Rumor has it that PlayBook OS 2.0 will be released within the next few weeks.
In addition to native email support, the big to do in Research in Motion’s second edition QNX powered tablet operating system is Android App support.
Although BlackBerry App World is fairly profitable for BlackBerry developers, BlackBerry application support, when compared to iOS and Android development, is kind of a joke.
Removing the objection “lack of really good apps” is the reason that RIM decided to support Android apps in the first place, but, I wonder if support of Android apps will come at the cost of BlackBerry development lagging even farther behind.
Will Android app support hinder native BlackBerry app development? I think that it will… I’d love however, to hear what you think in the comments.
I don’t know if it will hinder native development. I, think, however, that you will see smaller development houses opting to develop the Android apps first, put them on the PlayBook and BlackBerry 10 phones, and see if there is a demand for a native app before developing.
Android will end up a virtual machine. A runtime. Just like Android Player on PlayBook and Bluestack on Windows 8.
Kindle and Nook. Will always be fragmented on Android only phones and tablets.
More than 2K developers at BlackBerry DevCon Europe…time will tell.
I would say that it will absolutely be affected. I just submitted two apps to BlackBerry App world that I wrote for Android. I really have no intention on porting them to make them native BlackBerry Apps. What would be the point? They run just fine in the Android App Player…
Hinder is a strong word. I don’t think that Android support will impede native BlackBerry development. I just think that a lot of developers will create Android apps because they can serve two markets with a single coding effort.
I think the bigger is question, is will the average user know the difference? If when a user goes into App World, they see the apps they want (no idea of it being native vs Android ported), and it keeps them on the platform, it’s job well done. The issue is lack of apps more than its codebase.
From some of the Android Apps that I’ve seen running on the PlayBook, both official apps from BlackBerry App World and apps available because my PlayBook is DingleBerried, users often won’t be able to tell, and, more importantly, won’t care even if they are aware.
Because of this, I think that you are going to see developers opt to support BlackBerry by supporting Android.
very attractive
small quick apps will come in a android form, but more detailed apps where access to a non emulated or direct hardware access is needed will be native. Also the people taking advantage of the cool playbook native UI elements will sell more. Apps might start from android, but eventually developers will do a native version once they see the potential