Early build of RIM’s Android App Player for the PlayBook now available thanks to leak

By on Jul 21, 2011 at 2:20 PM
Software July 21, 2011

N4BB recently spotted a link to RIM’s Android App Player for the BlackBerry PlayBook in the change log of a software update, and the website has posted access to the early build of the software that should allow Android applications to run within the PlayBook’s QNX environment. This version of the App Player is not intended for public release, so you’re installing a version of the app that is likely still in an early development stage. N4BB gave it an early whirl and said the software lacks a back button, though users can swipe from right to left in order to go back, and the site said it “lags a bit.” Even though we enjoyed RIM’s initial taste of what the App Player will be capable of, BlackBerry PlayBook owners will probably want to wait until RIM releases a final build before jumping the gun. Hit the jump for a second image of the player and, if you’re so inclined, a link to download the software.

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  • Kwik

    Why would anyone buy a fake android tablet? Get the real thing.

    • http://twitter.com/nthree Nin N. Kanlayanamit

      Real android don’t have bbm 

      • sirpaul

        And don’t look as good.

      • Anonymous

        BBM won’t be as important in the future, the fact that alot of people are trading in their crackberries for IOS/Android phones makes this a declining messaging ecosystem.  And as for sirpaul’s comments the BB playbook looks like a generic black rectangle?  Ipad2 is sexier/thinner, as is the Samsung Tab 10.1.  

      • Kwik

        BBM is made by RIM so its bloated crap that requires their backend. Real Android does have email though, tons of apps, and Linux. Seriously, a BlackBerry without email? No apps, and no developers that want to make apps. QNX is old and outdated much like Symbian. The Playbook is a joke. 

    • Jamma3

      Because it runs better than Android and not fragmented.

  • sirpaul

    Damn QNX is beautiful! Gorgeous! BGR, can you load it up on your PlayBook and show us a video?

    • Steve Jenkins

      I think your asking way too much of BGR.

      • sirpaul

        Hahaha! I probably am, but one can dream :) If I thought I’d have no chance of getting listened to I probably wouldn’t still be reading this blog daily for the past 2 years. I have a bit of faith :P

  • Anonymous

    Lol. Awesome tablet. Still no email? Hahaha. Rim will be dead in two years.  true story™©®

    • Steve Jenkins

      Lol. Awesome Post. Still no originality? Hahaha. Scroat will be obosolete in no time.  true story™©®

      • Anonymous

        I used to hate scroat too. But after listening to his wisdom I have come to realize he is a brilliant man. What he says is true. Don’t hate on me for my opinion.

      • Anonymous

        I too was a staunch scroat hater. You have seen my replies to him. I too now agree that scroat is a brilliant man. Wise beyond his years. I read that he is only 13. What he says is true.

      • Steve Jenkins

        I have a feeling the both of you are scroats little boy toys.

      • Anonymous

        Its a True story™©®

      • jay for hay

        PAPINYC and MATRIX2001 must be scroat just using a different name…he is that big of a doucehbag

      • Anonymous

        Uhh those guys have been on BGR for months. I actually hate those fuckers.
         true story™©®

      • Geust

        hahaha scroat might be wise… (i doubt) but deff funny

    • http://twitter.com/Crucial_Xtreme Jason

      Get it right.. At least know what you’re talking about before you speak. ID 10 T       In other words, email is working.

      • Anonymous

        I think any rational person would know I’m talking about native email.
        Dumbass  true story™©®

      • Anonymous

        I understood you right away mr. Scroat. That Jason is such a little wanker.

    • Jamma3

      Wow according to Boy Gennie Ass it’s next month

    • TooMuchNoise

      I’m curious if this guys is either Rocco or Eric Jackson.

  • Anonymous

    I have been holding out on a tablet purchase until I see what the native email/im and android player stuff for the playbook is like.  I love the form factor and the size of the screen and tablet is right for what I need.  Hopefully RIM can get this put out soon and have it all work well.  If not I will be looking at that 7 inch lenovo android tablet.

    • Rudy

      Same boat, been watching the BB sites for updates – but alas there are no Apps for it on AppWorld because it hasn’t been released so it’s one of those wait and sees.

      The form factor is perfect, and when you start looking at the bezel, once the screen technology become more advanced don’t be surprised to see Playbooks screen increases to fit it’s frame.

    • SBMobile

      Google “RIM is blocking IM applications from PlayBook” & that will pretty much answer that question. I’m not really sure what RIM’s game plan is here. They already know that native e-mail & BBM won’t work on the PlayBook. Waiting until the very last moment to report this is retarded. That’s why Microsoft is selling more tablets than RIM & Microsoft’s tablets are TERRIBLE. Investors are aware of this, so it’s only the consumers that will suffer in the end. RIM has no clue what their strategy is, so I guess they’re going to suffer for the long-term. Oh well!

      • BerryKing

        You have absolutely no fuckin clue of what your saying! stop mis informing people! native email is working on the playbook and BBM is still a HUGE asset! What other stupidity are u gonna bring out again?

