Android Apps on BlackBerry PlayBook: More Details, Restrictions

Android Apps on BlackBerry PlayBook: More Details, Restrictions
Published on CIO Blogs (CIO Blogs)
By Al Sacco Created Sep 28 2011 - 9:40am

Last spring, just after Research In Motion (RIM) announced that its BlackBerry PlayBook tablet would run some Android applications via an "Android App Player," I posted my thoughts on what the news would mean [1] to PlayBook owners. In that post, I cautioned that until RIM made clear what kinds of apps the PlayBook would support, BlackBerry tablet owners shouldn't get too excited about the potential of the Android App Player.

Today, we've learned a few more purported details about the Android App Player for PlayBook restrictions and limitations, and the news could prove to be a letdown for some PlayBook users.

U.K.-based tech news site Thinq.co.uk says RIM representatives announced the new Android App Player information at the Eastern European Mobile Monday [2] Developer Summit's "Droidcon" event [3] in Romania today. And the Android apps on PlayBook restrictions are as follows:

No "live wallpaper"
No SIP or SIP VoIP support
No applications created using the Android Native Development Kit (NDK)
No apps that consist only of home screen "widgets" [4]
No apps that "rely" on Google Maps
No in-app billing services
No support for Android text-to-speech engine
No "cloud-to-device" messaging
No apps that demand multiple "activities" tied to the Android launcher

The lack of support for Android live wallpaper really doesn't seem like a big deal to me. And honestly, I'm not 100 percent sure what the last item on the list even means. But the other restrictions could certainly prove to be significant.

No SIP/SIP VoIP means no SIP-based Web-calling applications. No support for Android NDK apps will surely cross off a large number of Android apps from the PlayBook-app-compatibility list. And no widget-only apps means I won't be able to use any of my battery-gauge- or weather-widgets I use on my Motorola Atrix via Android App Player for PlayBook, along with many other widget apps, etc. No support for apps that use Google Maps is also unfortunate, as that's my favorite online mapping app.

Bottom line: It looks like a significant number of existing Android apps won't be compatible with the BlackBerry PlayBook and others will be "crippled" within the App Player.

Then there's also the fact that nobody outside RIM has any clue when the Android App Player for PlayBook will actually become available�RIM might not even know. The BlackBerry-maker initially promised the App Player last summer, but that never happened. The latest estimates are that it should be available before the end of November or so, though I'm not waiting with bated breath, to put my opinions on the whole situation mildly.

Android Apps on BlackBerry PlayBook: More Details, Restrictions | CIO Blogs

Originally Posted by Buzz_Dengue

[B]Android Apps on BlackBerry PlayBook: More Details, RestrictionsAnd the Android apps on PlayBook restrictions are as follows:
No "live wallpaper"
No SIP or SIP VoIP support
No applications created using the Android Native Development Kit (NDK)
No apps that consist only of home screen "widgets" [4]
No apps that "rely" on Google Maps
No in-app billing services
No support for Android text-to-speech engine
No "cloud-to-device" messaging
No apps that demand multiple "activities" tied to the Android launcher

LOL @ RIM. Let the excuses and the list of 'NO' start. Why even call it Android player then ?
The way they played it up during launch/ Blackberry World almost seemed like it would do a lot of things "androidy". Apparently not.
Ya ..same old story.. RIM overhypes and fails to deliver, what new here? :rolleyes:

Originally Posted by bb.pl

LOL @ RIM. Let the excuses and the list of 'NO' start. Why even call it Android player then ?
The way they played it up during launch/ Blackberry World almost seemed like it would do a lot of things "androidy". Apparently not.
Ya ..same old story.. RIM overhypes and fails to deliver, what new here? :rolleyes:

It would be good to see all the functional capabilities when it is presented at DevCon... wait and see the plan ahead.

That all sounds like stuff we don't need! And/or it would be impossible for the PB to have via the AP! Don't forget we have a TON of our own native apps for that functionality!

will skype run?

Well one niche that will never be available is transit apps for cities. They require Google maps which is on the list. Nobody is going to write a native transit app for the playbook because there never will be enough playbooks in any one city to create a viable market.

