[Shao128]

BlackBerry Android runtime to be upgraded to Android 4.1 Jelly Bean | CrackBerry.com

So what do you guys think?

Personally I was hoping that they'd phase out the Android runtime. As nice as it is to be able to run Android apps I think it creates a poor user experience for the average user (CrackBerry memebers are not average users).

[iNick89]

Lol - terrible.

I've been waiting for the Jelly Bean update for my Galaxy S2 for months, and it's been delayed yet again.

Blackberry gets the update first? This is the reason I hate Samsung.

[bulls2213]

BlackBerry Android runtime to be upgraded to Android 4.1 Jelly Bean | CrackBerry.com

So what do you guys think?

Personally I was hoping that they'd phase out the Android runtime. As nice as it is to be able to run Android apps I think it creates a poor user experience for the average user (CrackBerry memebers are not average users).

It doesn't bother me that much -- I'd rather have the functionality than not have it. In a perfect world they wouldn't need it, but they're not out of the woods yet.

That said, I wish they didn't let just any app into BlackBerry World. There is a LOT of garbage in there.

[Fr3lncr]

Lol - terrible.

I've been waiting for the Jelly Bean update for my Galaxy S2 for months, and it's been delayed yet again.

Blackberry gets the update first? This is the reason I hate Samsung.

You can download it from XDA... First release though and while 'official', I think it was still buggy. I just sold my S2 yesterday so the worries about releases coming at the whim of manufacturers or carriers is hopefully a thing of the past since I replaced it with a Nexus 4.

[omniusovermind]

Am I the only one who immediately noticed the word "eventually"? And they said they were "eventually" updating to "support" an update of the runtime to 4.1.

BlackBerry will be updating the Android runtime eventually to support Android 4.1 Jelly Bean.

[rjkolo]

Am I the only one who immediately noticed the word "eventually"? And they said they were "eventually" updating to "support" an update of the runtime to 4.1.

Yep...and the Q10 will eventually be avaiable...and BlackBerry 10 will eventually be released in the US...and BB10 will eventually be on the PlayBook...sounds about right for now...

[kirson]

While I understand why some might be concerned, I personally like the versatility. Much like omniusovermind however, I get very nervous when I hear the words "Blackberry" and "eventually" in the same discussion. It's a legacy phobia from the early PlayBook days. I really hope that was just the old RIMM, and that the new BBRY is all about quickly delivering updates and improvements.

[cfoxx]

They need to drop Android support, not encourage it. It's a terrible user experience and the Android apps don't match the native operating system - and are disgustingly buggy. The general public don't want or need 70,000 badly ported Android apps - they need 500 top drawer apps like Spotify, Netflix, Instagram, BBC iPlayer developed natively for BB10.

[bulls2213]

They need to drop Android support, not encourage it. It's a terrible user experience and the Android apps don't match the native operating system - and are disgustingly buggy. The general public don't want or need 70,000 badly ported Android apps - they need 500 top drawer apps like Spotify, Netflix, Instagram, BBC iPlayer developed natively for BB10.

Nobody would argue with this.

However, right now the native apps simply aren't there so it's better than nothing. In two years let's hope the Android Runtime is a distant memory.

[Chaddface]

Can someone explain what that means for the Android illiterate folks like myself.

[KOOLWATER]

Blackberry10 Devices can run android 2.3 ported apps. In the future they'll be able to run android 4.1 ported apps. (see playbook forum for more details)

[howarmat]

In reality im not sure how much this changes the way or what apps you can run. Most all apps are built for 2.3+ as it is and if it needs 4.1 to run then it probably uses native android code and wont run on the android runtime anyway.

and like many here I wish they would drop the android support altogether and just go native and such. To me this hinders good app development.

[MasterOfBinary]

I just wish they would say in the app world if something is an Android port so I could not buy it.

[PJD642]

I'm glad this is being updated, because it'll make more apps useable until BB-centric ones are available.

Particularly, I'm encouraged that this will finally (someday, when the PB gets updated, sigh) allow me to read the newest Walking Dead graphic novels on the PB. Right now I keep getting error messages that "this media type isn't supported". And the damn Kindle app for the Z10 needs to come soon too, but that's another thread....

[chr1sny]

This is great news although I'm wary of the lack of info about release date. If they can implement this relatively soon (hopefully when the Q10 launches), I don't see any reason for me not to take the plunge into BB10.

[GreenCopperz]

I want it so that RogersOneNumber App will work!!

[randall2580]

So what happens now when you swipe up and Google Now keeps popping up?

Just having fun

[RECOOL]

I aint a sideloader and I aint sideloading anything Im all for native cascades.If devs are gonna port rebuild your apps so they actually look good.But this is an important tool in the divide and concur play BB trying to make.

At first I was like I hate this sideloading crap but until novermber esq time I relized how important runtime was in getting games over and generally in the long run.As you can see from above poster there is fragmention going on with the droids. Im not sure if apps run across all hardware and OS's or oems are blocking backwards compatibility.But there is fragmenation going on.

As the droid poster above said he dont even have jelly bean yet bb10 is getting it.If BB10 gets jellybean runtime/apps some people will crossover to get almost best of both worlds.They get the BB xp plus the apps from droid that they can sideload they like doing all that mod stuff.Not only that it also gets devs curious about BB and the new framework.Its worth building on and abusing the open source of droid.

[Rickroller]

As the droid poster above said he dont even have jelly bean yet bb10 is getting it.If BB10 gets jellybean runtime/apps some people will crossover to get almost best of both worlds.They get the BB xp plus the apps from droid that they can sideload they like doing all that mod stuff.Not only that it also gets devs curious about BB and the new framework.Its worth building on and abusing the open source of droid.

The "droid" poster above was also confused, as this isn't anywhere near completion yet, and is (along with a lot of other things) in the "coming soon(ish)" stages. Personally, I think its great, as alot of the newer versions of apps are much better than their older counter parts. Personally, if I have the ability to sideload some great Android apps onto a Blackberry, i'm all for it, as long as they run as intended.

[JeepBB]

Blackberry gets the update first? This is the reason I hate Samsung.

Nope. Read the statement again

It is sooooo far from a commitment to bring JB to BB10. No scope, no details, no timeline, no anything really... other than to state in the vaguest terms that it is a "goal".

There are so many weasel-words that it amounts to a: Jelly Bean coming "soon" statement.

[jdhooghe]

Hopefully BB has updated their definition of "soon" and "innovation" along with the new phones. If this happens in a reasonable time frame, this will be a great thing for BlackBerry. I just wish they separated the ported and the native apps(from what I understand they don't)

[mikeo007]

In reality im not sure how much this changes the way or what apps you can run. Most all apps are built for 2.3+ as it is and if it needs 4.1 to run then it probably uses native android code and wont run on the android runtime anyway.

and like many here I wish they would drop the android support altogether and just go native and such. To me this hinders good app development.

Pretty much sums up my thoughts. What APIs does 4.1 add or update for Java apps the 2.3 doesn't support? More and more of the best Android apps are coming out with a pile of native code meaning they won't work in the BlackBerry runtime anyway.

[pkcable]

It's 60 days scheduled! lol

[darkehawke]

I think it's too soon to phase out Android runtime.
But eventually i'd like to see BB10 native apps mainly. But i recognise there is a long way to go to get there, and Blackberry 10 just isnt ready to go it alone yet

[SlcCorrado]

I think this is fantastic news. Now if only native apps would work Also wish there was some kind of time frame. TBD is kind of a bummer, but at least we know it's coming