[sportline]

would these apps work thru bridge? no i guess.
but its nice to see bloomberg news and fluent in playbook.
any issues of crashing and device get locked up/ bricked?

[snuci]

There's an easier way to install your first app WITHOUT the Android SDK but thanks to randymc2641 for his alternative method and his first three steps. NOTE: one of the Astro download links in this thread downloads a corrupt file. Use the one linked in Step 3 below.

1. Download sys.android.bar file
2. Side load the Android Player (see link here on general side loading)
3. Download Astro file manager
4. Start Blackberry Desktop Manager and connect your PlayBook to your PC with the USB cable or start up WiFi sharing so that you can access your PlayBook file folders.
5. Open Windows File Manager and go to the PlayBook drive (usually drive Z)
6. Navigate to z:\misc\android and place the Astro File Manage APK file there.
7. You can disconnect your PlayBook now if you like.
8. Start the Android Player.
9. Swipe from top bezel down and hit "Set Home View" and select "Installed Apps".
10. Go to Settings > Applications and make sure "Unknown Sources" is checked on. You can swipe the lower bezel from left to right to go back the Installed Applications.
10a. You need the Android keyboard to work so g to Settings > Language & Keyboard and make sure the Android Keyboard is checked on.
11. Start the Android Browser app and in the URL, type in:
file:///accounts/1000/shared/misc/android/Astro.v2.3.1.noexpire.apk and hit Go.
12.This will install the Astro File Manager.
13. You can now Run it and you're good to go.

When you download other APK files, put them in the directory noted above so you know where to find them and install all subsequent Android Apps with Astro (or you can use Browser).

Hope this helps.

[randymc2641]

Wow, over 30 pages in a day... insane!! lol

My PB is in Tennesee at the repair center so I'll just envy you all until I get it back

There is a repair center here? (TN)

[phantograms]

Not sure if anyones covered this yet, but I figured i'd put this together since I had some difficulties finding help for side loading to Mac's earlier.

0. Turn your device onto development mode under Settings > Security
1. Check to make sure you have the JRE installed for Mac by opening Java Preferences under Applications / Utilities
2. Download the Playbook Tools by Hatax at
http://hatax.home.comcast.net/%7Ehat...book_Tools.zip
3. Once the download is complete, unzip the file, and place it in an easy place to find, for example, your desktop
4. Move all the files in the "lib" folder to the main "Playbook_Tools" folder
4.5 Placing whatever .bar file you want to side load into the Playbook_Tools folder will also save you a heap of trouble
5. Open terminal
6. Use the "cd" command to navigate to the directory you have Playbook_Tools
For example:

cd desktop
cd Playbook_tools

7. Run the command

java -Xmx512M -jar "BarDeploy.jar" -installApp -device THEDEVICEIPHERE -password THEDEVICEPASSWORDHERE your_app_here.bar

8. Terminal will initialize the installation, and run through the progress

Donezo

[TerrenceRowl]

CAN'T GET THE KEYBOARD TO WORK AND i CAN'T KEEP READING THROUGH THESE PAGES...PLEASE HELP

Restart the player after first launch.

[tampasoccer]

this is FANTASTIC news!

I'm not too technical, and I don't want to balls up my PlayBook, so i'll wait for the official release, but it's good to know that they're not just sitting on their a$$ in Waterloo!

[dosto]

Well, at least we KNOW it's coming; hopefully sooner rather than later.

[smasha132]

Restart the player after first launch.

thank you but that didn't work for me.....you did mean restart my "playbook" or is there an official way to restart the player?

[kzeusr]

Haven't tried any of this yet but i have a few questions.
1. Has anyone experienced any downside to this sideloading process?
2. Does it have any effect on the playbooks other functionalities?
3. When the update with the android player is officially released, will it overwrite everything (sideloaded apps, leaked android player etc)?

[YobMedia]

Manage to install the android player and sweeet... i really love it. Now i'm so excited to see the released android player. RDP works great and now i can keep my notebook/laptop at my home and carry PlayBook all the time.. this is really a game changer for PlayBook. Like it, Love it...

[randymc2641]

Haven't tried any of this yet but i have a few questions.
1. Has anyone experienced any downside to this sideloading process?
2. Does it have any effect on the playbooks other functionalities?
3. When the update with the android player is officially released, will it overwrite everything (sideloaded apps, leaked android player etc)?

1. Nope
2. Nope
3. I am sure we could backup and wipe the Playbook right?

[randymc2641]

And has anyone figured out how to have the Android Player show our apps when we open it?

