1. ptpete's Avatar
    Zillow
    App gap? What app gap? Google Play apps on the Passport-img_20141022_224728.png

    AirBNB
    App gap? What app gap? Google Play apps on the Passport-img_20141022_224014.png

    Lyft
    App gap? What app gap? Google Play apps on the Passport-img_20141022_223720.png

    I used GMaps Patcher to do this. Very easy.

    http://forums.crackberry.com/android...rvices-914930/
    Last edited by ptpete; 10-23-14 at 01:23 AM.
    10-23-14 12:49 AM
  2. BergerKing's Avatar
    For some members, they will always consider there to be an app gap because the apps aren't in BlackBerry World, or set up to be natively loaded. Some are so anti-Google that they would never put an app native to that system on their phones. But, at least folks have the option. Most restrictions people experience are self-imposed rather than system imposed,these days.
    10-23-14 12:56 AM
  3. Hai Bo's Avatar
    Can you detail how you got the app over from Google Play please?
    I am fairly new to BB10 and is still figuring my way around.
    10-23-14 01:04 AM
  4. s.hasan546's Avatar
    are all the apps you tried working? How long do they take to open & load? google maps? Banking apps? Traveling apps? this would be awesome if all their apps basically worked. Frustrating to have 50% of apps not work or take veryyyy long to load.
    10-23-14 01:09 AM
  5. SaudiCracker's Avatar
    How did u get apps that requires google play services work!!?

    Posted via CB10
    10-23-14 01:11 AM
  6. ptpete's Avatar
    I used Gmaps Patcher. Discussion thread below. It is awesome. Takes 2-5 min to patch an .apk. They perform as well as on android.

    http://forums.crackberry.com/android...rvices-914930/
    hobbyboy#CB likes this.
    10-23-14 01:22 AM
  7. zocster's Avatar
    Hangouts is one app I need

    Sent from my Passport using Tapatalk
    yciwolf and cbosdell like this.
    10-23-14 01:24 AM
  8. geo1nah2a's Avatar
    Enlighten us!

    I have sideloaded Polar Beat training application, and while I can get it to connect to my HR7 heart rate monitor, the moment you start the training it tries to load Google map content and it crashes.

    Edit: nevermind the question! I just read your linked thread. I will try to patch Polar Beat and report back with the findings. Thank you for the heads up!!
    10-23-14 01:26 AM
  9. Chris S Mellor's Avatar
    The App gap is apps that you can't get from a Native perspective.

    Can you get access to the Google Play Store without downloading anything from a 3rd Party? No.

    Can you run those apps without patching them? Very unlikely.

    The app gap is there, a common user wouldn't know how to install via a 3rd party or patch apps. Just because there is a work-around, doesn't make it so there isn't a app gap.

    Also, there's the whole debate whether or not being a BlackBerry app or not counts

    Posted via CB10
    10-23-14 01:27 AM
  10. ptpete's Avatar
    are all the apps you tried working? How long do they take to open & load? google maps? Banking apps? Traveling apps? this would be awesome if all their apps basically worked. Frustrating to have 50% of apps not work or take veryyyy long to load.
    The only fail I had was Uber, but I am using the native knockoff "Ober" for that. I don't use that many banking apps. Also working are:

    Chase
    Charles Schwab
    Venmo
    JetBlue

    But to be honest, I've forgotten if I had to patch these or if they just worked from the Amazon App store.
    thedose likes this.
    10-23-14 01:30 AM
  11. ptpete's Avatar
    Hangouts is one app I need
    I patched the old Google Talk and it works for hangout chats. It even shows in the hub. The UI is terrible but it is good enough. I'd post a screenshot but it has all personal info. Quite cool.
    10-23-14 01:34 AM
  12. ssbtech's Avatar
    For me, there's little point in having BB10/Cascades and loading poorly designed Android apps on it with menus so far out of reach you need two hands to use the phone.

    So sure it's nice to have the ability to install Android apps onto my phone, but I generally find the Android design paradigm encourages poorly laid out applications with confusing menus, buttons with no text descriptions of their functions (I love.. er, no, hate tapping buttons at random before I know what function they perform) and overall poor aesthetics.

