RIM Brings Android and Java Apps to the PlayBook

Research In Motion (RIM) has unveiled plans to expand the application ecosystem for the BlackBerry PlayBook, which is due to launch in the US and Canada on 19 April. RIM will launch two optional “app players” that provide an application run-time environment for BlackBerry Java apps and Android v2.3 apps. The app players will enable users to download BlackBerry Java apps and Android apps from BlackBerry App World and run them on their PlayBook. They are expected to be available from BlackBerry App World this summer.

RIM says that developers currently building for the BlackBerry or Android platforms will be able to quickly and easily port their apps to run on the BlackBerry Tablet OS thanks to a high degree of API compatibility.  The new optional app players will be available for download from BlackBerry App World and will be placed in a secure “sandbox” on the BlackBerry PlayBook, where the BlackBerry Java or Android apps can be run.

Developers need to repackage, code sign and submit their BlackBerry Java and Android apps to BlackBerry App World. Once approved, the apps will be distributed through BlackBerry App World. Users will be able to download both the app players and the BlackBerry Java and Android apps from BlackBerry App World.
“The upcoming addition of BlackBerry Java and Android apps for the BlackBerry PlayBook on BlackBerry App World will provide our users with an even greater choice of apps and will also showcase the versatility of the platform,” says RIM president and co-CEO, Mike Lazaridis.

RIM has also revealed that the BlackBerry Tablet OS Native Development Kit (NDK), which is currently in limited alpha release, will go into open Beta by this summer. The BlackBerry Tablet OS NDK will allow developers to build high-performance, multi-threaded, native C/C++ applications with industry-standard GNU toolchains. Developers can create advanced 2D and 3D applications and special effects by leveraging programmable shaders available in hardware-accelerated OpenGL ES 2.0.

For game-specific developers, RIM has also secured support from two leading game development tooling companies, allowing developers to use the cross-platform game engines from Ideaworks Labs and Unity Technologies to bring their games to the BlackBerry PlayBook.