http://crackberry.com/whats-new-blackberry-os-1021
+ Additional Android APIs including native and Google Maps 1.0
+ Additional Android APIs including native and Google Maps 1.0
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BlackBerry OS 10.2.1 started rolling out officially
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Great news, been running the leaked version of it on my Z10 for a while now. Too bad Blackberry has no idea how to advertise, they've got a strong base here they just need the customers and the developers to develop for something few people know exists. Then again, maybe that's because they want out of the consumer market.
Yes. A lot.
They are not exiting the consumer market. The low-priced BB10 handset "Jakarta" for emerging markets will be announced soon.
I'm not quite sure what Blackberry plans to do if Google decides to block Android apps from non-Android devices? Or if Dalvik is dumped for ART, what will Blackberry do then? Add another major update? I don't even see how this is legal in many cases, as none of the apk files are coming from the Play Store. If the developer doesn't upload the file to BB World or doesn't have it on the own website for distribution, the apps are being pirated and this is with Blackberry's blessing. Not that Google will sue Blackberry, but I bet there are a ton of developers that might.
Ironically, this is the last sentence in the Crackberry article discussing added Android apk directly on to a BB running the latest OS update:
Ironically, this is the last sentence in the Crackberry article discussing added Android apk directly on to a BB running the latest OS update:
Also the likes of https://f-droid.org/ and Humble Bundle have their own app distribution methods.
Really tempted to pick up a Z10 to have a play with BB10.
Let me summarize Blackberry's Android runtime:
(1) It is NOT an emulator. Google open sourced the Dalvik VM and Blackberry ported the Dalvik VM to QNX OS.
(2) Prior to the OS update this week, ONLY "pure" Dalvik apps will run on BB10 phones. If there are native c/c++ codes in the Android app, that particular Android app will not run on BB10.
(3) With this week's OS update, Android apps with c/c++ codes will run on BB10.
How did (3) happen? Blackberry did what linux/WINE did in order to run Windows apps on linux (create a compatibility layer so that any time a Windows app looks for a particular Microsoft DLL, it points to a corresponding WINE API).
But people will complain that WINE has been around for 20 years and is still not that great. The main difference is that Windows DLL's are proprietary and often undocumented --- so WINE engineers are flying blind. Android runs on open source Linux --- so Blackberry engineers are not flying blind.
Are you going to be able to run every single Android app on BB10 now? I don't think so --- with all the delays, I don't think Blackberry has recreated every single Android/Linux API to QNX. But I think that people will be quite surprised at the level of compatibility in the next month or so they experiment with the new Android runtime.
(1) It is NOT an emulator. Google open sourced the Dalvik VM and Blackberry ported the Dalvik VM to QNX OS.
(2) Prior to the OS update this week, ONLY "pure" Dalvik apps will run on BB10 phones. If there are native c/c++ codes in the Android app, that particular Android app will not run on BB10.
(3) With this week's OS update, Android apps with c/c++ codes will run on BB10.
How did (3) happen? Blackberry did what linux/WINE did in order to run Windows apps on linux (create a compatibility layer so that any time a Windows app looks for a particular Microsoft DLL, it points to a corresponding WINE API).
But people will complain that WINE has been around for 20 years and is still not that great. The main difference is that Windows DLL's are proprietary and often undocumented --- so WINE engineers are flying blind. Android runs on open source Linux --- so Blackberry engineers are not flying blind.
Are you going to be able to run every single Android app on BB10 now? I don't think so --- with all the delays, I don't think Blackberry has recreated every single Android/Linux API to QNX. But I think that people will be quite surprised at the level of compatibility in the next month or so they experiment with the new Android runtime.
You touched quite a few good issues.
The main thing to consider is that Google open sourced Dalvik --- so it is all perfectly legal for Amazon to create the kindle fire and create their own app store. If Android switches to ART, then Amazon and Blackberry will switch to ART --- no big thing, the source code is open source.
The ONLY thing Google restricts are their own apps/services (Google Maps, Gmail, Google Play store...). If you are a smartphone manufacturer and wants to fork Android like Amazon --- you cannot put Google Maps and Gmail into your product.
Remember the big fuss a couple of years ago when android app developers accused Blackberry of putting their apps onto the Blackberry app store without their knowledge --- turned out to be nothing. It turned out that these android app developers uploaded their apps to some third party app stores WITHOUT reading these third party app stores' fine print. The fine print allows these third party app stores to put these apps onto the Blackberry app store.
If they're adding/increasing android app support, why would any developers build BB10 apps? IBM tried this back in the day with OS/2 and the ability to run windows applications. While it was a feature to entice people over to the OS/2 platform, in the end, it helped kill off the platform because no one was producing apps. I think this may very well be the same, why buy a Blackberry phone to run android apps when you can buy an android phone.
I'm not saying too little too late, but I think other then in emerging markets, BB is quickly becoming irreverent and carriers may be less inclined to keep them on the shelves.
Completely agree ..What BB needs is a killer app and device experience that can only be gotten with a Blackberry phone. Right now the perception to everyone is BB is dying a slow death they need something to change that perception. Supporting apps on a BB that they can get on another phone well they don't need a BB then do they?If they're adding/increasing android app support, why would any developers build BB10 apps? IBM tried this back in the day with OS/2 and the ability to run windows applications. While it was a feature to entice people over to the OS/2 platform, in the end, it helped kill off the platform because no one was producing apps. I think this may very well be the same, why buy a Blackberry phone to run android apps when you can buy an android phone.
I'm not saying too little too late, but I think other then in emerging markets, BB is quickly becoming irreverent and carriers may be less inclined to keep them on the shelves.
If they're adding/increasing android app support, why would any developers build BB10 apps? IBM tried this back in the day with OS/2 and the ability to run windows applications. While it was a feature to entice people over to the OS/2 platform, in the end, it helped kill off the platform because no one was producing apps. I think this may very well be the same, why buy a Blackberry phone to run android apps when you can buy an android phone.
I'm not saying too little too late, but I think other then in emerging markets, BB is quickly becoming irreverent and carriers may be less inclined to keep them on the shelves.
Bingo. Leeching off Android, plus retreating from the consumer market in developed countries = no more native apps. It's a waste of time to develop for such a miniscule userbase when you'll now have to compete against Android apps anyway. You may as well develop an Android app as well and at least be on a level playing field.