[cjcampbell]

I agree with the OP and have no intention of installing any Android apps on my phone. I'm fine with the apps in BlackBerry World. I just wish I could delete the Android runtime on my phone because it's a waste of device memory in my opinion. If I wanted Android apps I would of purchase a Android phone.

Posted Via AT&T BlackBerry Z10

Again, the Android runtime is what allows many of the apps in BB World to exist. It is a part of the OS and has been since day one. The only difference now is it is unlocked to us consumers and no longer have to convert to bar files to instal. This whole topic is being blown way out of proportion.

[propeller10]

Again, the Android runtime is what allows many of the apps in BB World to exist. It is a part of the OS and has been since day one. The only difference now is it is unlocked to us consumers and no longer have to convert to bar files to instal. This whole topic is being blown way out of proportion.

And it's just the runtime. People think they have full blown android in their phones.

[silversmith75]

Yea except it's almost like blackberry admitting 'yea blackberry is great and all but we need android apps otherwise you won't like it'.



Posted via CB10

actually no.. its not.. blackberry didn't release this as a feature of the new os update... thus it is not really for the general public... it is for devs... its just a bonus that the average joe complaining that there are no apps can now use them....

[afl777]

And it's just the runtime. People think they have full blown android in their phones.

Unfortunately...and I will admit it....I do not understand the runtime. I see android and dont like it....and Im not ashamed to admit something that most on here will laugh at me for.

I might be able to cure a legacy device of whatever ails it....but I am one who has the basics on my phone plus Twitter, CB10, FB...and thats it. No banking apps, no games....just basics. A phone "with benefits". ...and I just don't get how android is built in to BB10.


Maybe if someone...anyone...took the time and trouble that I take with many users to actually explain it....then just maybe people like me and some others wouldn't be thinking it akin to Armageddon

[silversmith75]

android is a mess...... i used it for 3 weeks i could not stand it.... some video files would not play, could not open some files... there was back buttons everywhere... ahhhh i could not stand it...returned it after 3 weeks... oh and i forgot about the randum rebooting...my zed has been fantastic.. way better than i was expecting...(after all the reviews i read) love my blackberry and the os is superior in every way... so i don't get to watch movies on my 4 in display.. i actually prefer to watch them on my 60in..but thats just me i guess.. if i wanted an android i would have bought one.. i wanted a blackberry so i bought one..

[spikesolie]

I agree with the OP and have no intention of installing any Android apps on my phone. I'm fine with the apps in BlackBerry World. I just wish I could delete the Android runtime on my phone because it's a waste of device memory in my opinion. If I wanted Android apps I would of purchase a Android phone.

Posted Via AT&T BlackBerry Z10

Android runtime isn't using memory if you aren't running android apps!

Posted via CB10

[Dominick079]

Again, the Android runtime is what allows many of the apps in BB World to exist. It is a part of the OS and has been since day one. The only difference now is it is unlocked to us consumers and no longer have to convert to bar files to instal. This whole topic is being blown way out of proportion.

I understand that it's part of the OS. I just said I "WISH" it could be removed because not everyone will install Android apps on their phone.

Posted Via AT&T BlackBerry Z10

[calicocat2010]

It all comes down to giving the user what they want. Most complained about how We weren't going to get the popular apps such as Netflix, Instagram when BlackBerry said they would pay them to build those apps to be developed for BlackBerry. They said No. SO BlackBerry had to come up with a New and different approach. ONE THAT satisfies a whole bunch of users. BB users get reliable communication , productivity and a secure OS device. Having the apps they need to go about their lives Is a Bonus.
HECK I bet if a New customer was to see 10.2.1 ON a demo BlackBerry 10 device in a store That person would probably buy it because A) They used to have a BlackBerry and B) It Shows ON the home grid screen The popular apps. That's what people LOOK for in a new device. They ask a sales rep "Does it have this app or this app? " This time Reps who Are fully acknowledged In the New features can finally say YES it has Android apps.
It is February 1st and so Once BlackBerry officially announces TO the world that BlackBerry can run Android Apps I bet the market will grow. Most people are tired of the same Iphone design and Android is more of a threat to have malware and viruses. BlackBerry has Not been listed on any of those websites detailing the high rate of malicious attacks. John Chen knows what he is doing. He was able to get a Global rollout of the new features to all 4 major carriers. THAT is huge!
BlackBerry is starting over and will rise to the competition.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using CB Forums mobile app

[Dominick079]

Android runtime isn't using memory if you aren't running android apps!

