BlackBerry PlayBook OtterBox Case
blackplaybookdevelopers
News, PlayBook 101 Randy

Androrid Apps for PlayBook in App World? The Where and How Explained.

Yesterday and so far today we have received a surprisingly large number of messages from people needing help getting Android apps onto their freshly updated BlackBerry PlayBook. Many were wondering where they go to get the Android apps because they could not find any inside App World.  Some users thought that they hadn’t even gotten Android App Player with the update.  The large amount of confusion Shows that RIM at least partially accomplished what they set out to do with Android App Player.  One of their primary goals for Android App Player was for PlayBook users to not even notice if an app was originally an Android App or not.  They seem to have done a pretty good job with that, considering we heard from users that had converted apps installed on their PlayBook and they had no idea that the apps weren’t native.  After all the questions we had sent in, I decided that I would take a bit of time to explain the Android App Player and hopefully help some of you understand it better.

First of all.  There isn’t a single Android App available in BlackBerry App World.  There has never been any and I imagine there never will be.  That might add a little bit more confusion at first,  but it’s actually pretty simple.

Android apps are APK files.  Or Android application package file.  This is the file format used to distribute and install software onto the Android operating system.  APK files are made by compiling a program written for Android and all the individual parts of the application are packaged into this one APK file.  All BlackBerry PlayBook apps are BAR files. They are made the same way as a APK file is for the most part, but they aren’t the same thing. So technically there are no Android apps in App World.

What RIM has done is make it very easy for Android developers to convert and sign their apps so that they will work on the BlackBerry PlayBook. The process of converting a Android APK file to a BlackBerry BAR file takes less than 30 seconds in most cases.  Once converted and signed these apps still go through the same submission and testing process as native PlayBook apps do.  The only difference is they run inside Android App Player, which is needed mostly because of the different ways users interact with applications on the two platforms.  On Android you have buttons.  On the PlayBook you have gestures that control pretty much everything. With Android App Player RIM did the hard part for Android developers.  Instead of each individual app needing changed by the developers to make your gesture register as a button press it happens automatically.

Conclusion,  If you see an app that sounds good in App World download it.  Try it out. With most of the apps you wont know if it is a port until you’ve launched it for the first time.

Join the forum discussion on this post
Free PlayBook Games, PlayBook Games Joe Styer

Free – Asphalt 6 Adrenaline HD for BlackBerry PlayBook. Compliments of BlackBerry

asphalt 6 blackberry playbook

Well after posting about the free Modern Combat, I noticed that these apps are to celebrate the launch of BlackBerry® PlayBook™ OS 2.0, ALL BlackBerry PlayBook users can download TWO FREE games – Asphalt 6 Adrenaline HD and Modern Combat 2 Black Pegasus HD  (that we posted earlier)- free of charge for a limited time, compliments of BlackBerry.

Feel the thrill of arcade racing like never before in the newest adrenaline-pumping edition of the Asphalt series.

BUILD YOUR DREAM COLLECTION
Discover 42 cars and bikes from Ferrari, Lamborghini, Aston Martin, Ducati and other world-class manufacturers. Collect them in your own 3D garage.

RACE YOUR FRIENDS
You can even take on friends in Online Multiplayer mode for up to 6 racers. Climb the online leaderboard to be the best in the world!

LEAVE THE WORLD IN YOUR DUST
These street speed races will have you tearing up city streets in L.A., Tokyo, the Bahamas and more. Each location is rendered in beautiful HD graphics.

CHALLENGE THE BEST
Don’t take your eyes off the road for a second, because you’ll be driving against tough opponents in 11 different leagues and 55 events.

TUNED TO PERFECTION
Take advantage of numerous tuning options to help your vehicles reach peak performance on any track. You can even customize your vehicles with decals to give them your own style.

Price Free Limited Time

Asphalt 6 Adrenaline HD  for PlayBook Available in App World Here.

Free PlayBook Games, PlayBook Applications Joe Styer

Free- Modern Combat 2 Black Pegasus HD for PlayBook – Limited Time

modern combat hd playbook blackberry app world

Special thanks to John for letting us know that Modern Combat 2 Black Pegasus HD by Gameloft is now free in BlackBerry App World. Not sure how long it will be free like this so follow the link below to grab the game while you can.

Finish what you started!
In Modern Combat 2: Black Pegasus, complete the mission unveiled in the first opus of one of the most acclaimed FPS games fro smartphones, this time on fronts all over the globe.

A STUNNING DIVE INTO THE HEART OF A GLOBAL MODERN CONFLICT
- Embody one of the 3 playable characters and throw yourself into 12 battlefields set in the Middle East, Eastern Europe and South America.
- Facial animations and instant-kill slow motion create a breathtaking sense of immersion.
- 15 weapons from real military forces that you can gather directly from your enemies and upgrade with several accessories.
- Blur effects when taking fire and dynamic lighting on your weapon contribute to the realism of the war experience.

THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE FPS MULTIPLAYER EXPERIENCE ON BLACKBERRY PLAYBOOK
- Engage in 10-player online confrontations.
- Choose between 4 multiplayer modes: Battle, Team Battle, Defuse the Bomb & Capture the Flag.
- XP progression through 72 ranks, reward messages, unlockable weapons and leaderboards ensure heated multiplayer competition.
- Gather your squad and face your favorite foes through Gameloft LIVE!

Price Free

Modern Combat 2 Black Pegasus for PlayBook is Available in App World Here.

BlackBerry PlayBook Videos, PlayBook 101 Joe Styer

Creating Folders with PlayBook OS 2.0 (video)

Mobile Now? Watch Creating Folders with PlayBook OS 2.0 Here

I have had several people ask already how to create folders with the new PlayBook OS 2.0, so I figured I would do a quick video and show how you can create, move and manage the applications on your new PlayBook OS 2.0.

Join the forum discussion on this post
BlackBerry PlayBook Videos, News Joe Styer

BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 Commercial “Intuitive Social Integration”

Mobile Now? Watch PlayBook 2.0 Commercial Here.

Wow the commercial are starting to show up for the PlayBook 2.0 OS and I am glad to see they are coming out now on the release date.

Bring relevant and useful social information to your contacts, calendar and inbox with the fully social BlackBerry® PlayBook™ OS 2.0.

 

Free PlayBook Apps Joe Styer

WordPress for PlayBook Available in App World.

wordpress blackberry playbook

One application that I have been waiting for on my PlayBook is WordPress, and today with the PlayBook OS 2.0 update I can now have WordPress on my PlayBook. So for those that have any WordPress sites, make sure to get WordPress for PlayBook.

Description: The all new WordPress for PlayBook™ app allows you to write posts, edit pages, and manage comments on the go. Both WordPress.com and self-hosted WordPress (2.9.2 or higher) sites are supported. Download the app and start blogging on the go in no time.

Price Free

WordPress for PlayBook is Available in BlackBerry App World Here.

Features / OS, News, PlayBook OS 2.0 Joe Styer

BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 Official Press Release

blackberry playbook 2.0 Press release

Press Release:

New OS delivers an enriched user experience for BlackBerry PlayBook tablet users

Waterloo, ON – Research In Motion (RIM) (NASDAQ: RIMM; TSX: RIM) announced that the new BlackBerry® PlayBook™ OS 2.0 will be released for download today. BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 delivers an enhanced tablet experience and allows you to use the BlackBerry PlayBook in new ways throughout the day – at work and at play.

“Building on the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet’s proven web browsing, multimedia and multitasking strengths, the new BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 introduces a range of new communications and productivity enhancements as well as expanded app and content support,” said David J. Smith, SVP Mobile Computing, Research In Motion.

New BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 features include:

Integrated email client with a powerful unified inbox: With BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 you have the option to use a unified inbox that consolidates all messages in one place, including messages from Facebook®, LinkedIn® and Twitter®, as well as personal and work email accounts.
Social Integration with Calendar and Contacts apps: The built-in calendar harnesses information from social networks and makes it available where and when users need it. Contact cards are also dynamically populated with updated information from Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn to create a consolidated view of contacts.
Updated BlackBerry Bridge app: BlackBerry® Bridge™ is a unique app that provides a Bluetooth® connection between your BlackBerry PlayBook and core apps on your BlackBerry® smartphone (including BBM™, Email, Contacts, Calendar and Browser) in order to let you view the content on the larger tablet display. With BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0, it’s easier and quicker than ever to take documents, web pages, emails and photos that appear on your BlackBerry smartphone and display them on your BlackBerry PlayBook for an optimized viewing and editing experience. The updated BlackBerry Bridge app also provides a new remote control feature that allows a BlackBerry smartphone to be used as a wireless keyboard and mouse for a BlackBerry PlayBook.
Improved mobile productivity: Updated document editing functions, the new Print To Go app, and increased control and manageability of corporate data with BlackBerry® Balance ™ allow you to get more out of your BlackBerry PlayBook every day. Plus, an updated virtual keyboard with auto correction and predictive next word completion learns how you type to enable faster, more accurate typing.
New apps and content: Thousands of new apps are being added to BlackBerry App World™ today (including a range of Android® apps that will run on the BlackBerry PlayBook). A new BlackBerry Video Store1 is launching today. Enhanced web browsing capabilities are also available with BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0.

In conjunction with the release of BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0, RIM is making available an initial release of BlackBerry® Mobile Fusion that will include support for managing BlackBerry PlayBook tablets and BlackBerry smartphones2 in an enterprise. The full release of BlackBerry Mobile Fusion (with mobile device management capabilities for iOS and Android devices) is planned for general availability in late March 2012. For more information about BlackBerry Mobile Fusion, please visit www.blackberry.com/mobilefusion.

Availability
The BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 software update is now available as a free download for all BlackBerry PlayBook tablets.

Source RIM Press Release Page

Features / OS, PlayBook 101, PlayBook Android Apps Joe Styer

BlackBerry PlayBook 2.0 – App World gets a New Look.

playbook 2.0 new app world

We knew about the new look and features for App World that was coming with PlayBook 2.0 and as you can see from the image above it has a very nice layout and easy to navigate. The screen shows and displays apps a lot better now, using the entire screen for the different categories. Very nice overall look to the new App World on the PlayBook.

