RIM to support Android, Java on new Playbook tablet

In a bid to make its upcoming PlayBook tablet more appealing in a market dominated by Apple's iPad, Research in Motion (RIM) has announced support for apps from other platforms — particularly Google's Android. Canada-based RIM said its tablet will support BlackBerry Java and Android apps, as well as development support for other standards such as Native C/C++, HTML5, Flash and AIR. Presently, RIM said the BlackBerry Tablet OS is built from the ground up to run WebKit and Adobe Flash as well, giving developers a fast and true Web experience to leverage. Support for Flash may be another advantage of the PlayBook over the industry-leading iPad, which does not support it. “The BlackBerry PlayBook is an amazing tablet. The power that we have embedded creates one of the most compelling app experiences available in a mobile computing device today," said Mike Lazaridis, President and Co-CEO at RIM. Lazaridis added that 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." Aside from support for Android, he said the PlayBook will also have support from leading game engines such as Ideaworks Labs (AirPlay) and Unity Technologies (Unity 3). In a news release, RIM said its BlackBerry PlayBook will become a new market opportunity for all the developers who have already created over 25,000 BlackBerry Java apps and more than 200,000 Android apps. RIM said the BlackBerry PlayBook is scheduled to launch in the U.S. and Canada on April 19. On the other hand, Apple's iPad page indicated there are "over 65,000 apps for iPad." Optional app players However, the Java and Android apps will not function natively on the PlayBook: users will have to download two optional "app players" that provide an application run-time environment for BlackBerry Java® apps and Android v2.3 apps. The new app players for the BlackBerry PlayBook are expected to be available from BlackBerry App World this summer. The BlackBerry Tablet OS NDK will be available in beta later this year and will also be showcased at BlackBerry World. RIM said the new app players will allow users to download BlackBerry Java apps and Android apps from BlackBerry App World and run them on their BlackBerry PlayBook. 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. Also, RIM said it will shortly release the native SDK for the BlackBerry PlayBook enabling C/C++ application development on the BlackBerry® Tablet OS. "For game-specific developers, RIM is also announcing that it has gained 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," it said. It also said 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. "Developers will simply 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, providing a new opportunity for many developers to reach BlackBerry PlayBook users," it said. Users will be able to download both the app players and the BlackBerry Java and Android apps from BlackBerry App World. RIM said the PlayBook and BlackBerry Tablet OS are built on the QNX Neutrino microkernel architecture with a 1GHz dual core processor and a leading OpenGL solution. These allow RIM to make this broad platform support possible. Meanwhile, RIM said the BlackBerry Tablet OS Native Development Kit (NDK), which is currently in limited alpha release, will go into open Beta by this summer and be demonstrated at BlackBerry World. 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. Other features of the BlackBerry Tablet OS NDK will allow developers to take advantage of the QNX POSIX library support and C/C++ compliance for quick and easy application porting and for creating native extensions for both BlackBerry and Android applications. It will also allow them to easily integrate device events like gesture swipes and touch screen inputs, and integrate the BlackBerry Tablet OS environment into existing code management and build systems using industry standard Eclipse CDT (C/C++ Development Tools). “The response to the BlackBerry PlayBook from the developer community has been exceptional. Our commitment to supporting HTML5 and Adobe AIR development has resonated and spurred developers to create fun and innovative applications for BlackBerry PlayBook users," said David Yach, Chief Technology Officer, Software at RIM. “The upcoming BlackBerry Tablet OS NDK beta will add C/C++ tools to our repertoire and gives developers one of the broadest and deepest platforms to develop on," he added. Gaming engines RIM is working with leading gaming and application development technology providers such as Ideaworks Labs and Unity Technologies to implement their native engines and application development platforms. Developers will be able to take advantage of these engines when building games and other applications for the BlackBerry PlayBook. The Ideaworks Labs Airplay SDK is expected to include support for the BlackBerry Tablet OS soon, making it easy for publishers and developers to use their existing code to bring their games and apps to the BlackBerry PlayBook. "Supporting a new OS can be a challenge for developers. However, integration of the BlackBerry Tablet OS with the Airplay SDK makes this a non-issue. We think this is a far-sighted move by RIM: the BlackBerry PlayBook is a great device for games and applications, and combining this with content distribution via BlackBerry App World brings an exciting new ecosystem for developers," said Alex Caccia, President of Ideaworks Labs. RIM has also been working closely with Unity Technologies, providers of the highly popular, multi-platform Unity development platform and Union, the firm’s games distribution service. Through Union, dozens of high-quality Unity-authored games are slated to make their way to BlackBerry App World for the BlackBerry Playbook. “With a sharp focus on the multimedia experience, very powerful hardware, and fantastic games in the pipeline, the BlackBerry Playbook has all the right ingredients to be a mainstream hit," said Brett Seyler, GM of Union at Unity Technologies. “Through Union, Unity developers have an opportunity to reach a new audience and grow with another great new platform," he added. — TJD, GMA News