RIM shows off Android apps, native email app on BlackBerry PlayBook [video]

By on May 4, 2011 at 6:08 PM
Software May 4, 2011

Following the close of RIM’s BlackBerry World 2011 conference, the Waterloo Ontario-based cell phone maker on Wednesday issued two video demos showcasing forthcoming BlackBerry PlayBook features we’ve been very anxious to see. Of course we already wrapped things up with a slightly more interesting exclusive, but current (and future) PlayBook owners will definitely enjoy watching RIM execs show off the tablet’s upcoming native email client as well as its Android app player. The Android player looks very smooth for pre-release software, and the email app has a great UI that should be very familiar to tablet users. We can also get a quick taste of the PlayBook’s upcoming native contacts, tasks and calendar support in the videos, which can be viewed after the break.

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  • http://twitter.com/n8d n8d

    Remember when RIM downplayed apps because the PlayBook was so bad ass with full internet browsing that there wasn’t a need for apps for the PlayBook? Oh how quickly they realized that was a fail.

    • Anonymous

      Not only that, but remember when the whole “get e-mail/calendar through your BlackBerry” was supposedly a security feature of the PlayBook. Yet, before the PlayBook launch, it became clear that the absence of native e-mail and calendar apps was not a “feature,” but rather a symptom of the rushed nature of the PlayBook itself.

      RIM is still very profitable, and the only company making more profit from mobile devices is Apple, but they really need to reverse their current momentum. They are clearly not trending in the right direction.

      • http://twitter.com/the_seamonkey Jimmy

        i still think they dropped the ball hugely this touchscreen generation w/the Storm.

        It should have been a horizontal slider; at the time that was all of us crackberry addicts wanted/needed. companies have to start realizing that you can’t just copy apple; try to outdo them or bring something that they don’t have (ie keep w/the 7″ tablets).

        however, RIM has the foot in the door in the enterprise as being THE most secure device that normal companies can use. we’ll see if android and iOS can get their foothold in the enterprise world; iOS has a long way to go when it comes to security (even though some companies could care less when they should!).

        nice points; i’m sick of all of the rushed tablets. shooting themselves in the foot :)

      • Anonymous

        “supposedly a security feature of the PlayBook”

        It is a security feature. My current client would not have bought a device with a native email client, or would have removed it prior to issuing the device. The last thing they need is the mess Sony has to deal with right now.

        And do you really think a company that built its reputation on mobile email and that has 5,000 developers couldnt have had an email client built in a couple of weeks?

        Not only could I have written one myself in two weeks (less probably), but there are quite a few open source email clients they could have used and saved themselves the trouble of writing code.

      • Anonymous

        perspectively, stop complaining you douche…you complain about no email/calendar etc, well its on its way, a mere 60 days after release…let me ask you…how long did it take ios to get copy/paste???? 3 YEARS!!! the same goes with a flash for the camera on the iphone, and your saying this product is unfinished? there isn’t a person in this world that will tell u the playbook sucks after tying it….it is a FAR superior product to any other tablet on the market.

        RIM chose not to put in the email/contacts etc because IT dept’s didn’t want it, you know, cause they basically own the market when it comes to large corporations or even the gov’t. It was done so that if the playbook was lost/stolen, important info wouldn’t be compromised…

        Even when this comes out, I won’t add it to my PB, because it doesn’t make sense to have it. I mean, why would I want email coming to my phone, computer, office and now tablet?….really?…too many devices id say

      • Anonymous

        “How long did it take ios to get copy/paste????

        Yeah but Apple created this category of phone.

      • Anonymous

        Ummm, no they didn’t. Smartphones were around for about 7-10 years before iphone was even a thought

      • Best_best_best

        i think he meant the category of touch screen phones.

        although i am correcting you i will also back you up.

        The “touch screen” phone existed many year before too.

