Will RIM Allow Android Software to Run on Its PlayBook?
There's a rumor floating around that Research In Motion is working on software that would allow Android applications to run on the company's upcoming PlayBook tablet. News first broke on Bloomberg, which got the information from "three people familiar with the matter." According to Bloomberg and its sources, RIM will integrate the technology into the PlayBook's OS and could have it ready by the second half of the year.
This would be a huge development for RIM and its PlayBook, which will run the company's QNX operating system. Being able to install Android applications would give PlayBook users instant access to more than 130,000 apps and put the slate in a better position to go up against Apple's iPad and iPad 2, Motorola's Xoom, HP's TouchPad, and every other tablet on the horizon.
How this all goes down, if it even does, remains to be seen. Earlier reports suggested that RIM considered using Google's Dalvik, the same Java software found in Android apps, but shied away from this approach following a patent dispute between Oracle and Google, Bloomberg reports.