Originally Posted by qingyuank

will skype run?

That's what I was just going to ask. I presume no it wont given that no SIP/VOIP will work. If that's true, then its disappointing as Skype will never develop a native version for the Playbook.

There's a lot of very definite language in this thread that comes with no first-hand backup. "None". "Never". "Nobody".

#justsaying

personally I think its only a matter of time before someone figures out how to sideloaf once again and will get some of these apps working. Rim doesn't plan on having the andrlid market on the device but i am pretty sure eventually we'll have that as well.
Also it says Rim won't support it doesn't say it won't work. We had google maps working on the leak i think (its been a while)?

Originally Posted by Darlaten

That's what I was just going to ask. I presume no it wont given that no SIP/VOIP will work. If that's true, then its disappointing as Skype will never develop a native version for the Playbook.

QNX has been out for less than four months. Wait for them to release the developer's kit for Playbook. No big company will develop for something that doesn't have a NDK. It's sad, but give it time. The Android has been out for YEARS, and so has the iPhone/iPad.

Everyone is taking aim at QNX/RIM because they have no apps. Well, NO ****. Give it time. They said the same about Android, but then they released the NDK for that, and bam.

Originally Posted by TheStoof

QNX has been out for less than four months. Wait for them to release the developer's kit for Playbook. No big company will develop for something that doesn't have a NDK. It's sad, but give it time. The Android has been out for YEARS, and so has the iPhone/iPad.

Everyone is taking aim at QNX/RIM because they have no apps. Well, NO ****. Give it time. They said the same about Android, but then they released the NDK for that, and bam.

HERE, HERE!!! Who gives a **** about Android. If you want all this Android functionality then go buy an android tablet. Just anothetr useless 'feature' for most.

We want QNX development to hot up, then we will see some worthwhile apps.

Originally Posted by seankly

HERE, HERE!!! Who gives a **** about Android. If you want all this Android functionality then go buy an android tablet. Just anothetr useless 'feature' for most.

We want QNX development to hot up, then we will see some worthwhile apps.

I'm not familiar with QNX, but if it's similar to Java or even remotely Java-based, or ****, C/C++ based, then porting apps should be a breeze.

Originally Posted by TheStoof

QNX has been out for less than four months. Wait for them to release the developer's kit for Playbook. No big company will develop for something that doesn't have a NDK. It's sad, but give it time. The Android has been out for YEARS, and so has the iPhone/iPad.

Everyone is taking aim at QNX/RIM because they have no apps. Well, NO ****. Give it time. They said the same about Android, but then they released the NDK for that, and bam.

Originally Posted by TheStoof

I'm not familiar with QNX, but if it's similar to Java or even remotely Java-based, or ****, C/C++ based, then porting apps should be a breeze.

QNX has been around for 30 years. Tablet OS has been around for atleast 1 year

I am enjoying Skype on the Playbook via imo.im for now and until a better alternative shows up. It's smoother and a better sound experience than Comwave ePhone thus far, video quality similar, thus far...

Originally Posted by bb.pl

LOL @ RIM. Let the excuses and the list of 'NO' start. Why even call it Android player then ?
The way they played it up during launch/ Blackberry World almost seemed like it would do a lot of things "androidy". Apparently not.
Ya ..same old story.. RIM overhypes and fails to deliver, what new here? :rolleyes:

Because the "NO's" are the extra bits beyond the AOSP (Android Open Source Project) compatibility.

RIM can call it the "Android Player" (and use Google's Android trademark) because it pass AOSP compatibility testing. If you don't pass the compatibility testing suite, then you have to call it something else.

Go and take a look at their compatibility testing document:

http://static.googleusercontent.com/...-2.3.3-cdd.pdf

The base compatibility does NOT need to have access to NDK.

All the Google services (google maps, android markets, in-app purchase) are under different licensing deals.

someone told me last night... all good things come to those who wait... i think we need to all take stock and wait untill os2 and app player is out.. untill it actually happens or comes out we have no idea what its gunna do or be like. lets not geg our knickers in a twist and see what happens.. u never know rim might surprise us lol