How to Run Android Apps on your Blackberry Playbook

Posted 11/09/2011 at 11:07am | by Seamus Bellamy

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The Blackberry Playbook is the red-headed stepchild of the tablet world. Since being revealed this past year, just about everyone’s taken a swing at it: Pundits dug it’s hearty hardware specs, but decried the device’s lack of native email or calendar functionality. Consumers loyal to the Blackberry name felt compelled to purchase the tablet based on the love they had for their Canadian built handsets, but quickly found the apps on offer in Blackberry App World to be few, with many of the available titles of embarrassingly poor quality. In the face of shrinking profit margins and angry device owners screaming at the front gates of their Waterloo, Canada headquarters with torches and pitchforks, Research in Motion announced the release of the 2.0 iteration of the Playbook’s OS—an operating system that tweaked what needed tweaking, offered on-device PIM management, the company’s much lauded Blackberry Messenger Service and the ability to load Android applications.

Thanks to the difficulties that RIM is having with getting BBM to work with the Playbook’s QNX powered operating system, the launch of Playbook 2.0 has been delayed until February, but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the benefits of rocking a few Android applications on your Playbook right now. Thanks to the clever coding efforts of a number of Blackberry enthusiasts, a little elbow grease, and some patience, you’ll end up with a RIM-built tablet that’s not only functional (finally), but also down right enjoyable to use. 

Step One: Upgrade The Playbook OS

Disclaimer: By downloading and installing Playbook OS 2.0, you’ll gain access to the ability to run specially recoded Android applications, you may lose the ability to operate some of the Playbook apps that you’ve downloaded from Blackberry App World. Also, if you were hoping to gain early access to the OS upgrade’s much touted native email, calendar or contact apps, proceed no further, as these features will not be available until February. Proceed with the download at your own risk. 

While RIM has no plans to release Playbook OS 2.0 until February 2012, the company is currently offering a developer’s build of the software and it’s wicked easy to get your hands on. Start by opening your PC’s browser and navigating to https://bdsc.webapps.blackberry.com/android/beta/bbtablet20/register/ where you can register your tablet with RIM’s beta access program. 

In order to download your copy of Playbook OS 2.0, you’ll need to enter your Playbook’s PIN number, which can be found on your tablet by opening its device settings page and then looking under About, tap the drop down menu in the top right of the page and select Hardware. Your tablet’s PIN number will be listed at the top of the page. A few minutes after submitting your PIN to RIM, the 2.0 upgrade will appear as being available on your Playbook. Connect your Playbook to a power source and follow the device's on screen prompts. 

The upgrade to the new operating system must be completed within 24 hours, otherwise, you’ll have to start the application and process all over again. 

Step Two: Place the Playbook into Development Mode

After you finish gawking at the changes to your Playbook’s operating system, access its settings and under the security pane, set a new password for your tablet. For obvious reasons, make sure it’s something you’ll remember, as you’ll have need it in order to access your Playbook (duh), as well as to side load .BAR files from your PC (not so duh).

Next, switch your Playbook into Development Mode. This setting can also be found under the tablet's security pane. When you slide the Development Mode switch into the ON position, you’ll be prompted to enter a password. Use the one you created just a few moments ago. 

Close your Playbook’s Settings page and return to the main screen. Look to the top right of the screen: See that little dude with the cogwheel stamped into his chest? The icon indicates that you’ve successfully entered Development Mode.

Step Three: Install Java Runtime Environment

With Playbook side of things taken care of for the time being, it’s time to turn your attention to your computer. In order to install .BAR files to your Playbook, you’ll need to have the latest version of Oracle’s Java Runtime Environment installed. The installer can be downloaded here. Follow the installer’s prompts and install the software to the suggested default location.