BlackBerry PlayBook won’t be short of apps at launch

The BlackBerry PlayBook will be RIM’s first device that runs on a totally new operating system, QNX. One of the problems with having a new operating system is the fact that there usually isn’t an ecosystem of apps developed for the tablet when it launches. Well, RIM has officially announced that this won’t be a problem – the BlackBerry PlayBook will have the ability to support both BlackBerry Java and Android apps (not from the Android Market). This means that early PlayBook adopters should not be left stranded with few apps from the get-go.

RIM has made it clear that if developers want their BlackBerry Java/Android apps running on the PlayBook, all they need to do is simply repackage the code to make it compatible with the tablet, and that’s it. Android and BlackBerry Java apps will also be allowed to be put up for sale/download on the BlackBerry App World. The PlayBook will also support apps created with Native C/C++, HTML5, Flash and AIR. This piece of news should alleviate any fears of the tablet having no apps at launch, although we need to see if developers will effectively join, or take a wait-and-see stance.

George Wong
Categories: Tablets
Tags: air, Android, Apps, BlackBerry, flash, java, launch, playbook, qnx, RIM, Tablet