By Earlier today we told you how BlackBerry showed off Android App integration on the PlayBook, something they announced long ago but first demonstrated today. Well a video of the demo, which occurred at BlackBerry World 2011, just hit our inbox.
Impressed? Unimpressed? Don’t really care?
In my opinion it’s like saying, “Hey, would you like to eat this bagel yourself or would you like me to do you the favor of chewing it for you and then putting it directly into your mouth?”
Just gimme the bagel.
[Thanks Usman!]
Ha ha, genius!
To me it’s like saying “we don’t have a strong developer ecosystem but don’t worry we have an Android emulator”
just give me Android!
I’m curious if they’re tying into the google app store or if they are submitted to RIM as an APK that loads in their wrapper.
I am not getting it. So is their hardware SO good that I’d have to buy a BB device and emulate Android? Why not just get your pick of the dozens of Android devices?
What they have not shown is what do you get with a BB (except a platform on it’s way out) that you don’t get with Android? And when apps written for the next version of Android comes out, will they still work on the BB?
I love the UI of the Playbook, but I like the Android apps. this is the best of both worlds. They said said something in the demo that was HUGE. For the demo they told the BINARIES of the current Android apps and put them in the App World and then asked permission of the developers to use them. This is HUGE, no modifications to the source code needed!
How many free apps are in the Android Market? What RIM did is a quick way of getting free apps onto the Playbook. Most of the apps I use and want are free (Evernote, ConvertPad, Amazon Kindle, Olivetree BibleReader, Mint, Mobile Banking, DropBox, Yelp, Astrid Tasks, WiFi@Home, and etc)!
There are a couple of things RIM still have to address:
1. The ability of running multiple Android apps (multiple Android players) at the same time.
2. How will Android apps that provide notifications will work without having them open all the time.
From RIMs standpoint its a mixed blessing.
On the one hand they solve the problem not being able to compete with the two most popular platforms in terms of software diversity.
They will keep customers which would possibly have left their ecosystem otherwise.
On the other hand they advance the desolation of their own ecosystem by encouraging developers to bring apps to the android ecosystem only and omit RIMs.
The only real advantage I can see to this apart from if a BB fan didn’t want to jump ship to Android, is if Android malware ever became a widespread serious problem. I mean to say, someone could use Android applications on the PB without having to worry about infecting their system because the OS is different right? Or would the Android Player on the Playbook just let the malware infect the unit anyway?
I just think if you’re going to be successful, you need to have the widest and most open way for applications to make it onto your device. RIM (while having a pretty poor process) has done quite a bit to correct the wrongs. To me, this shows RIM has done their homework and are willing to do what they can to make sure their ecosystem isn’t viewed as inferior with QNX.
And when this makes it to the phones, they’ll be off and running with applications at the start. That is a smart process, especially considering corporations will blow millions of dollars on new handsets.
like Apple saying “now you can run Windows as well” well why do I need a Mac then?
Win for BB, win for droid.