[HybridGT]

Why do you guys think RIM might have made almost all of the PlayBook apps in Adobe AIR rather than natively?

Native apps would've been better than AIR would they not? For example, look at the pictures app. It was developed natively, and as such is very smooth and nice. The music app or appworld on the other hand, is all choppy. And feels like the hardware is underpowered.

[BB_Bmore]

I'm assuming because getting adobe applications on Qnx was easier /faster than coding native being that the ndk was only recently released. This OS is still in its infancy. You can look at BlackBerry10 as puberty...ewwws sorry best I could come up with.

[peter9477]

This one's easy... At the time they wrote those apps they didn't have the native SDK in any form that would have let them use it for most of those apps. No UI framework (coming soon in the form of Cascades) would have meant writing one... while AIR already existed.

[BBPandy]

They didn't have Cascades/NDK ect. completed yet so it was quicker to do them in Adobe.....though definitly not better. Once we have BB10 it's my understanding that they will all finally be native.

[peter9477]

Once we have BB10 it's my understanding that they will all finally be native.

This is also true...

[KermEd]

This one's easy... At the time they wrote those apps they didn't have the native SDK in any form that would have let them use it for most of those apps. No UI framework (coming soon in the form of Cascades) would have meant writing one... while AIR already existed.

Nailed it. And yes ive been told they are intending all system apps to be native however they have contingencies for air in case they dont clear testing...

... Or so says the rumour

[VerryBestr]

This one's easy... At the time they wrote those apps they didn't have the native SDK in any form that would have let them use it for most of those apps. No UI framework (coming soon in the form of Cascades) would have meant writing one... while AIR already existed.

Yes. And AIR not only existed, but apparently the QNX team had a lot of experience with AIR interfaces for QNX. I've read that they used AIR to build the user interfaces for various QNX applications, such as the QNX car systems. So they were going with the "tried and true" while waiting for the native interface to be developed.

[Darlaten]

The only reason I can see for RIM failing to develop native applications for the Playbook is that they released the device far too early and were, quite frankly, ill prepared for it.

The native interfaces should have been developed prior to the launch; RIM should have kept it's mouth shut until they were ready; and the device should have been launched after all of the native applications were ready and polished.

Releasing the device as it was and then attempting to code in Air while the teams frantically try to learn how to code properly for QNX hasn't exactley done them wonders in creating a must have device. Instead, it's been an unmitigated disaster.

[Gatmyer]

In kevins interview with Thorsten. Thorsten mentioned that BB10 was essentially ready and they were working on better intergration of all the code. Making more apps native was possibly what he was getting at here.

[Anonymous9286410]

developing native apps is expensive. can't see what RIM may contribute
somehow on a market offering more than 500.000 apps already.
Source: Global mobile statistics 2012

the majority on my PB are converted apk's and I don't need or expect
something 'smashing' else.

Damian