BlackBerry PlayBook to Support Android Apps! Is RIM Doubting Its Tablet OS Already?
Written by Rob Nichols on March 25, 2011 · Filed under Software, Tech
It has been rumoured for a fair while now, but in a move that might prove catastrophic for many competing Android tablets, RIM has announced that it’s forthcoming dual-core, 7-inch PlayBook tablet will indeed run Android apps, despite it running an exclusive operating system created specifically for the PlayBook, by RIM.
So what does this mean, exactly? Well, it includes native C/C++ development support, HTML5 as well as the controversial Flash platform, alongside Adobe AIR support. Put simply, this means you, as a PlayBook user, will have access to more than 200,000 Android applications, on the provision that the developers opt into the ‘quick and easy’ porting procedures.
The apps themselves will have to be run through one of two optional ‘app players’ as they are being touted, which at least keeps the apps separate from the entirely native BlackBerry apps. Whether you see that as a positive or not seems neither here nor there for RIM, though who can really complain?
With the power you’re getting in the PlayBook, and the vast quantity of reasonably priced applications, something unfamiliar with a lot of BlackBerry smartphone users, you have almost the best of both worlds. And on top of that, you won’t have to be waiting around for inevitably delayed software updates for Android either, whilst you’re making use of the best that Android has to offer: a vast quantity of good quality third party apps.
Whilst we’re on the topic of Android software, it’s worth mentioning that the press release for this latest announcement states that app support will stretch as far as Android 2.3, which obviously leaves no mention of Honeycomb, though it is assumed this will come with time, once it becomes the mainstream Android version on tablets. However long that wait may be, we just don’t know.
So, this raises some interesting questions for consumers. Were you intending to buy a PlayBook? Has this at all influenced your decision? Is this an admission from RIM that it’s failed to attract the third-party developer support that is required to be a credible platform in this era of gadgetry? Let us know your thoughts, as always, in the comments section below.
Via – Engadget
