More “Confirmation” That The BlackBerry PlayBook Tablet Might Run Google Android Apps – No More Dalvik...

By Mauricio

This isn’t the first time we’ve heard about this but now it’s coming from another group of sources. According to “three people familiar with the matter”, RIM is planning to allow the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet to run Google Android applications:

RIM plans to integrate the technology with the PlayBook operating system, giving customers access to Android’s more than 130,000 apps, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the effort isn’t public. RIM, after looking outside the company, is developing the software internally and may have it ready in the second half, two people said.

The Waterloo, Ontario-based company aims to make the PlayBook stand out against Apple Inc.’s iPad and a rising number of competing devices. By offering a tablet with the security and messaging of BlackBerry smartphones and the wide choice of Android apps, RIM may be able to woo customers who would otherwise opt for alternative devices, said Chetan Sharma, an independent wireless analyst in Issaquah, Washington.

When BGR broke the news in late January we found out that RIM might be considering the Dalvik Virtual Machine which is what’s used on the Android OS. According to Businessweek, RIM is no longer considering Dalvik but still plans to somehow integrate the technology required to run Android apps. Is anyone excited about possibly being able to run Android apps on a BlackBerry device?

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