1. ericlc2's Avatar
    The video is really helpful, thanks.
    HaTaX likes this.
    08-07-11 06:17 PM
  2. laurah2215's Avatar
    I've considered trying this (because I always love a good tech challenge :P ) but I'm seriously worried about this. There are just so many steps are issues along the way. I decided that it just wasn't worth the risk for me. I'm hoping the official Player will be released and then I'll download/install.
    08-07-11 06:38 PM
  3. pkcable's Avatar
    I've considered trying this (because I always love a good tech challenge :P ) but I'm seriously worried about this. There are just so many steps are issues along the way. I decided that it just wasn't worth the risk for me. I'm hoping the official Player will be released and then I'll download/install.
    It's really pretty simple and the video is easy to follow with many on screen instructions. It really IS 15 minutes and it's done!
    08-07-11 07:04 PM
  4. chiniki's Avatar
    still no luck. Hangs on starting download. Tried the possible solutions now when I download I get a quick notification in the stus bar but nothing is in the message box when I tap it. The download just disappears now and I get nothing.
    08-07-11 07:06 PM
  5. HaTaX's Avatar
    still no luck. Hangs on starting download. Tried the possible solutions now when I download I get a quick notification in the stus bar but nothing is in the message box when I tap it. The download just disappears now and I get nothing.
    Actually that sounds like it's working... The notification that comes up doesn't have any text in it while downloading. After it's done, that notification disappears and is then replaced by the notification that the application was installed. That notification will have the application name in the text.

    After you click okay to download and it goes back to the previous screen, count to 5 and then go back to the application in the list. Do you see a progress bar moving at all or is it stuck at Starting Download?
    08-07-11 07:26 PM
  6. HaTaX's Avatar
    I've considered trying this (because I always love a good tech challenge :P ) but I'm seriously worried about this. There are just so many steps are issues along the way. I decided that it just wasn't worth the risk for me. I'm hoping the official Player will be released and then I'll download/install.
    The worst thing you could do is create a little folder that you can't delete without a wipe. Beyond that, there's little to lose here as a reboot will bring your PB back to life every time, and you can remove the Android player in 5 minutes if you don't want it anymore.

    Comon.... You'll be so proud of yourself as you're loading up lots of free apps.
    08-07-11 07:28 PM
  7. slyder3d's Avatar
    HaTaX...is there a possibility of getting the camera in android to work? thanks for all the work you have done to date!!!
    08-07-11 07:31 PM
  8. Altarocks's Avatar
    Can anyone show some pity and help a brother out with setting up the shared folders? This was never a problem for me until moving to Windows 7. I can't figure out how to set up the folders for network sharing. I can't use the USB connection, either, because my PC won't recognize my PB's drive unless DM is open. Here's where I'm stuck:

    Now it's time to copy the needed files to your PlayBook so you can follow along with the video. First, grab the needed zip file here: GApps-PB-rev2.zip, then copy it to the PB using one of the methods below.

    And once again, there's two ways to access the PB file system, either via USB, or over the network share if enabled. The path that you're browsing to is basically the same, you want to copy files to the "/misc/android" folder under your shared files. If you're using USB to do this, the path will look something like P:\misc\android (With "P:" being the drive letter assigned to the PB). And if you're using the network share method, the path will look something like \\PLAYBOOK\media\misc\android (With "PLAYBOOK" being the IP address the PB is currently using)
    Last edited by Altarocks; 08-10-11 at 10:57 AM. Reason: remove notifications
    08-07-11 07:37 PM
  9. HaTaX's Avatar
    Can anyone show some pity and help a brother out with setting up the shared folders? This was never a problem for me until moving to Windows 7. I can't figure out how to set up the folders for network sharing. I can't use the USB connection, either, because my PC won't recognize my PB's drive unless DM is open. Here's where I'm stuck:
    You can have DM open while you copy over the files, that won't hurt anything. Additionally go into the Storage and Sharing section in the PB options menu. Turn on file sharing and wifi sharing, then in windows press the Windows key + R. That should bring up a run dialog, type in "\\192.168.1.110" where 192.168.1.110 is the IP address for your PlayBook. (Found in the about -> network section of the PB options menu)
    Altarocks likes this.
    08-07-11 07:50 PM
  10. HaTaX's Avatar
    HaTaX...is there a possibility of getting the camera in android to work? thanks for all the work you have done to date!!!
    Not yet, but I'm sure that's on the to-do list for RIM. I wish it was working too... Would give us some options for video chatting!
    08-07-11 07:52 PM
  11. lyricidal's Avatar
    Thanks for posting this! Awesome to see it worked out after seeing all the effort you put in.

