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Tagged: RIM

BlackBerry Messenger spotted on Android

By Michael Crider
on 12 Apr, 2012

It's been quite a while since we heard about good old BlackBerry Messenger on Android. The last we heard was that a test app from RIM was over in development over a year ago, and though RIM has grown closer to Android through its Playbook tablet, that doesn't mean they're any fonder. The rumor fell through in the months since. In any case, TechnoBuffalo has got a photo of what looks like BBM running on a Froyo or older device. Someone's trying out the idea, but there are a few warning bells to consider.

BlackBerry Playbook to lose Android side-loading for fear of piracy

By Michael Crider
on 9 Apr, 2012

Well, so much for that. Just a couple of months after formally introducing the capability to use Android apps on their BlackBerry Plabook tablet, Research In Motion has announced plans to disable the updated OS' capability to install Android apps outside of the BlackBerry App World. AllThingsD reports that the OS 2.1 update will disable the side-loading feature, though RIM is working on a solution for developers to get their apps on tablets. Their reasoning? That good old standby justification for crippling hardware and software: piracy.

Playbook OS 2.0 available today, officially brings Android apps to BlackBerry

By Cory Gunther
on 21 Feb, 2012

Wait a minute, BlackBerry Playbook news on an Android site? Yup. This is a PSA to let the few that care know that the BlackBerry Playbook has just been updated starting today to their new OS v2.0 bringing Android app support and a few other desperately needed features to the tablet. Now it even has native email support -- Impressive!

Porting your Android app to the BlackBerry PlayBook? Make due without ads

By Michael Crider
on 17 Feb, 2012

A lot of Android developers have been looking at the BlackBerry PlayBook as a new revenue platform, since RIM has developed a set of tools that make porting Android apps to the PlayBook OS a piece of cake. That interest only increased when RIM started literally giving tablets away to Android developers who joined the program. There's a hitch in the process, however: according to GigaOm, a RIM representative has stated that apps ported using the Android App Player won't support mobile ads, in addition to other limitations.

Desperate measures: BlackBerry Playbook developer giveaway extended by two weeks

By Michael Crider
on 13 Feb, 2012

Remember that stunk that BlackBerry maker RIM pulled to get Android developers to submit their apps to the BlackBerry App World? You know, the one that essentially gives away the company's one and only tablet to anyone willing to jump ship? After an excited initial response from Android developers, RIM has decided to extend the promotional program by two weeks. Devs, get those fingers in gear and head on over to the BlackBerry FAQ to get the skinny - you've got until March 2nd to submit your app, but only until February 15th (Wednesday) to sign up.

RIM claims BlackBerry apps make more money than Android apps

By Michael Crider
on 7 Feb, 2012

Oh, RIM. Pity the once-might conquerors of the corporate smartphone world, for they have been reduced to petty sniping while trying to emulate that which they hate. In its latest fit of corporate chest-thumping, the BlackBerry manufacturer has shouted to its European developer conference that apps on the BlackBerry App World are more profitable than their Android counterparts. Citing some numbers from their own analytics (which, to be fair, we've got no basis for disputing) CEO Thorsten Heins and other executives claimed that BBAW apps earn 40% more than Android apps, and that 13% of BlackBerry developers have made more than $100,000 dollars. By Android Community's incredibly unofficial estimates, that's approximately 13 people.

RIM lures Android developers with free BlackBerry PlayBooks

By Michael Crider
on 2 Feb, 2012

Are you an Android developer? Do you collect obsolete and failed pieces of technology in a museum of electronic sadness? Looking for something to fill the space in between your HP TouchPad, Palm Folio and Nintendo Virtual Boy? Then Research in Motion has a deal for you. The Canadian BlackBerry manufacturer wants to build buzz around the OS 2.0 update for its PlayBook tablet, which includes an easy method to port Android apps over to its native software. Tweak an app for the PlayBook and submit it to their app store, and RIM will send you a PlayBook free, gratis and for nothing.

BlackBerry Playbook gets Android apps after February 6th

By Michael Crider
on 31 Jan, 2012

Got a BlackBerry Playbook? If the ales figures are anything to go by, probably not - but hey, maybe you've got a friend or a boss who was brought low by a Staples salesman. If that's the case, be sure and tell him or her that the handful of apps huddling together for warmth in RIM's app store will soon have some welcome company. The company's Developer Relations team posted today that the long, long-awaited OS 2.0 update will hit in February, with the BlackBerry Runtime for Android included in the package. It's almost as welcome as a real email client. The service has been in closed beta for some time now.

RIM’s new CEO says that all Android phones are the same, kettles are also black

By Michael Crider
on 27 Jan, 2012

On the off-chance that there are any RIM investors reading this story, hoping against hope that the company would try something drastic (like using Android) to reverse its worldwide downward slide... you might want to give your portfolio manager a call. After months of almost universally gloomy news for the Blackberry manufacturer, they installed a new CEO this week, Thorsten Heins. When asked by Crackberry if the company would consider switching to an Android-based software system and abandon their often delayed and underwhelming BlackBerry OS, Heins said "“there is just no room for differentiation because [Android phones] are all the same.”

BlackBerry Playbook gets hacked Android Market support

By Michael Crider
on 6 Dec, 2011

We don't cover the BlackBerry Playbook here on Android Community because, well, it's a BlackBerry. But some recent community mods may change that, at least after a fashion. IntoMobile reports that the latest rage amongst Playbook modders is rooting via a tool called Dingleberry (no comments form the peanut gallery, please). It turns out that if you root the latest version of the Playbook's Beta software, it's possible to use the Android emulator software therein to run just about any Android app you like - including the Android Market and other Google apps.