    Not to mention absolutely zero control over permissions.
    10-23-14 01:35 AM
  13. klusex's Avatar
    I patched the old Google Talk and it works for hangout chats. It even shows in the hub. The UI is terrible but it is good enough. I'd post a screenshot but it has all personal info. Quite cool.
    I'm using Google Talk from BBWord. Looks awfully but does the work


    Posted via CB10
    10-23-14 01:41 AM
  14. ptpete's Avatar
    App gap? What app gap? Google Play apps on the Passport-hub.jpg
    Flatman likes this.
    10-23-14 02:09 AM
  15. menshawy's Avatar
    I don't see an app gap at all because even with native apps, I find that they cover the majority of my needs. And there's unlimited options to install Android apps
    10-23-14 02:23 AM
  16. SunshineStateFlyer's Avatar
    The App gap is apps that you can't get from a Native perspective.

    Can you get access to the Google Play Store without downloading anything from a 3rd Party? No.

    Can you run those apps without patching them? Very unlikely.

    The app gap is there, a common user wouldn't know how to install via a 3rd party or patch apps. Just because there is a work-around, doesn't make it so there isn't a app gap.

    Also, there's the whole debate whether or not being a BlackBerry app or not counts

    Posted via CB10
    I agree to this. It is not about the capability of BlackBerry handsets to run a certain kind of apps - we all knew this would work before. If you have the right tools and know how you can run almost everything on any phone. People run Linux on iPhones and stuff like that.

    I don't care whether an app is developed in java or c++ or whatever language, even if it is a ported app, but it should at least be available on BlackBerry world or now also the Amazon app store. And it should run flawlessly without the need of flicking around.

    Trust me, I am in IT and I know a lot of IT and business people. They don't want to do things like that unless they do it out of their own interest. For business you just want a phone that works.
    10-23-14 02:41 AM
  17. Chris S Mellor's Avatar
    I agree to this. It is not about the capability of BlackBerry handsets to run a certain kind of apps - we all knew this would work before. If you have the right tools and know how you can run almost everything on any phone. People run Linux on iPhones and stuff like that.

    I don't care whether an app is developed in java or c++ or whatever language, even if it is a ported app, but it should at least be available on BlackBerry world or now also the Amazon app store. And it should run flawlessly without the need of flicking around.

    Trust me, I am in IT and I know a lot of IT and business people. They don't want to do things like that unless they do it out of their own interest. For business you just want a phone that works.
    Not sure if you're agreeing with me completely or saying I'm half right because I don't know what I'm talking about :|

    Just to put it there in case you didn't know, I'm in Computing and I'm a Software Engineer. Kind of. Student at a university but I'm just as good as a professional (who knows what they're doing).

    I think you're agreeing me, it's a been a long day and I'm tired so I can't be bothered to read properly, sorryyyy, (not being sarcastic or anything...)

    Posted via CB10
    10-23-14 04:54 AM
  18. Tre Lawrence's Avatar
    Not sure if you're agreeing with me completely or saying I'm half right because I don't know what I'm talking about :|

    Just to put it there in case you didn't know, I'm in Computing and I'm a Software Engineer. Kind of. Student at a university but I'm just as good as a professional (who knows what they're doing).

    I think you're agreeing me, it's a been a long day and I'm tired so I can't be bothered to read properly, sorryyyy, (not being sarcastic or anything...)

    Posted via CB10
    I think you were being agreed with .
    SunshineStateFlyer likes this.
    10-23-14 05:53 AM
  19. ssbtech's Avatar
    I don't see an app gap at all because even with native apps, I find that they cover the majority of my needs. And there's unlimited options to install Android apps
    The BB World / native apps cover the majority of BlackBerry users needs, but remember that BlackBerry users are just a fraction of the smartphone market. Why? Because the Apple and Play stores cover the needs of the majority of smartphone users.

    There is so much more you can do with the other platforms. Products from light switches to thermostats to A/V receivers to kitchen appliances to whatever else that come with apps almost always only launch apps for iPhone or Android.

    Sure I can install the Yamaha A/V app onto my Z10 to control my A/V receiver, but it's slow, buggy, has a crappy UI and doesn't integrate nicely with other features of the phone. Android Apps on BB10 are sandboxed, both from a security perspective but also a functionality perspective. They operate in isolation and there are no sharing features.

    Until the BlackBerry world logo appears next to the Apple App Store and Google Play Store logos on vendor webpages, the app-gap will always be a hindrance to BlackBerry's adoption rate.
    ljfong, clipskid and Tre Lawrence like this.
    10-23-14 12:15 PM
  20. Tre Lawrence's Avatar
    The BB World / native apps cover the majority of BlackBerry users needs, but remember that BlackBerry users are just a fraction of the smartphone market. Why? Because the Apple and Play stores cover the needs of the majority of smartphone users.