        95% (if not more) of windows mobile phones were touch screen, treos.. Handsprings (remember the adapters for that wowzers). Windows had capacitive touchscreens as well not many but they did.

        memories of i-mates, htc’s (their foray into the market was via the then “pocket pc”) fun times.

        now everybody relax there is A PHONE for everyone, not judt ONE phone(model/make) for everyone.

        One ring to rule them all

    • Anonymous

      It’s not a fail — it’s just PR speak.

      Various bloggers like to make fun of the two RIM co-CEO’s talking gibberish — often quoting the two co-CEO’s like it’s a Sarah Palin interview.

      If these bloggers believe these “gibberish” as real, then the only fools are the bloggers themselves — like how RIM described the QNX acquisition in the press release to strengthen automotive integration.

      Native email was always on the plan — RIM announced 3G and 4G versions of Playbook since day 1. What? You thought that RIM would make you buy a 3G Playbook that can’t get push email.

      It was just a diplomatic way to say that they can’t get native email out in time for the wifi version launch,

      • http://Accu-Berry.com Edwin Gomez

        RIM announced 3G and 4G versions of Playbook since day 1

        actually RIM never announced a 3G Version only 4G, and sprint was the 1st provider to announce it.

    • http://twitter.com/the_seamonkey Jimmy

      hehe. i sure do! after using my playbook from work for 2 days; the bridge isn’t bad and works great if you HAVE a newer blackberry phone. but if you don’t, playbook is a pointless tablet for ya. ;)

      can’t wait for the android player to get released! def may make me consider the playbook; however they need to get real onboard PIM apps first. and get rid of the icons for Twitter/Facebook/Yahoo that are just freakin web links. so deceiving!

      • Zukidrvr

        “icons for Twitter/Facebook/Yahoo that are just freakin web links” They are much more than that. They open a separate browser window, allowing you to mutitask multiple browser sessions without using tabs. . Gmail uses an enhanced html5 interface instead of sending you directly to the web site.

        Running BBM on the PlayBook is awesome. Video chat is even better.

      • Anonymous

        No they don’t. They open in separate Tabs within the ONE browser window.

        Why the hell would I want multiple Browsers?

      • Anonymous

        No they don’t. They open in separate Tabs within the ONE browser window.

        Why the hell would I want multiple Browsers?

  • http://www.iphoneincanada.ca Gary

    I still can’t believe they sold the 1.0 version of the PlayBook without email, calendar, and contacts.

    • Cornbread

      It staggering really. Even the 2nd class tabs had/have it and the Galaxy did it beautifully.

    • http://twitter.com/porf_reyes Porfirio Reyes

      As long as it gets it soon after launch, as they promised, it doesn’t bother me in the least. This tablet rocks!!

    • http://iphone-white.org/ White Iphone

      dear my friend, iPad did it, Playbook is a mutilmedia tablet :P

    • Anonymous

      “I still can’t believe they sold the 1.0 version of the PlayBook without email, calendar, and contacts.”

      You must be a non-BlackBerry user. My Playbook has email, calendar, contacts as well as BBM, file access to my phone and video calling.

      Not only that but I don’t have to pay for a plan for the device, and I can tether for free using my BlackBerry.

      Admittedly it doesn’t have Angry Birds.

      • http://www.iphoneincanada.ca Gary

        So in order to get email on the PlayBook, you require a Blackberry? What if non-BB users want to use the device? That’s absurd.

      • Anonymous

        You can access email on the browser. It’s not ideal, but it will certainly cover your needs for the next month when real e-mail will hit the PlayBook.

      • Anonymous

        I guess “If you don’t have a blackberry, well, you don’t have a blackberry.”

      • Anonymous

        Angry birds? It doesn’t have really any apps worth downloading.

    • Steve blowJobs

      I can’t believe iPhone/iPod touch didn’t have copy & paste until os 3…AND they made me pay for that update!!