      • Sbmobile

        I told you what to Google, that should be it. Don’t be mad at me because RIM is guaranteeing their demise in the consumer space. Also, native in mobile means “stand-alone”, not tethered to your primary device. Keep accepting RIM’s excuses, your part of their problem anyway. They keep making promises they can’t keep: release dates, QNX, native apps on PlayBook + java & Android SDK’s. Most smart companies learn from others mistakes. Instead, RIM is following the recipe for disaster. Announcing months too early; not taking the years necessary to develop products; recycling dated products; ignoring strong consumer trends. The fact that they have a lot of cash means they’ll be prime for takeover, a merger or possibly privatization. Either way they’ll need to sell a lot of their IP to transition out of the hardware business. It’s just a matter of time & honestly RIM is moving things way ahead of schedule.

      • BerryKing

        Native email and the official android app will be available by the end of summer by the way!

      • Steve Jenkins

        Your a Liar.

  • Anonymous

    Native email on the Playbook — via the Android App Player.

  • Anonymous

    Malware player.

    A buggy, beta malware player too!

    • sirpaul

      Because Apple gets their software right from the start, bug free, right? Yeah…

      • Geust

        because apple doesnt give enough time to developers… Playbook i just the preview of whats coming in future in form of BlackBerry devices… if you think about it there will be a few new devices every year

      • Anonymous

        WTF? Who mentioned Apple?

        The subject is about Android apps on the Playbook FFS.

      • sirpaul

        But Apple is a competitor therefore it is related.

      • Anonymous

        I couldn’t give a shit about Apple. They could cease trading tomorrow for all I care. Your rebuttal about Apple has zero relavance to RIM or Android.

        Let me guess, you thought I was an Apple lover so you replied as you did?

      • sirpaul

        PhailLord is Phail.

  • http://www.searingarrow.com AlienSix

    Yes its a choice but I dont think this is a good idea.

    Its my opinion so dont go flaming me

  • Tyler Bayne

    Swipe right -> left to go back? Sounds oddly similar to something else…

    • sirpaul

      OMG you’re so right!!! On the PlayBook to type a letter you also have to place your finger over the corresponding letter, then raise it again for the letter to appear. OMG sound familiar? OMGGG they copied from the iPhone!!1!1!

  • Anonymous

    I downloaded it.  Haven’t tried it yet.  I will wait and see what the consensus is.

    • sirpaul

      If you have time, can you take a short video and stick it on YouTube? BGR might even feature it on the website (though I think Engadget will be on top of it with a professional video soon anyway..)!

  • http://twitter.com/HireMeAccenture HireMeAccenture.com

    Is the Playbook any good?

    Help Me Get A Job Please!
    www[dot]hiremeaccenture[dot]com

    Leave a comment!

    • Anonymous

      I checked out your site. I am impressed with what you’re trying to do.  Lots of firms would appreciate someone that shows this kind of innovation in their job search, especially if your credentials are as you say they are.

      One piece of advice, if you’re trying to hire on with a consulting firm like Accenture, don’t snipe at firms that either are or could be clients.  You’re showing a few things, none of which are flattering to you in a professional sense.  Your conduct is an auto ding if someone reads these boards.

      If you must, you could always come up with a catchy anonymous ID and then bash companies, people, etc that you don’t like to your hearts content. Good luck, I hope you’ll land a great job.

  • Max

    Lets see a 7″ tiny fake android or the real thing at 10 whopping inches. Hmmmm. Tough choice here if youre a moron that is.

  • Bringit

    RIM and Android – what a marriage.  The Beast and The Beast.

  • SBMobile

    Apple just proved to the world that no one is really interested in the flash player or the 7-inch form-factor. I mean RIM just sold fewer PlayBooks than Microsoft & their whole SDK & UI are based on Adobe AIR. That’s unbelievable! While these fools fight for a “meaningless” market-share, Apple makes all of the money needed to keep innovating & widening their ecosystem to be on top for the considerable future. At this point, it also doesn’t seem like the “competition” (if you want to call them that), will ever understand this market, at all. Like I said before “Oh well!” lol! Lion is awesome, iOS 5 will only strengthen it. The iCloud will bring all iOS functions together & the new iPhone will bring even more customers to that realization. I see a lot of companies disappearing or going out of business in the near future.

    • http://twitter.com/LuaySalman Luay

      You may very well be right, but you would be a fool to want a company to fail simply because one was dominant. You realize Apple was close to failing at one point in its life as well. Competition is necessary for innovation. If Apple was the only company then we would not only be paying outrageous prices (not that we already aren’t) but you will see innovation stifle. 

      • Sbmobile

        If you make crappy products no one wants & mis-manage your company bad enough that the bad products affect investors perceptions of you, then you deserve to go under! There’s no rule that says companies shouldn’t go out of business when they suck. In fact it’s just the way things are. Apple is in a unique position once again to eliminate a number of legacy products, just like in the past. They’re making all the money, making the best products & making everyone else look foolish in the process.

  • Anonymous

    Why would I pay those rip off retail prices when I got an iPod for $35.33?. And it was delivered right to my house. From now on, all my stuff comes from GrabNow.com .