    There is so much more you can do with the other platforms. Products from light switches to thermostats to A/V receivers to kitchen appliances to whatever else that come with apps almost always only launch apps for iPhone or Android.

    Sure I can install the Yamaha A/V app onto my Z10 to control my A/V receiver, but it's slow, buggy, has a crappy UI and doesn't integrate nicely with other features of the phone. Android Apps on BB10 are sandboxed, both from a security perspective but also a functionality perspective. They operate in isolation and there are no sharing features.

    Until the BlackBerry world logo appears next to the Apple App Store and Google Play Store logos on vendor webpages, the app-gap will always be a hindrance to BlackBerry's adoption rate.
    Well said.

    You're last paragraph is especially crucial. Those logos and "app available for iPhone and Android" text have done way more to propagate those platforms than conventional ads could ever do IMHO.
    10-23-14 12:20 PM
  21. calcareer's Avatar
    The only fail I had was Uber, but I am using the native knockoff "Ober" for that. I don't use that many banking apps. Also working are:

    Chase
    Charles Schwab
    Venmo
    JetBlue

    But to be honest, I've forgotten if I had to patch these or if they just worked from the Amazon App store.
    These apps can be installed directly from 1Mobile. I use the Schwab app during the trading day and it works great. It even let's me trade 3-4 leg option chains.

    Posted via CB10
    10-23-14 12:46 PM
  22. thedose's Avatar
    These apps can be installed directly from 1Mobile. I use the Schwab app during the trading day and it works great. It even let's me trade 3-4 leg option chains.

    Posted via CB10
    Does the android schwab app allow you to post checks via picture?

    I bank with Schwab and this is a big deal for me. Looking forward to your response.
    Last edited by thedose; 10-23-14 at 05:18 PM.
    10-23-14 02:06 PM
  23. menshawy's Avatar
    The BB World / native apps cover the majority of BlackBerry users needs, but remember that BlackBerry users are just a fraction of the smartphone market. Why? Because the Apple and Play stores cover the needs of the majority of smartphone users.

    There is so much more you can do with the other platforms. Products from light switches to thermostats to A/V receivers to kitchen appliances to whatever else that come with apps almost always only launch apps for iPhone or Android.

    Sure I can install the Yamaha A/V app onto my Z10 to control my A/V receiver, but it's slow, buggy, has a crappy UI and doesn't integrate nicely with other features of the phone. Android Apps on BB10 are sandboxed, both from a security perspective but also a functionality perspective. They operate in isolation and there are no sharing features.

    Until the BlackBerry world logo appears next to the Apple App Store and Google Play Store logos on vendor webpages, the app-gap will always be a hindrance to BlackBerry's adoption rate.
    My needs won't change if I change platform. If I'm going to switch to iPhone tomorrow I'm still not going to install InstaGram for example. And I don't need to control the lights with an app as long as I'm still healthy.

    The market doesn't influence me what to buy. I make my choice and I'm sure majority of people are so.

    I agree on last paragraph though!

    Posted via CB10
    10-23-14 03:48 PM
  24. geo1nah2a's Avatar
    Reporting back on Polar Beat: I patched it as per instructions and installed it along with the patched gmap services.
    Results on my Passport and HR7 BT sensor: 1:30 training recorded with no problems. I even answered more than 10 emails while on the treadmill and it didn't crash. You need to "zoom out" to have proper user interface. Over all a better experience than the one I had with some of my android phones in the past (albeit on specific roms, on cloudyfa's pro rom it was rock solid as well).
    ptpete likes this.
    10-23-14 03:54 PM
  25. ssbtech's Avatar
    My needs won't change if I change platform. If I'm going to switch to iPhone tomorrow I'm still not going to install InstaGram for example. And I don't need to control the lights with an app as long as I'm still healthy.

    The market doesn't influence me what to buy. I make my choice and I'm sure majority of people are so.

    I agree on last paragraph though!
    That's fine, and it's why BlackBerry works for you.

    But there is a much bigger portion of the population whose needs aren't met by the apps available for BlackBerry phones.

    My Z10 meets most of my needs and I love the device and OS, but I have a hard time recommending BlackBerry to other people simply because of the app situation.

    The Amazon store certainly helps, but it's a Band-Aid, not a solution.
    10-23-14 04:37 PM
41 12

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