Since I have been using the OS 2.0 on my PlayBook I have been doing a lot of stuff with the Android App player and have coverted many .APK files to .BAR files to use. Let me explain how the file types work real quick.

BlackBerry PlayBook uses .BAR files no matter what the app is. Android files are .APK. You can use .APK files on a rooted PlayBook only. The guide below and files we have were APK files that were converted to .BAR files to be used with the android app player which uses .BAR files on the PlayBook 2.0 OS. The Officail release of PlayBook 2.0 is expected to be available in February.

Getting Started

To start using Android apps on your PlayBook you will need to make sure that you are running the latest PlayBook OS 2.0 beta. There are some cons to using this beta OS. Some of the native apps are broken or missing. This version of OS 2.0 is meant for developers only, it does not contain end user features such as: video chat, email, calendar contacts, video store, etc.

Getting the Beta OS is very easy. RIM hasn’t placed any restrictions on who can install the OS and if your wanting to try it out all you need to do is follow this link and register. Don’t worry too much, it is fairly simple to go back to the official build later on if you decide 2.0 isn’t for you.

Once you have 2.0 running on your PlayBook there are a few things you need to do to prepare the PlayBook for receiving Android apps. First you will need to have your PlayBook in Development Mode. This is done by going into your Settings, choose Security and then Development Mode.

Switch Use Development Mode from OFF to ON and you will be presented with a pop up telling you to enter a password or create a new one. Make sure to remember this password. You will need it later. This will put your PlayBook into Development Mode and you should now see a new Icon in the top bar of your home screen.

How to side-load apps

Now you will need to get your Windows (I’m sorry if your on a Mac) computer ready. There are a few things you will need to download and install. First is a wonderful program called the Dau Den PlayBook Installer. You will also need the correct Java Runtime Environment for your system. You will need either the 32 bit version or the 64 bit version.

Download link for DDPB Installer
Download link for Java Runtime Environment- 32 Bit
Download link for Java Runtime Environment – 64 Bit

You will also need to have some pre converted bar files to install to your PlayBook. We have over 100 ready to use bar files here in the PlayBook Daily forums. NOTE: You must be registered in order to see the links. What I recommend doing is to download all of the apps your are interested in and put all of them into a folder named “Bar Files” and place it somewhere that is easy to find.

After you have the DDPB Installer and the correct JRE installed to your computer and you have some downloaded bar files, go ahead and connect your PlayBook to the computer using your USB data cable. Desktop Manger may begin to run, if so you can close out of it. We will not be using it. Also you can dismiss the pop up asking for your PlayBook password. On your PlayBook double check to make sure that you are in Development Mode. Now you can launch DDPB Installer.

This is what you will see after launching DDPB Installer. It might look a little confusing, but it’s actually a very simple program to use. First thing you will need to do is push Scan, Doing this will automatically enter your PlayBook’s IP Address. Next enter your password and hit Connect. You should now see the OS, PIN and Version information all filled out.  Pushing Add will bring up Windows Explorer, navigate to where you placed all of your downloaded bar files, select all of them and then hit open. You will now see all of your bar files in DDBP. Simply mark the box for all the apps you want to load to your PlayBook and then push Install.

A new Window will pop up and it shows the progress of the installation. As apps are being installed you will see a spinning ring, once they have finished the ring changes to a check mark. DDBP can also be used to uninstall any apps you have side loaded. That pretty much covers it.

If you have any questions, just leave a comment here or in our forums.