    I've made a batch file to help automate the process of installing if anyone cares to try:

    Instructions:
    1. Extract contents of .zip
    2. Launch AndroidMarket.bat
    3. Enter PlayBook IP/Password[if required]
    - To install Android Player, Press 1 and drag/drop the Android Player .bar file [Must be in Development Mode]
    - To install Android Market, press 2 and follow the prompts. [Make sure you've opened up Android Player/enabled Unknown Sources under Settings - Applications]
    - To install the optional .APKs, press 3. [Make sure you've opened up Android Player/enabled Unknown Sources under Settings - Applications]

    Notes:
    - .bar installation requires JRE be installed.
    - Android Market/optional apk installs require Android Player is open.


    Feel free to open the AndroidMarket.bat in a text editor to see what is being executed in plain text (for those worried about security)

    http://bb-h.me/market
    Last edited by lyricidal; 08-07-11 at 10:39 PM.
    HaTaX likes this.
    08-07-11 09:45 PM
  12. anty3139's Avatar
    thanks for the video, very helpful.

    i downloaded three apps so far and only one did not work. First was IMDB, worked fine just like in your video. I followed by netflix and did not work then in hope i gave newly hyped google+ a try and works.

    Hopefully RIM releases a full working version soon
    08-07-11 10:17 PM
  13. theninjew's Avatar
    I've installed the K-9 email client and it works just fine with gmail.
    do u have the .apk for it?
    08-08-11 12:32 AM
  14. HaTaX's Avatar
    do u have the .apk for it?
    It's in marketplace and the version there works great as lawguyman pointed out.

    Otherwise, Take a look here
    theninjew likes this.
    08-08-11 12:40 AM
  15. HaTaX's Avatar
    It worked bro, thanks a million, for real. If u had or are going to develop some apps, let me know, I'll support u.


    *Bonus Question*... Whats the best and quickest way to learn how to develop Apps? I know nothing at all, I just need someone to pint the way..

    Thanks again
    I actually do have an app that I'm waiting for approval on in App world. (Warning, small plug for my app following) It's called SimpleBrowser and is exactly that, it's a very simple full screen web browser. It also will keep your device awake as long as it's viewable on the screen. I had a need / want to have a full screen web browsing experience that kept the device awake while it was open. (Baby monitor is what I use it for) The basic version is free, and the plus version adds bookmarks that you can *gasp* rename, and you can set your own startup page or have it resume from the last site you were on. Not many bells and whistles, but it does what it needs to well and quickly. Sometimes it feels like pages load faster in SimpleBrowser vs the normal browser, but that's probably just me being hopeful as I think they use the exact same rendering engine.

    It's not a flashy application, but the memory use is low and it works quite well for sites that I want the entire 1024x600 available for browsing. And yes, it supports portrait mode as well. And as a little extra bonus, the free version is actually included in my Playbook_Tooks.zip file as the test application. So if you've downloaded that, then you can get a sneak preview of the free version that will hopefully be available in App World soon. (End of plug)

    Now on the development of apps, have you ever developed for any platform before? Have a working knowledge of Javascript/ECMAscript? If you really are interested, you should shoot me a PM and I can probably help you get squared away with a few things and point you in the direction of some helpful webinars.
    Last edited by HaTaX; 08-08-11 at 01:16 AM.
    theninjew likes this.
    08-08-11 12:52 AM
  16. HaTaX's Avatar
    Thanks for posting this! Awesome to see it worked out after seeing all the effort you put in.

    I've made a batch file to help automate the process of installing if anyone cares to try:

    ...............................

    Feel free to open the AndroidMarket.bat in a text editor to see what is being executed in plain text (for those worried about security)

    http://bb-h.me/market
    I've taken a look at the batch file and it looks nice and clean, I like it! I'm actually an old school batch file writer and you should see some of the monsters I've created. Much messier then what you've done here, kudos!

    For anyone else looking to automate the installation of the player and needed APKs, this is a great option. FWIW I didn't want to post a method like this as the one that was put out to the public because of the perception of the users not knowing what's going on behind the scenes. Personally I'm somewhat skeptical of automated installers and I think there's something for everyone to learn as they go through the process themselves.

    Anyway, that's not to discount what you've done at all, just giving my two cents as to why I put this out there as an instructional video. Anyone not concerned with what's actually happening, then give his batch installer a shot! Just remember to install the needed JRE for your OS type. (Don't forget 32bit vs 64bit)
    08-08-11 01:00 AM
  17. theninjew's Avatar
    It's in marketplace and the version there works great as lawguyman pointed out.

    Otherwise, Take a look here
    thanks! im trying to get market working via lyricidal's method. the method u posted was giving me an "unsuccessful installation error" so it thought i might try this
    08-08-11 01:04 AM
  18. dana_lopez's Avatar
    It's hit or miss with apps, most of them that rely on hardware graphics acceleration don't work. Also quite a few apps with "lib" dependencies seem to have problems.

    All of the apps you've listed I've tried and had issues with. FWIW, words with friends works quite well. Also, flash doesn't work right inside the Android player currently, not sure if that's something they'll fix or not honestly...
    Well, glad to know I installed it right at least.

