM’s new platform a huge jump in the all-important app game. Since our initial exclusive report, we’ve seen strikingly similar claims emerge as well as purported news of an Android app running on multiple BlackBerry smartphones. Now, a RIM representative has apparently been caught on video saying “we will also support Android apps when we release the Dalvik engine on top of QNX,” while showing off a PlayBook. Oops. The newly uncovered video was filmed at Mobile World Congress earlier this month and while we can’t quite call it an official confirmation from RIM, it certainly seems to substantiate our report. Though the RIM representative mentioned Dalvik, conflicting reports have stated that RIM won’t end up using the Dalvik engine, but rather a different option. The PlayBook video can be found after the jump, with the quote in question coming shortly after the 0:14 mark.

[Via CrackBerry.com]

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  • http://twitter.com/gnomehole The Gnome

    Fragmentation to the max! Who’s going to want to have to test the thousand Android devices AND RIM.

    • Anonymous

      Test what? The apps I bought when I had a G1 still work on my Xoom!! I wish everyone would STOP with the fragmentation crap… Its not like the iPhone 3 can run 100% of the apps designed for iPhone 4…

      • Anonymous

        Awful, awful analogy. Let me explain. Let’s say you’re an Android developer, and you want to sell, er, excuse me, GIVE AWAY an app that reaches all Android users. But you want the experience to be great, so you want to test on all the devices that might run it. Unfortunately, there are roughly 200 Android devices made by a dozen manufacturers. Must I go out and buy all of them, then test? And if I don’t test, will the experience suffer?

        Now lets look at iOS, and let’s assume we want to do the same thing. By virtue of using iOS 4, we eliminate the first generation iPhone and iPod Touch, leaving us with 3 iPhones, 3 iPod Touches, and an iPad. Seven devices. Therefore, without a lot of difficulty, I can test my app on EVERY SINGLE CURRENTLY SUPPORTED iOS device, and confirm the user experience, work out bugs, and make sure it works for everyone. There’s basically zero software fragmentation (sine nearly 90% of users are on iOS 4, and many of the others are still using the original iPhone for which an upgrade isn’t available).

        So there you have it. 200 vs 7, with both software fragmentation (only a handful of users on the current OS version) and hardware fragmentation (205 devices [since 5 more Android devices have been released in the last 90 seconds] and a dozen manufacturers).

        In the future, if you don’t understand the topic you wish to discuss, it’s better to just not comment than to post something moronic.

      • Anonymous

        I can attest to what Perspectively said. Androids are not all alike. With not only 200 different devices, don’t forget 9 OS revisions, each with the own “flavor”.

      • Anonymous

        Android is the most popular mobile OS. If developers have a problem with this null fragmentation argument, they can develop for a less popular OS, such as iOS or WebOS.

        I’ve owned 3 android devices, and through rooting I’ve used multiple versions of android on each. Not once has “fragmentation” presented a problem with any application, ever. So set your iPhone down for a second, pick up an EVO, and see what a real phone can do.

      • Jroc869

        android inches closer to taking the top spot by offering the latest and greatest hardware in a phone, not to mention the most choices. you do run into some issues doing what is being done with android but you have to break a few eggs to make an omlet. slowly but surely the folks over at apple are starting to realise what they must do to compete in the ever changing world of smart phones and technology period. apple has already had to go back on things they so strongly opposed like multi tasking and if the rumors are true, making an iphone with a bigger screen.

      • Anonymous

        kyle4miller: While Android may now have the market share lead in the U.S., Apple’s app store still proves to have the highest return for developers. There’s still no real reason or incentive for Android to be a primary focus for developers over say, iOS.

      • http://www.roughlydrafted.com Egan

        Agreed!

      • Masoodjamily66

        Let me just say that Apple makes some great products but that doesn’t mean it’s one size fits all. The new IPAD2 has some really nice features. Despite their hardware and software design I don’t see a use for the Apple products. I think Apple needs to think about their competition and incorporate some of the hardware features that can make their products more usable. That is my opinion.

    • BoLdBuRrY11

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      • Lol

        Sounds like norm to me LOL!

    • Anonymous

      You clearly know nothing about this. Do us a favor and go away.

    • me

      me!

    • http://twitter.com/ChazClout ChazClout

      Testing already written code is easier than rewriting an application for a completely different platform surely?

      I know you (and Perspectively) would prefer everything written for iOS and only iOS judging by your constant Android trolling but for the people that are interested in the Playbook, they get the advantage of the possibility of running thousands of Android apps.

      How on earth this is bad is beyond me

  • http://twitter.com/sjacobson91 Stevie Jacobson

    Ugh, I don’t care if it’s a “demo” that looks awful, unready, and unusable. RIM has a lot of work to do just to make this product ready for market, let alone usable.

    • Uhhh

      wtf are you talking about?