Posted via CB10

Android runtime uses the device memory that we need to store BlackBerry apps. I'm not taking about RAM. It uses 155 MB of device memory.

Posted Via AT&T BlackBerry Z10

[cjcampbell]

I understand that it's part of the OS. I just said I "WISH" it could be removed because not everyone will install Android apps on their phone.

Posted Via AT&T BlackBerry Z10

I don't want to say definitively as I do not know your app habits or what you have or have not installed, but I'd venture a guess and say that odds are, you have already installed an app from BB World that utilizes the runtime. I know of a couple for me, and probably some that I have already deleted for lack of use. I would have, however, preferred to have had full dev support and have had the app store full of native apps but that's simply not the case so I guess I agree with you in a sense. I wish it wasn't a needed function of the phone but alas, it is.

[jhimmel]

Funny, no matter how many times it is explained, someone will come along and ask the same question.
There are already plenty of threads about this, with countless attempts to explain. The explanations go ignored - and the next thread starts.
OP, if you REALLY want the answer, search. All the answers you could hope for are already there.
I don't own a DroidBerry, I own a BlackBerry. My bank never brought their app over to BB10. ALL other apps I use are from BB App World, and are meant for my BB10 device. So, because the Android Runtime helped me plug a hole (my banking app), and allowed me to continue to enjoy everything else that I love about this Z30, I am happy for the Runtime.
I hope you can understand that.

[ubizmo]

Since everyone so easily accepts the less quality working android apps why bother making a quality native bb10 app? When you can make one android app, put it in the play store, and people can also side load it. Absolutely no incentive to make an bb10 app, android users can't use it and that's also a much bigger market.

You keep asking the same question and the answer is the same: There's NO REASON for devs to build BB10 apps, WITH OR WITHOUT the Android runtime. The user base is too small to be worth the effort of all but a handful of devs.

Taking away the runtime wouldn't change this.

I left BlackBerry for Android last August, not because of apps, but now that I have access to some great apps I wouldn't consider going back to BlackBerry if it meant giving them up. Why would I want to do that?


Sent via Tapatalk

[jhimmel]

Then it saddens me to say I will be leaving in September for a non android platform.
Posted via CB10

That's perfectly fine. We all choose what we are most comfortable with. I guess an iPhone or WP is in your future. Hopefully you will be happier.

[tkulthenoble]

Ibone lmao... Sorry for posting this in this thread.. iBomb: Student, 14, suffers burns as iPhone catches fire in her pocket (PICTURED) |

[BBSpring]

By the logic listed here; When you buy a MAC computer and use Bootcamp you really should have bought a DELL or Lenovo, right? NOBODY calls those systems Appows or WINPPLE. Apple made a calculated choice to remove one of the barriers toward the adoption of the MAC OS ( LACK OF SOFTWARE APPLICATIONS), I think it worked for them.

The agenda of the OP seems quite clear. To many people, the ability to have 2 OS apps on one device is a great value add and a unique feature in an already great device. Any complaining seems useless and self serving. Take the paid trolling elsewhere! Or go and bash Apple for allowing windows apps to run on their computers.

[Playbook007]

The OP is just looking to make a mountain out if a mole hill and discredit BlackBerry as usually. If you have a Bb10 device, and that's a big if, please smash it, get an android and **** off. Thank you!

Posted via CB10

[celticmagick]

I really have no interest in the whole apk thing. In fact, the whole simulator approach never excited me - windows on mac, android on BB, nintendo on (insert mobile platform here). They're never as smooth as native.

Market share begets development. The best thing we can do as BlackBerry users is to let developers know we are here and are interested in their products. I've contacted two Android/iOS game developers to let them know I miss their games and hope they explore BB10 as a possible future market. I did ask in the forums about Splice but I would rather wait for a native app than go the apk route.

Other than Google services, Starbucks, and a couple others, I'm not missing Android all that much. Then again, I'm not a huge app person.

[Kraken72]

Yep. The only android app I have is Shazam and I've only used it 2 times since I leaked 1925 3 or 4 weeks ago.


Posted without the help of autocorrect on my Q10, 10.2.1.1925

[playbookster]

The runtime has been in every blackberry since the playbook. Not sure what the issue is here really.. Don't want android apps? Don't download them. To most an app is an app regardless of the coding language. It gives people the opportunity to have all the big name apps on their device that were missing and most likely would never have come to the platform natively.

[eddy_berry]

Market share begets development. The best thing we can do as BlackBerry users is to let developers know we are here and are interested in their products. I've contacted two Android/iOS game developers to let them know I miss their games and hope they explore BB10 as a possible future market. I did ask in the forums about Splice but I would rather wait for a native app than go the apk route.