  • Anonymous

    the shit looks slick tho

  • Anonymous

    Anyone notice how all the Android apps that they have demo are complete garbage.

    • http://twitter.com/RossRogers Ross Rogers

      Yeah, Like show some actual apps that have some real functionality. Still neat that they can “tap-in” to the Android ecosystem since they can’t make apps themselves.

      • Anonymous

        The thing the PlayBook is missing are apps like IMDB. The PlayBook has a TON of fun games and a ton more coming. What we are missing are official apps like eBay, IMDB, Google Maps, UrbanSpoon, MLB At-Bat, Barnes and Noble, Kindle, etc. These are the apps I am excited about with Android coming to the PlayBook.

    • sirpaul

      Yes, I was thinking the same thing. I don’t think apps like games and email clients work too well (and probably don’t work at all).

    • Anonymous

      “all the Android apps that they have demo are complete garbage”

      That’s probably because 200,000 of them are complete garbage.

    • Jay for Hay

      if you look at some of the other videos of it….there are full 3D games running out of the android player on the playbook….android apps actually run better on the playbook than on android tablets.

  • Anonymous

    RIMM looks like the short of the century. I bought some puts when the Playbook reviews came out and they’ve already doubled in value. Looking forward to huge gains.

    • Alex

      Yea that was because they lowered their guidance. It had nothing to do with the Playbook it has to do with their phones..

  • Toby

    If that demo was anything to go by, it looks like multi-tasking with android apps isn’t going to be possible..

    • http://twitter.com/porf_reyes Porfirio Reyes

      He said in the video that you can run more than one Android app at a time from within the app player, which is just fine and showed it by using the arrows up top.

  • Mavricxx

    Can anyone confirm that it can only run one app at a time? It would suck if I can only run one Android app at a time instead of the multitasking. One thing I will say about RIM is that they’re pumping out updates pretty quick and will be even better than Apple and Android once perfected. Unlike Android the updates come straight from RIM not the carrier, therefore they get them quicker. I love Android but, it has serious flaws and who knows when or how the updates will be implemented for Honeycomb. I hope they stop letting the carriers distribute the updates and Google distrubutes them directly like RIM.

    • http://twitter.com/porf_reyes Porfirio Reyes

      He said in the video that you can run more than one Android app at a time from within the app player, which is just fine and showed it by using the arrows up top.

    • Jay for Hay

      check on crackberry…it shows more than 1 android app running at a time.

  • shawnkohut

    The PB, ” Android app player”…is literally running the Android OS…

    QNX neutrino is so powerful, that it literally runs the Android OS in the “app player” . This is what allows Android apps to run on PB through Android developers simply having to repackage, code sign and submit…

  • shawnkohut

    The PB, ” Android app player”…is literally running the Android OS…

    QNX neutrino is so powerful, that it literally runs the Android OS in the “app player” . This is what allows Android apps to run on PB through Android developers simply having to repackage, code sign and submit…

  • Anonymous

    I can’t understand why they felt it was so important to get this thing on the market, that they would actually leave out email. Of all things, email.

    • Zukidrvr

      Fact: More users are activating FaceBook accounts than email accounts on BlackBerry smartphones.

      My Gmail works great on my PlayBook.

    • Anonymous

      “I can’t understand why they felt it was so important to get this thing on the market, that they would actually leave out email. Of all things, email. ”

      What with them being an email company as well. Imagine. They actually have C language code that is an email client and they still didn’t add a client. They have 20 years of expertise in email and they still didn’t add an email client. Not to mention the thousands of developers on staff. Not to mention the absolutely free open source email clients out there.

      They had a reason for not adding an email client. Their enterprise customers did not want an email client because it would have cost real money to remove it before handing to their staff.

      Anyone that has a BlackBerry has email, calendar etc via BlackBErry Bridge.

  • JohnBoyJones

    RIM and Android…what a marriage.