      • http://twitter.com/sjacobson91 Stevie Jacobson

        um, did you miss the part where it says (repeatedly) “this chapter is unavailable” or when the RIM exec says “oh yeah, we are working on that”?

        not what i call a finished product…

      • Anonymous

        “not what i call a finished product…”

        it isn’t finished yet retard

      • sirpaul

        BRR, you are my new hero with that name and avatar of yours :)

      • Ummm

        that’s fine…but where do you get off calling it unusable? That’s not true at all. Have you held one in your hands and played with it?

      • Tony

        Should RIM be more like Motorola and and just rush a product to market with the caveat it not flash “yet” and the user having to send it in to add additional capabilities down the road?

    • Anonymous

      You mean it looks like DROID OS? God im loving this open and freeness. DROID FTW!

      • Vxk

        You mean Android

      • Anonymous

        Been down that road, @vxk, he’s trollin. Trust me.

      • LIFE SAYS

        @kylemiller…u do realize you’re a troll as well. And Norm knows he’s a joke, i don’t think you realize that u r too.

    • david

      i’m sorry but you sound retarded i bet you don’t know crap about that device! you haven’t even seen it or used it in person. i think everyone should encourage rim for coming up with their first tablet that is sleek as the playbook! go watch some reviews and hands on on it and you’ll see how it performs. i thought I will never buy blackberry since their os is stuck in 3 to 4 years ago. but playbook changed my mind they did an amazing job on it. if they implemented the playbook’s os on a powerful blackberry it will be ahead again.

  • Slow

    slow BGR…slow. This was on crackberry for almost 24 hours.

    • Anonymous

      It’s Sunday, they’re not going to hurry up with any news unless it pertains to Apple.

    • http://twitter.com/clientsfromhell Mr Multimedia

      I’m going to assume that crackberry has also on occasions posted AFTER BGR on the same subject, so urm, I guess you can stop timing who releases what first now cause it really isn’t a big deal :)

  • Anonymous

    Best move RIMs made in years.

  • Anonymous

    I never really thought about it like that before. Makes a lot of sense when you think about it.

    http://www.complete-privacy.eu.tc

  • Anonymous

    Would would you demo something that’s not even close to being done? Why not at least smooth out the operating system so it’s playable without multiple touches to complete a task.

    Almost immediately I feel like writing this off as a fail. Get you device to function. Geez!

    • Uhhh

      again, what in the fuck are you talking about?

      • LIFE SAYS

        what the fuck don’t you understand..he said its choppy.

      • Uhhh

        he said its non-funcional you fuck tard. Last time I checked, every demo lately of the Playbook has had people jerking off and cumming on themselves.

      • LIFE SAYS

        before you call someone a fuck-tard learn how to spell you dumb shit…u probably cum on fat bitches with no titties, so with that enjoy your shitty tablet.

      • Ummm

        learn how to spell? Please point out my spelling mistake.

  • Anonymous

    A RIM rep that stopped by our office a couple of days ago with a Playbook demo unit said that RIM would be providing Dec tools to easily PORT Android apps to QNX. A big difference.

  • Anonymous

    AIR, Java, Android, FlashPlayer, BlackBerry, and HTML5 apps! PlayBook has more application environments than apps, and it doesn’t even exist yet!

  • Anonymous

    I wonder how the Blackberry Devs will feel about now having to compete with all the free apps!

    • Tony

      chances are that they wont be free like they are in the Android Marketplace. My guess would be that all this means is that it will be much easier for Android developers to port their Apps over to BB but will still have to use the App World (or various online BB channels) for distribution to BlackBerry and not the Marketplace so they’ll have to play by the same rules as the current BlackBerry developers.

  • max

    But but but but Blackberry Morons said they don’t need or want apps? They are all ‘fart’ apps these morons said. I guess the powers at rim job thinks you morons actually do want apps and further, their own app word was a colossal failure.

  • http://caspan.com Caspan

    What I think will happen is RIM will not allow out of the box installing of Android Applications, they would be asking for a lawsuit to do so, well not unless Google allows this which I doubt unless they get something from the deal! What will most likely happen is RIM will put in a small block that if you happen to delete the vendor.xml or some thing of the same feature then it was a users choice to install non permitted applications not RIMs. This puts the ownership of it on the user and will keep RIM clean.

    I can’t wait!

  • Anonymous

    would we have to run the android platform? or can we be running our blackberry platform and still have the apps show up with the rest of the blackberry ones?

  • John

    think about it. it has hdmi, its very powerful, it has memory card slot, it has an amazing os and it supports android and rim apps. its a notbook/laptop replacement unlike others that are very limited. the ipad is good for someone who doesn’t have an iphone! i have an iphone and i can do everything on my iphone that the ipad can do. i personally would prefer to get a macbook air instead of an ipad since the ipad doesn’t do the job that a notebook or a laptop can do.

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