Being proactive is a good thing. But, to tell you the truth, those app developers may not even consider building a native BB10 app. It takes time to do and time is money in any business. It's not like BlackBerry hasn't been going to developers with some incentives. They just don't see it being worth the time and investment. They would need to see millions of potential users to even consider it. Now tell them they can port their already feature complete android version over and all that extra time becomes a non issue. Then they may actually consider it given the small user base. Where is the harm in that?

Posted via CB10

[cjcampbell]

Being proactive is a good thing. But, to tell you the truth, those app developers may not even consider building a native BB10 app. It takes time to do and time is money in any business. It's not like BlackBerry hasn't been going to developers with some incentives. They just don't see it being worth the time and investment. They would need to see millions of potential users to even consider it. Now tell them they can port their already feature complete android version over and all that extra time becomes a non issue. Then they may actually consider it given the small user base. Where is the harm in that?

Posted via CB10

That's what they've been doing since day one. It takes very little time and effort to port their app but many still don't bother.

[propeller10]

Unfortunately...and I will admit it....I do not understand the runtime. I see android and dont like it....and Im not ashamed to admit something that most on here will laugh at me for.

I might be able to cure a legacy device of whatever ails it....but I am one who has the basics on my phone plus Twitter, CB10, FB...and thats it. No banking apps, no games....just basics. A phone "with benefits". ...and I just don't get how android is built in to BB10.


Maybe if someone...anyone...took the time and trouble that I take with many users to actually explain it....then just maybe people like me and some others wouldn't be thinking it akin to Armageddon

This is the android structure. As you can see, the runtime is just a component of android:


So essentially people are complaining that they have a virtual machine installed in their device that enables them to run Android apps. If a person hates that specific component for some reason, all they have to do is avoid android apps.

[matt0135]

I think we sit here and talk about what BlackBerry should do, what they shouldn't do, etc. Some say they don't have a plan, are stemming off into too many branches, android runtime this, android runtime that.

Do any of us here work at BlackBerry and/or at a high enough level within the company or know the new CEO well enough to know what the plan of BlackBerry is? Do we really know what they are doing?

Business is not a democracy. It's conducted behind closed doors and despite us knowing some numbers here and some facts there, it would be naive of us to think we know the whole picture of blackberry's struggle.

With John Chen we DO know the direction of BlackBerry to an extent. He's going to focus on what makes them profitable and marketable- BBM, BES, and services. He's not abandoning the consumer market either since he is including hand sets into the mix, so I don't think we should doubt that there is no direction over at Waterloo.

Yes sales are down, and it is hard for most consumers to choose BlackBerry when they are constantly being stimulated by Android and ios. This is something BlackBerry needs to address, and you will find that they don't advertise the android run time much, so I would argue that it does not serve as a band aid fix for anything. It is a feature that has been there from the beginning and serves a purpose. Some use it, some do not.

There are some incentives for developers to develop specifically for bb10. One is that BB10 supports multiple coding languages, and has gone to a fair extent in providing tools to make apps happen. Another reason above all is that if you are a respectable developer I would imagine you do not want poor reviews of your app. This impacts the rewards you get for making an app, and deters most of the blackberry consumer pool away from your app. Like it or not there is a significant number of us with bb10, so they would be loosing out in some way shape or format. Naturally we as the community should not be satisfied with just any old app, so we should be pushing for quality native apps as well.

The bottom line for me is that despite all the negativity, BlackBerry is still open for business and are still kicking. That alone is enough for me to justify my choice. To each his own.

Posted via CB10 on my awesome new Z30!

[ray689]

Can somebody give me a good reason why would an android developer make their app into a native BB10 app now?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Ya because they were falling over each other to make it native before. Not sure what you and the OP think the solution should be. It was very clear native app development wasn't happening and BlackBerry had a contingency plan given that the majority of consumers "need" apps.
You two are talking as though this is going to kill the platform. Not going this route and not having any apps would have been a sure death. At least this allows them to have what people say they need.
Oh and one last thing, I would venture to guess that over 90% of consumers have no clue what "native app" means. They just know they can get whatever app they desire.

Posted via CB10

[bradpromac]

All I know is that people are really curious about the phone I have when they see it. When I tell them its a BlackBerry, they say they used to have one but got rid of it due to the small amount of apps available to them.

When I tell them of the new update and show them through snap that they can get the apps, they get all giddy like a school girl.

I probably sold at least 3 BlackBerrys this week!

On my awesome BlackBerry Z30