[HotFix]

I really don't understand why app owners are so reluctant to port their Android apps to BB10. They are ignoring a revenue source however small they might think it is, especially if they have already written the Android version.

Is it hard to port an app? I can't understand why it would be hard if we can side load native apps, because in theory all they would be doing is pre-packaging it for us to make it easier to install.
Do they not perform well or integrate with the hardware correctly? I can't see this being an issue for the vast majority of apps now that 10.2 supports the latest Android version and also has hardware acceleration.
Is there something else I am missing like the app owners are just blissfully ignorant that they could easily port their apps? If it's this last thought then does BlackBerry have a write up we hand app owners explaining how easy it is when we request they port their apps?

I'm not slamming the app owners, just curious why there seems to be such resistance to do something that sounds easy.

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[MADBRADNYC]

It's a developer's personal preference, I guess.
I personally don't care for ported apps anyway.
I would much more prefer they build native Built-For-BlackBerry apps.
It shows a respect for the platform and initiative. They just work better.
Porting is the lazy way out, IMO.

[hamza817]

I'm with you. Can it be the BlackBerry name is so tarnished that the developers don't want to be associated?

I was hoping for the flood gates to open after 10.2 released officially. Mind you I also thought that at BB10 launch, at 10.1....here is to keeping hope I guess.

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[HotFix]

It's a developer's personal preference, I guess.
I personally don't care for ported apps anyway.
I would much more prefer they build native Built-For-BlackBerry apps.
It shows a respect for the platform and initiative. They just work better.
Porting is the lazy way out, IMO.

I would rather have a ported app than no app at all.

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[eddy_berry]

I would rather have a ported app than no app at all.

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Agreed and with the 4.2.2 runtime the apps work even better and smoother. I would like to see more of a push to get developers of Android apps to consider hitting the BlackBerry market.

[MADBRADNYC]

I would rather have a ported app than no app at all.

Not sure why you're quoting me for your statement.
That's fine with me. You're entitled to your own opinion and preference.
It just happens to differ from mine.

Enjoy!

[heymaggie]

The notion that it is easy to port an Android app to BB10 is a myth that started on these forums and pretty much only exists here.

[app_Developer]

Porting some apps is easy. Some are more complicated. It sometimes, like in our case, would involve maintaining a separate fork of our code.

Also remember 10.2 just came out, so developers need to read numbers for 10.2 penetration and then react accordingly.

Either way, if you officially publish an app in BBWorld, there is the expectation that you will support those users and update that app over time as you add new features to your other apps. That is not a cost we are willing to take on until BB10 is more popular among our customers.

[app_Developer]

The notion that it is easy to port an Android app to BB10 is a myth that started on these forums and pretty much only exists here.

I think some are easy, but ours definitely would not be easy. Plus we're not ready yet to commit to maintaining a BB10 version over time.

[HotFix]

Not sure why you're quoting me for your statement.
That's fine with me. You're entitled to your own opinion and preference.
It just happens to differ from mine.

Enjoy!

I quoted you because I was responding to your statement. Normally that's how conversations go when two people are exchanging opinions in a discussion. :-)

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[HotFix]

Porting some apps is easy. Some are more complicated. It sometimes, like in our case, would involve maintaining a separate fork of our code.

Also remember 10.2 just came out, so developers need to read numbers for 10.2 penetration and then react accordingly.

Either way, if you officially publish an app in BBWorld, there is the expectation that you will support those users and update that app over time as you add new features to your other apps. That is not a cost we are willing to take on until BB10 is more popular among our customers.

OK, I hear you that some are easier than others, and I completely understand the concern over user expectation for support once an app is published.

What I don't understand, as a person with a programming background, is why some are harder than others if they can all be side loaded. In other words I am curious as to what specifically makes porting an app hard/difficult if it can be side loaded and run as a native Android app.

Thanks for the response BTW.

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[MADBRADNYC]

I quoted you because I was responding to your statement. Normally that's how conversations go when two people are exchanging opinions in a discussion. :-)

Take Care.
Enjoy!

[HotFix]

And I am still interested to see if BlackBerry has a "how-to" on how to easily port Android apps to BB10 because I would like to include a link to it on every BB10 app request I submit to companies who have an Android app.

I.E. They may not realize how easy it might be for them, and I would like to do what I can to help them along versus just coming across as whining that they aren't supporting the BB10 platform.

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[tushargkwd]

Its a trial and error thingy...
Port the app once and the dev can check the number of downloads / users. If that seems good enough and the app itself is great, then the app will be a hit and you can make money.

People who buy BlackBerry know and pay more than the Android guys. Bb10 is a premium platform.

Almost 50% of the apps on my z10 are paid apps... and I tend to buy an app every week or so...

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[anon(4044683)]

Alec Sanders has tried his best, but I think BlackBerry is more interested in selling the company and has no time to convince the developers to port their apps;

[Roscopcoletrain]

Don't forget, once ported, apps have to support that app and platform with bug fixes, emails over features not working, etc. Its mostly easy yes, but if the dev isn't prepared to support all those new users on that platform, often without a device to try said app on.

[Alex_Hong]

As mentioned, App owners are expected to support their app if they port over their Android app. This takes time and resources as well, and isn't as simple as it seems. The next is user experience and customer satisfaction. Most app owners want their users to have a good experience on their app I would imagine, and Android runtime does not ensure that. If it is an Android ported app, you can be sure a lot of user reviews will be complains asking for a native app. Nonetheless, it doesn't look good for app owners. So I can understand their reluctance to port their app over to BlackBerry 10 and their wishes to protect their asset.

