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Rumor: BlackBerry PlayBook tablet to support Android apps

By

On February 28, 2011, 8:57 AM With Video

Research in Motion is reportedly looking at ways of getting around one of the major downsides of its BlackBerry platform: the limited app catalog. Rumors that the company is working on some sort of Android app support for its QNX-based PlayBook tablet have been circulating online for months, but recently a rep seems to have confirmed it while mentioning -- in video -- that the device will support Android apps using the "the Dalvik engine on top of QNX."

Dalvik is an open-source virtual machine that the Android OS uses for processing. If BlackBerry's tablet does end up using Dalvik, it would gain access to the second-largest mobile development ecosystem, which might be just the thing it needs to ensure more people jump aboard the PlayBook bandwagon when it arrives.

Unfortunately, we don't know who the narrator in the video is or if he's simply echoing back rumors that have been posted online. Either way, we're watching this rumor develop with interest as the tablet competition heats up.


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2 comments

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  1. February 28, 2011 9:18 PM
    aj_the_kidd said:

    Definitely a win for Blackberry if its true

    Reply
  2. April 14, 2011 11:34 AM
    Guest said:

    What happen BlackBerry PlayBook tablet

    http://www.technews5.com/2011/04/blackberry-playbook-tablet-
    ose-all.html

    BlackBerry PlayBook tablet lose all the right moves

    The PlayBook's design exudes the same sense of finely honed "business chic" that Research in Motion has perfected in its BlackBerry smartphones.But the PlayBook's software suffers from several missteps and oversights, especially in the drought of useful apps -- the very things that have made tablets such a hit -- and the lackluster performance of Adobe's Flash player.

    Reply

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