  • Ian

    Haters gonna Hate…

    The BlackBerry PlayBook has just become the first tablet to be approved under FIPS for use within the U.S. federal government. > I wonder why BGR hasn’t posted anything about this important news… oh maybe because it’s GOOD NEWS about the PB!!

    Hopefully native email is coming very SOON!

    Did I mention PB was 1st to get an official Facebook tablet optimized app. Say what iPad??

    Very excited to see whats coming for this small but VERY powerful gadget!!!

    Bring it on RIM!!!

    • Anonymous

      Your excited about government employees spending time kicking back on an expensive tablet that you paid for? Because a tablet will make the union employee so productive am I right?…./facepalm

      • Ian

        Like i said… Haters gonna hate. Open your mind, this doesn’t mean this would go to ALL levels federal employees, but look for how they are showing off PB’s potential for Police use in Canada as an example.

        Peace bro

    • jay for hay

      couldn’t agree more. BGR is pathetic…they’ll never post that story about the FIPS cause its positive RIM news…title should say “Playbook gets approve by FIPS, ipad still is not”….if it was the other way around and the ipad had gotten approved, BGR would post it 100%

      • Anonymous

        You sure are a bitchy little cunt

    • Anonymous

      Maybe they will be able to emulate the android email/gmail clients on their Blackberry Playbooks before they make a native one lol.

  • Jamma3

    Hey Boy Gennie Ass the Blackberry Playbook received FIPS certification

  • http://twitter.com/BeanTNT Bean

    Nonsense. Just scratch QNX and adopt Android. You’d be back on top in no time. But of course RIM is too arrogant.

  • Anonymous

    Hey RIM what does it say about your native QNX tablet selection if you have to co-opt a competitor’s software base?  Also isn’t the number of tablet native android apps tiny?  It’s kinda bad enough that in Android 3.2 you have to do that stretch/fill to screen crap to get phone apps to run on a tablet, now RIM is asking people to do that and live with sluggishness from dalvik emulation?  Once business users start moving away from Blackberries to iOS/android, they have no future. 

  • Anonymous

    I must be missing the point… How is google OK with allowing RIM to infringe on it’s IP? Are developers going to have to submit their apps on multiple store fronts? Won’t developers be concerned that posting their apps (built with googles SDK) might be against the terms of use of the SDK?

    I wish that google would make a public statement on this… As a developer, I don’t want to be sued by google if I choose to make my android apps available on RIMs storefront.

    • Dragon

      Google isn’t planning to make it’s money off of selling it’s Android OS’s. It is giving them up for free to control other aspects of the market more central to their core services. Android OS is free, thus it has been widely accepted by prominent hardware manufactures like Motorila, HTC, and LG.

      Why would Google turn around and try to close it from another major device maker? They wouldn’t. Google wants higher adoption rates and this allows them access ro all those BlackBerry users as well.

      From a developers standpoint, now developing for Android allows you to offer your product to another major audience with minimal effort. This should fuel more development of Android apps … further helping Google with it’s goal.

      QNX is the best OS out there, but RIM is still in the early stages of implementing it for BlackBerry devices. Anyone who knew about QNX before RIM bought them realizes they are THE powerhouse platform. The only questions are:

      1. How will RIM harness that power on BlackBerrys?

      2. Do you trust TAT to design a good UI to utilize QNX?

      Honestly, it seems only a matter oftime before the QNX OS becomes the best mobile OS. Let’s hope RIM puts it on smartphones wih good hardware.

      • Anonymous

        Dragon, All good points. One area where I take umbrage with is developers willingness to have their apps run on an emulator such as alien dalvik. Using emulators will cause poor user experience, and lack of being able to get down to the native hardware features like cameras, GPS, video, sound, etc… will prevent developers from taking full advantage of the playbook.

        I love the playbook, and want to see it succeed, but this isn’t how.

        RIM/QNX need to give developers a full native development environment (and I’m not talking about Flex/AdobeAIR). Apple and Googles SDKs are superb in comparison with RIMs cobbled together development environment.

        WebOS (which I consider on par with QNX UI) struggles with the same issue of not providing decent hardware level access, and developers will flock to environments that make it easy for them to develop, and distribute their wares, while providing the best user experience.

  • BerryKing

    Wow! I cant believe that your so much of a fukin moron when you say things like that! Go search for QNX to know what it is first and stop bitchin cause RIM waited for Android to do all the work for the apps! Hey like Steve bitch ass Job said: its the year of the copy cat! 

    Business is Business! Nothin personal!

    and by the way, isnt Android open source?

  • Jarodcouch

    love how everyones trolling the playbook, its one of the top rated tablets and if you’d actually give it a chance wold realize its pretty sick.

    • LALA

      Hey Android morons.  I can launch and run Android 2.3.3 like it was a fart app. I push the icon and it opens.  I swipe up and it close.  BlackBerry Tablet os can do that.  Now lets the monolithic Android os launch and run the microkernel-based, QNX powered, BlackBerry Tablet os.  Oh wait it can’t Because Android isn’t capable of it.

      If iOS and it’s monolithic garbage os was open source also then I could run it just as easily.  Seriously haters will hate. But BlackBerry has by far the most powerful mobile os in existence. If you want to dispute that than your just ignorant.

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