[app_Developer]

OK, I hear you that some are easier than others, and I completely understand the concern over user expectation for support once an app is published.

What I don't understand, as a person with a programming background, is why some are harder than others if they can all be side loaded. In other words I am curious as to what specifically makes porting an app hard/difficult if it can be side loaded and run as a native Android app.

Thanks for the response BTW.

So up until a couple weeks ago, the one issue was that we want to drop our support for gingerbread. So with 10.1, there was no way we wanted to add another gingerbread device. Now that is solved, provided everyone upgrades quickly.

The second issue is that we use Google services. So we would need to build an alternate experience for users who have the android runtime but no Google services. That means a fork, support, and in our case separate legal and regulatory approval in the US and EU.

The third issue is BB refuses to tell us how many of their users are on the square screens. We don't have an acceptable experience on square screens yet. The apps works on square screens, but doesn't look acceptable to us, because as it stands now critical information is below the fold on those screens. So that's work we would want to do.

These are not insurmountable issues, but right now we have 27 customers (out of 75+ million) who have called or written us about this. And overall less than 1% of our users have ever logged in to our mobile site with BB10, and a majority of those seem to also have iOS or Android devices that they can use anyway.

Again, if the numbers improve, we'll revisit all this. We're actively tracking WP8 also. In fact, we have many more customers on BB7 than either WP8 or BB10.

[HotFix]

So up until a couple weeks ago, the one issue was that we want to drop our support for gingerbread. So with 10.1, there was no way we wanted to add another gingerbread device. Now that is solved, provided everyone upgrades quickly.

The second issue is that we use Google services. So we would need to build an alternate experience for users who have the android runtime but no Google services. That means a fork, support, and in our case separate legal and regulatory approval in the US and EU.

The third issue is BB refuses to tell us how many of their users are on the square screens. We don't have an acceptable experience on square screens yet. The apps works on square screens, but doesn't look acceptable to us, because as it stands now critical information is below the fold on those screens. So that's work we would want to do.

These are not insurmountable issues, but right now we have 27 customers (out of 75+ million) who have called or written us about this. And overall less than 1% of our users have ever logged in to our mobile site with BB10, and a majority of those seem to also have iOS or Android devices that they can use anyway.

Again, if the numbers improve, we'll revisit all this. We're actively tracking WP8 also. In fact, we have many more customers on BB7 than either WP8 or BB10.

That is an excellent and detailed explanation. Thank you.

As for BB10 requests and people visiting your mobile site, I think it's a bit of cart before the horse scenario. What I mean by that is it is my opinion people have given up on requesting apps (I know I have), and I almost never bother with the mobile sites if my device isn't supported by the vendor (due to technical frustrations doing so in the past) and instead use a PC. So no vendor support leads to lack of activity (not interest) by users.

I guess the only way to get devs to consider creating an Android port is to start petitions and trying to garner support from the community. Then if there is enough interest they might consider creating a port and hopefully a native app.

As for people who complain about Android ports not being native, I don't understand where they are coming from. Complain because the app doesn't work right, has issues, performs slow, etc... not just because it runs in an emulator because as I mentioned above I would rather have the app in an emulation mode (working correctly) than not at all. It's likely a dev is using the port to determine interest which may lead to a native app, and people complain about something that in and of itself shouldn't matter, then we risk alienating the dev and never getting a native app.

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[pb1379]

I'd say it's easy to answer: it's not worth it. First you'd have to get a bb10 device for a hefty price, then get into it, port... And all that investment for less than 1% of market target?

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[felixweber]

BlackBerry should make it like opera with their store. Lately I got an email if I want my android app in there store. I replied with yes and they pulled the apk from Google play and send me login details for their store. Done.

BlackBerry process is just too complicated. They should do it all automatically....

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[ankush77]

Why to wait for them to port??

[ankush77]

we want build for Blackberry,that shows respect ,that shows faith and it shows growth??

[leejayh]

Porting some apps is easy. Some are more complicated. It sometimes, like in our case, would involve maintaining a separate fork of our code.

Also remember 10.2 just came out, so developers need to read numbers for 10.2 penetration and then react accordingly.

Either way, if you officially publish an app in BBWorld, there is the expectation that you will support those users and update that app over time as you add new features to your other apps. That is not a cost we are willing to take on until BB10 is more popular among our customers.

This is valid, and the usual catch-22 of a two sided market. Until it has scale, you don't want to develop. Until you develop, it will never have scale.

BlackBerry is going to have a tough going of it - so thank goodness for third party developers and enthusiasts.

That said, the latest 725 unlocked runtime, pretty much runs everything, so I would hope that the main line apps are coming soon. If not, then I hope good competing ones show up.

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[dayno25]

Sometimes I think it's a bit of laziness to an extent or simply that the rewards of porting don't outweigh the "work" involved for the dev. I remember reading an official blog for a great game available on ios and android where the dev stated that only two out of their ten titles would be coming to blackberry 10 as porting the rest of the android apps had compatiabilty issues. I then went ahead and converted and sideloaded them myself on 10.2 and it runs as fluid as something native. Not enough users on BlackBerry 10 so we will still get ignored, but a port is definetly better than nothing...

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