  • Seriously

    Why are you bit%&es complaining so much? The playbook is out, its getting updated, and its doing what its supposed to do. Who gives a shit if it came out with no email, its gonna be working soon. That’s what really counts. 6 months from now this will be water under the bridge. and in 6 months it will be the only app out that is the most versatile, seriously. An app capable of running two “operating systems” You apple fan boys need to settle down and play with your white ipads

    • Kallisen

      Some people like to b*tch. First they b*tch because it’s not available yet, {WAHHH! Where is it already!!!!) then they b*tch because it was rushed to market (WAAAH! Doesn’t have native email client).

      Where were the b*tches when it took Apple TWO YEARS to get basic cut and paste functionality on the ipad? Shrug.

      • Jay for Hay

        2 years?? it took 3 years for cut and paste….as well as a flash for the camera lol…apple fanboys are just stupid

      • Anonymous

        Give it up already dudes. The playbook is already a fail. Do you own one? That’s what I thought.

    • Zukidrvr

      Or their thicker white iPhones…

      How long did it take to get basic cut and paste on other platforms? Sheesh.

      My PlayBook works great. My Android tablet is now collecting dust. The two HD cameras are great. I take the PlayBook hiking. With 10 hours of battery life, I don’t have to worry about frequent charging. It fits in my coat pocket. I don’t feel like a complete dork holding up a huge tablet, trying to shoot video or taking a picture.

      And by the way, when the PlayBook was announced last year, they made it clear that it would eventually come in different shapes and sizes. A year ago, it was news that RIM had placed a major order for 7″ lcd screens, for an undisclosed device to come.

      And for those who think that China is having problems producing them: They are manufactured in ROC/Taiwan, not PRC/China. Their production is unaffected by other tablet production. Oh, but Palinesque fanboy ignorance of the world can go a long way.

  • http://htcsensationblog.com/ John Micheal

    does BB playbook run iOS ?

    • Seriously

      does ipad run QNX, and or Android?

      • Wild Copper

        I thought it ran a version of AmigaDOS.

    • Anonymous

      Not that I’m aware of. But no doubt they could run iOS if they chose (assuming there weren’t licensing issues of course).

      • sirpaul

        They couldn’t even if they wanted.

      • Zukidrvr

        Actually, they could. iOS is just a subset of OSX, which is a Posix-certified OS. QNX, PlayBook OS, Linix, Unix and Android are Posix certified. They all come from the same lineage. Mac emulators have come and gone through the years for other platforms.

        Why bother? Want iOS? Buy and iOS device.

        The only thing holding it back would be legal clearance…and all the sheep that would follow…

    • QNX Please

      Why would they want to run that garbage? QNX is so far ahead of iOS it’s ridiculous. The only thing the iPad has over the Playbook is the cult following of Apple products. The Playbook out-performs it, in well everything.

  • http://www.absolutefiction.com Jed Tylman

    It’s just another tablet in a soon-to-be crowed see of other tablets.
    Beside Blackberry users it’s cleared targeted to, who will buy it? Wondering if they can get more users to switch over with this one.

    I think they try to keep BB users with the lure of those Android apps. Not a bad move. But is it enough?

  • http://profiles.google.com/spark032207 SoonKyu Park

    Sigh.. The scrolling on the e-mail app seems laggy. And it wasn’t all text, too.

  • max

    But but but but but but but but i thought you numbskull rimjobbers said who needs apps? “It does everything I need it to do, I don’t need apps” is what you morons said. Waa hoppen, morons?

  • Reality

    The browser on the PlayBook is fully functional.

    You don’t need apps.

    The browser works people! EFFFF!

    What apps do you have on your computer? None, because you have a browser that works!

    This isn’t a Steve Jobs money grab charging a dollar for a fart game…Use the browser!

  • Alex

    So can someone please explain to me why I should buy an iPad over a Playbook? My friends keep telling me the iPad is the best, but I find it hard to justify when the Playbook does everything and more.

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