    I'll keep playing with the apps and will check out Words With Friends.

    Thanks again.
    08-08-11 01:30 AM
  19. HaTaX's Avatar
    thanks! im trying to get market working via lyricidal's method. the method u posted was giving me an "unsuccessful installation error" so it thought i might try this
    Sometimes if your PB hasn't been rebooted in a while it will mess up installing apps via developer mode. Just to be safe, reboot the PB and then go turn on development mode in the options menu. Then go ahead and try lyricidal's method or the one I posted, either should work just fine after a fresh reboot.
    08-08-11 01:38 AM
  20. theninjew's Avatar
    Sometimes if your PB hasn't been rebooted in a while it will mess up installing apps via developer mode. Just to be safe, reboot the PB and then go turn on development mode in the options menu. Then go ahead and try lyricidal's method or the one I posted, either should work just fine after a fresh reboot.
    i got market installed but now it hangs on "starting download".......
    08-08-11 01:44 AM
  21. dana_lopez's Avatar
    I actually do have an app that I'm waiting for approval on in App world. (Warning, small plug for my app following) It's called SimpleBrowser and is exactly that, it's a very simple full screen web browser. It also will keep your device awake as long as it's viewable on the screen. I had a need / want to have a full screen web browsing experience that kept the device awake while it was open. (Baby monitor is what I use it for) The basic version is free, and the plus version adds bookmarks that you can *gasp* rename, and you can set your own startup page or have it resume from the last site you were on. Not many bells and whistles, but it does what it needs to well and quickly. Sometimes it feels like pages load faster in SimpleBrowser vs the normal browser, but that's probably just me being hopeful as I think they use the exact same rendering engine.

    It's not a flashy application, but the memory use is low and it works quite well for sites that I want the entire 1024x600 available for browsing. And yes, it supports portrait mode as well. And as a little extra bonus, the free version is actually included in my Playbook_Tooks.zip file as the test application. So if you've downloaded that, then you can get a sneak preview of the free version that will hopefully be available in App World soon. (End of plug)
    I've actually been using it all day today since I installed it last night as part of the Android player and i really dig it. Even crackberry.com with all the ads seems to load a bit faster than the native browser. I can't wait for a plus version where I can *gasp* rename bookmarks.

    EDIT: OOPS.... I guess this has no bearing on the topic of this thread so just keep on scrolling...
    Last edited by dana_lopez; 08-08-11 at 01:47 AM.
    HaTaX likes this.
    08-08-11 01:45 AM
  22. Erandhawa's Avatar
    i got market installed but now it hangs on "starting download".......
    Go to page 2 I was having the same issue its fixed now. Follow the steps there and also reboot the playbook. The google sync can take a while sometimes so maybe start app player go to the home page abd wait 2-5 min.

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    08-08-11 02:29 AM
  23. HaTaX's Avatar
    I've actually been using it all day today since I installed it last night as part of the Android player and i really dig it. Even crackberry.com with all the ads seems to load a bit faster than the native browser. I can't wait for a plus version where I can *gasp* rename bookmarks.

    EDIT: OOPS.... I guess this has no bearing on the topic of this thread so just keep on scrolling...
    Glad you like it! I didn't know if anyone would really even know who made it, you'd have to open the instructions and actually read them so I figure 25% of people will see it. And the *gasp* was more of a pot shot at RIM for including such a basic bookmark system. It may have thumbnails, but you can't even edit the name of the links or put them into folders or something. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on it.
    08-08-11 03:08 AM
  24. HaTaX's Avatar
    i got market installed but now it hangs on "starting download".......
    Try some of the possible solutions listed in the OP, one of them should jar things loose and get the downloads moving...

    Known issues:
    Stuck at "Download starting" - Possible solutions: #1, #2 , #3(Bold text), #4
    "Insufficient Storage Space" when installing downloaded app - Read the large bold paragraph above. (Workaround here if you've got the problem)
    Gmail app flashes and closes email when trying to read emails. - Issue with the HTML rendering engine in Android, no fix yet.
    08-08-11 03:10 AM
  25. AshDeezy's Avatar
    Been lurking here for a while trying not to embarrass myself by not being able to figure this out, but I'm getting frustrated.

    I have all the apps from the google folder installed. I followed to work-around to get the download folder with drw permissions. I have logged in to google talk. I have even followed the instructions to forward the ports (even though my firewall is disabled but I wanted to try everything) on my router.

    I STILL cannot get the apps to download. I don't get an error, and it doesn't hang. The apps just say "starting download..." for about 2 seconds, then a quick PB notification shows up and then disappears and the app doesn't download.

    The only thing I feel like I have left is to wipe the device but I really don't want to do that obviously.

    I know a lot of people are having download "hangs" but this doesn't seem to be my issue. They aren't "hanging" they just aren't downloading at all. Any advice?
    08-08-11 04:20 AM
233 ... 23456 ...
LINK TO POST COPIED TO CLIPBOARD