Join the forum discussion on this post
Features / OS, PlayBook 101, PlayBook OS 2.0 Joe Styer

BlackBerry PlayBook User Manual and Guide Available Online.

blackberry playbook 2.0 user manual and guide

The PDF does not seem to be updated yet, but you can browse through all the features online. The manual covers email setup, getting to know your tablet and more. Overall it is a pretty good overview of what and how.

BlackBerry PlayBook 2.0 User Manual is Available online Here.

BlackBerry PlayBook 2.0 Hot To Videos are Available Here.

Features / OS, PlayBook OS 2.0 Joe Styer

BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 New Features and Enhancements

Here are some of the main features and enhancement for BlackBerry PlayBook 2.0

   

Email: You can add one or more email addresses to your BlackBerry PlayBook tablet. You can view all of your email (as well as messages from your social apps) in a single inbox, or you can organize your inbox to only view the messages for a specific address. Email management options allow you to customize your inbox view, set message alerts, include signatures and out-of-office notifications, and more. For more information, see the Messages section.

Calendar: Quickly and easily set up multiple calendars that work seamlessly with many popular message service providers, such as Google Mail and Windows Live Hotmail. Switch between Day, Week, Month, and Agenda views, and customize the display for each of your calendars. Use the innovative People view to see the contacts you are meeting with on a specific day. For more information, see the Calendar section.

Contacts: The Contacts app is a built-in mobile and social-centric contact app that enables you to synchronize contacts from many sources, such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. You can view status updates for your contacts, get updated news feeds about a contact’s company, and quickly see the people, places, and events that you have in common with a contact. For more information, see the Contacts section.

Android Apps: Access a large number of additional apps for your tablet. BlackBerry Runtime for Android apps allows Android applications that developers have repackaged, signed, and submitted to the BlackBerry App World storefront, to run on the BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0.

Home Screen Management: Organize your home screen by creating folders and by placing frequently used apps and folders in a dock for easy access. Just touch and hold an app icon and when it starts to blink, you can move it, delete the app, or drag it onto another icon to create a folder. For more information, see the Applications section.

File Manager: Use the File Manager app to easily access pictures, videos, music, and documents that are stored on your tablet. If your tablet is paired with your BlackBerry smartphone using BlackBerry Bridge, you can also open files stored on your smartphone from your tablet. For information about connecting your tablet to your smartphone, see the BlackBerry Bridge section.

BlackBerry Balance: If you have a single device for both work and personal use, BlackBerry Balance addresses corporate security concerns without limiting your use of personal applications. Your work and personal activities are separated using distinct perimeters that contain separate applications, data, network connections, and permissions. For more information, see the topic about BlackBerry Balance in the Getting started section.

Reader Mode for Web Pages: Reader mode allows you to select specific content within a website and extract and display it in a way that is easier to read. The surrounding website, ads, and other objects are removed from the screen view. The font size of the extracted text is increased and displayed on the screen in the same way as a book or magazine. To enter reader mode, simply tap the book icon above the webpage.

Documents to Go: Now combined in one powerful app with new features and enhancements, Documents To Go enables you to view .pdf files and view, edit, and format Microsoft Word documents, Microsoft Excel spreadsheets, and Microsoft PowerPoint presentations. If your tablet is set up to use BlackBerry Balance, you can keep work documents secure in your work perimeter. If you pair your tablet with a Bluetooth keyboard, you can now work more quickly and accurately using the Documents To Go typing and navigation shortcuts. For more information, see the Documents To Go section.

Print to Go: Print To Go enables you to wirelessly print a variety of files, including documents, webpages, and diagrams, from your laptop or computer directly to your tablet. You can view, sort, and manage digital files, such as documents, memos, or lists, as though they were physical sheets of paper. For more information, see the Print To Go section.

Touch Screen Keyboard Enhancements: The touch screen keyboard has been enhanced to help you to type email messages or communicate with your contacts on BlackBerry Messenger more quickly and easily. Settings include spell check, word prediction, and automatic word correction. For more information, see the Keyboard and typing section.

BlackBerry Bridge Enhancements: With BlackBerry Bridge, you can now use your BlackBerry smartphone as a wireless mouse and keyboard for your tablet. Watch movies, surf the Internet, or present a slideshow on your tablet’s screen or a connected HDMI display, such as a TV, projector, or computer monitor. Perfect for pausing a movie when your tablet is connected to your TV with an HDMI cable. For more information, see the BlackBerry Bridge section.

Video Chat Enhancements: The Video Chat app includes improvements to the user interface and further integration with the Contacts app. Any existing video chat contacts are merged with the Contacts app and any new contacts are automatically added to the contact list in the Contacts app. You can now see a filtered view of favourite video chat contacts, invite a contact using a BlackBerry ID or tablet PIN, and display a video chat on an external display using an HDMI cable. For more information, see the Video Chat section.