[artman71]

I know I have been a "troll" when it comes to the playbook lately but I think with the leak of the Android player, I am willing to eat a little crow. All I can say is thank you RIM for the leak!! This has totally made my day!

[juched]

i dont think that it is that old, dated july 19th. but i think it is a debug version from the naming

[TheMarco]

You know, didn't RIM say that Android apps would need to be 'vetted' through App World to appear on the PlayBook? Yet this Android Player accepts any app. Granted not all of them work but it does accept sideloading.

We may want to hold on to this leaked version

[prez87]

Once the actual Android player is released, the CB community is going to have a heyday with ensuring that we do not pay for any apps and sideload every single one of them.
That is the beauty of Android - it is very customizable and allows almost anything to be "hacked".
Looking forward to the next couple of weeks.

[TheMarco]

Once the actual Android player is released, the CB community is going to have a heyday with ensuring that we do not pay for any apps and sideload every single one of them.
That is the beauty of Android - it is very customizable and allows almost anything to be "hacked".
Looking forward to the next couple of weeks.

As a small indie app developer I say: You suck. Big time.

[prez87]

As a small indie app developer I say: You suck. Big time.

I'm not the culprit - I don't even know how to use the Android SDK. But there are others, who will definitely provide sideloading options.

[jwn66]

Will an android slingplayer app work with it? What do you guys think? lol

[TheMarco]

I'm not the culprit - I don't even know how to use the Android SDK. But there are others, who will definitely provide sideloading options.

Fair enough. And yes, you're right.

In fact this reconfirms why I haven't bothered porting my apps to Android. People will pirate the **** out of them anyway. I suppose because Android is free its users consider everything that runs on it 'free' as well.

[prez87]

Fair enough. And yes, you're right.

In fact this reconfirms why I haven't bothered porting my apps to Android. People will pirate the **** out of them anyway. I suppose because Android is free its users consider everything that runs on it 'free' as well.

That is exactly the mentality that people have when it comes to Android apps. In a sense, it is a good way of thinking - but not very profitable

[DenverRalphy]

Fair enough. And yes, you're right.

In fact this reconfirms why I haven't bothered porting my apps to Android. People will pirate the **** out of them anyway. I suppose because Android is free its users consider everything that runs on it 'free' as well.

From my experience, the average Android user and the Android community as a whole, typically displays strong support for developers. In the Android community, users who even ask for shady sources to find free apps are usually rapidly booted out of the community.

Sure, any platform will have those who feel they're entitled to anything they can grab for free, legal or not. But IMHO, Android users show stronger support for developers as compared to other platforms.

[HaTaX]

Pirating apps for the purpose of never wanting to pay for them is the cancer there. Honestly consumers have no other way to evaluate say, 3 different applications to edit PDFs, without resorting to piracy. It allows them a chance to try out all 3 full versions and decide which is best for them. Think any user would keep 3 programs on their computer to do the same task if they're literate with computers?

I think a small percentage of pirates are the bad ones. I hate buying a new game only to find it has restrictions for needing connectivity or some other bs that "verifies I own it". Name one other line of business that treats its main consumers that do things the right way like criminals each time. Personally it's a huge turn off to me.

Normal practice for me is to grab a "cracked" exe for my game so I don't have to deal with that crap. And since I've bought and enjoy the game I've got a CD key that lets me play online, isn't that enough?

Sorry for the rant. I just feel there is some good in everything, including piracy. Here's a good example of it from the movie industry: Movie industry buries report proving pirates are great consumers | Geek.com

And for the record, I do lots of programming in the business world with mostly customized applications and the like. I'm a one man shop as well in pretty much everything that I code. I don't want my code stolen, but it happens and it's not something I would focus on.

/off_my_soapbox

[Ben Bubble]

Annnnnyway...I'm loving how i can browse the internet in search of .apk files...download them and install them - all on my PlayBook. We need to remember that this isn't a completed version, but even if this shows us just 40% of what to expect, this is awesome!

I mean I've just posted to Twitter with the Android client on my BlackBerry PlayBook?! Who would have dream't that up 8mths ago!? - I know its not world changing, but I really think when this Player gets an official, completed release...it's going to be game changing.

I couldn't help myself...

Here are some quickly put together wallpapers to celebrate the Android Player leak...




You can grab the original files here

[GaiusPrimus]

Has anyone uploaded the android files to a new server? By the time I got home to download the file had been removed.