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RIM adds Android app support to BlackBerry PlayBook
- nubela 16y agono mention about performance.
- shimi 16y agoIt's a very smart move by Rim. This is sort of NT4 supports POSIX scenario, having say that I'm not fooling myself there will be some porting considerations how bad they are only time will tell.
- shareme 16y agono dumb move as its limited to non-AndroidMarket android apps..unless they had enough guts to use the amazon android app store
- dsuriano 16y agoWhat incentive is there to create great Playbook Native apps when you can just make 1 android app that "will work" in a "player" for Playbook? Count me skeptical.
- deleted 16y ago[deleted]
- avichal 16y agoThis is a way to bootstrap an app economy and solve the chicken and egg problem. If they launch with their own app store (like Nokia) no one will build for it and they won't get any device sales because they have no apps for the device. This way they get 200k+ apps ready to go and if they can build a better piece of hardware, they'll get a big install base. Then they can convince developers to develop native apps for their platform.
- oldpatricka 16y agoWhat incentive is there to create great Playbook Native apps when you can just make 1 web app that "will work" in a "browser" for Playbook? Developers who really care about the platform will create native apps, and ones who merely want Playbook users to be able to run their app will go with some cross platform thing. (The web, Android, etc).
- wzdd 16y agoIt looks like you can only install Android apps which their developers have uploaded to Blackberry App World (their own store) -- i.e., no Market, and no side loading. I wonder how much this will matter? Android developers have two app stores to think about at the moment. Are they going to care enough to upload their app to RIM's as well? It's not an unmitigated win: it would mean dealing with another payment system and supporting another set of hardware.
- martythemaniak 16y ago"Android developers have two app stores to think about at the moment." We do?
- rksprst 16y agoIf a developer could increase the reach of his apps (and thus make more money), you don't think he/she will take an extra 30 mins and submit to Blackberry App World?
- MichaelApproved 16y agoFrom what we've seen from other developers, it'll take more than 30 minutes to deal with Blackberry app world: http://blog.jamiemurai.com/2011/02/you-win-rim/ http://blog.jamiemurai.com/2011/02/you-win-rim/
- Xuzz 16y agoI'd just like to add my data point here: setting up a vendor account in the App World took less than 24 hours and was much easier than Apple. I just had to fill out a web form, email (not fax!) in some documents, and they emailed it was ready the very next day. Obviously, YMMV. But they may be improving.
- ashbrahma 16y agoWow. It must be very humbling for RIM to allow Android apps to run on their devices.
- dannyr 16y agoI'm skeptical too. Supporting apps built on a platform they have no control over is a potential headache. They always need to catch up when Google updates the Android API.
- avichal 16y agoNot really. Though 2.3 has been out for months, 90% of users are still on 2.1 and 2.2: http://developer.android.com/resources/dashboard/platform-versions.html http://developer.android.com/resources/dashboard/platform-ve... It takes forever for Android users to get the new versions anyway so RIM users won't be any worse off than any other Android app users.
- lotusleaf1987 16y agoThis seems like a double-edged sword for RIM in that, it's a disincentive to actually develop for the Playbook when they can just create an Android app and market it to both. It seems like a very short-sighted move.
- technomancy 16y agoWell it's clearly good for developers and users; whether it's good for RIM or not is an open question.
- protomyth 16y agoI am really not sure it is good for users. They are paying for a experience and I am not sure the Android apps will work as well as native apps. It might be much like an X windows program on OS X.
- tajddin 16y agoActually, I think it's a great long term move for their QNX-based platform. End users don't care whether an app is native, Android, AIR, WebWorks or Java-based as long as it's available in some form. Having more apps offers an incentive for early adopters and end users to invest in the platform in the near term. Eventually, as the platform grows (perhaps as a result of the various app offerings), developers will start creating native applications.
- chaostheory 16y agoI agree. The QNX buy is finally bearing some interesting fruit.
- megablast 16y agoHow is that bad for RIM? RIM still make their 30% of the app, they still get a lot of apps. The only downside is they do not get exclusives, and they may not get the apps that are designed for their device. A small price to pay to stay relevant. Rim aren't confused, they know there is not enough room for more than 2 device platforms, and they are the underdog.
- jasonostrander 16y agoFor those of us doing Android dev, this actually sounds like more of a headache than anything. It can be challenging enough making an app that works on all the different possible Android versions (OEM skins, old revs.) without having to deal with a totally incompatible OS.
- 18pfsmt 16y agoThe alternative is to learn their native SDK, so I think this is at least a better option than that. Anything to lower the barrier to entry. I have to believe <i>some</i> headache will be involved.
- fleitz 16y agoAwesome, I've also heard that 3D Realms has signed a platform exclusive to bring Duke Nukem Forever to the Playbook. Word is Playbook will be ready for the DNF launch.
- Pyrodogg 16y agoAt this point I don't know why anyone would want to market their product with DNF, especially in regards to launching.
- ianhawes 16y agoThis is a pure marketing move. I can run Windows applications on Mac OS X using ["Bootcamp","VMWare Fusion","VirtualBox"] however that doesn't mean its a positive experience. I think the same will be said of Android apps on the PlayBook.
- chaostheory 16y agoWindows on OSX isn't bad for office or development apps. (I work on C# occassional using .NET) It does suck for video games though.
- cal5k 16y agoEvery comment here seems to be piling on RIM. The skepticism is painfully forced, really. I haven't been a fan of RIM's products as of late, but I think the PlayBook is actually the only credible competitor to the iPad 2 right now. The pricing is right, it excels in a couple of areas that the iPad 2 does not (particularly, enterprise security), it matches or exceeds almost all of the hardware specs (including battery life, apparently), and it is very clearly targeted at the enterprise market. Plus, the OS isn't a clunky piece of crap like the versions on their current phones.
- agilo 16y agoCanadian competitors to american produce aren't always appreciated (think Justin Bieber, etc.) ;)
- cal5k 16y agoWe like to send them crap we don't want ;-) Jokes aside, that's not really the issue... every American I've ever asked didn't know that RIM was Canadian. Hell, they had no problem when their president was seen everywhere with a BlackBerry.
- agilo 16y agoThe people you asked aren't the skeptics. I'm sure almost everyone that commented here is aware that RIM is Canadian. (It's HN after all...) But yeah I get your point.
- wvenable 16y agoOpinions may change when they ship.
- cal5k 16y agoTo be fair, the pile-on of cynicism was a mile deep when the iPad was originally announced. Where are the feminine hygiene product jokes now, hmmmmmmm? ;-)