Android App Player for the BlackBerry PlayBook leaked
By
Bla1ze on 21 Jul 2011 01:24 pm
If you're interested in poking around a system that may or may not work then you'll be pleased to know that the Android app player for the BlackBerry PlayBook has now leaked -- directly off of RIM's servers. It appears someone carelessly left the URL to the file in the latest beta build of BlackBerry Desktop Manager. You'll need to sideload it in order to get it installed and again, it may -- or may not work. Grab the file while it's hot, we got a feeling it won't last.
Download the leaked Android app player for the BlackBerry PlayBook
Source: N4BB
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Barefoot_Kevin Jul 21, 2011 at 1:26 pm
Okie Dokie. Here's Hopin.
ianbordas Jul 21, 2011 at 1:47 pm
I learned my lesson on this last OS update... not trying this until it's official and proven!
Jonathank Jul 21, 2011 at 2:23 pm
Mr. K I Agree ..But soooo Tempted lol....But No Apps not worth the Risk...
khushang88 Jul 21, 2011 at 1:27 pm
How do I install it on PlayBook?
randymc2641 Jul 21, 2011 at 1:30 pm
Check out http://forums.crackberry.com/blackberry-playbook-f222/side-load-playbook...
khushang88 Jul 21, 2011 at 1:33 pm
Thanks.
beckettnole Jul 26, 2011 at 5:04 pm
were you able to install? mine wont for some reason :-(
shawnOST Jul 21, 2011 at 1:28 pm
Nice! So who's going to be daring?
chefmorry Jul 21, 2011 at 1:29 pm
Installing it isn't a problem.....but how does one install android apps once the player is loaded?
randymc2641 Jul 21, 2011 at 1:30 pm
That's what I would like to know.
jhalupa Jul 21, 2011 at 1:33 pm
Wondering the same thing. Would love to get something happening with this.
GottaUseABlackBerry Jul 21, 2011 at 4:25 pm
i tried to install skype through the android market on the web, but it wouldn't let me download it :p. and how do you exit out of something once it's opened?
netviper Jul 21, 2011 at 1:29 pm
I am getting it. Not sure what it will do though..
vx1 Jul 21, 2011 at 1:29 pm
hey fancy .. they are somewhat on time :)
randymc2641 Jul 21, 2011 at 1:31 pm
I think it just killed my playbook..... :(
randymc2641 Jul 21, 2011 at 1:35 pm
OK it's not dead, just in a coma. PB totally unresponsive, but detected in Desktop Manager, and charging light comes on.....
randymc2641 Jul 21, 2011 at 1:36 pm
Oops, that was 9650 that DM detected, but windows detected the PB at least, now hopefully it will revive itself.
Jonathank Jul 21, 2011 at 1:45 pm
Mr. K Whats the word??
Jonathank Jul 21, 2011 at 1:43 pm
Mr. K Befor i download i would like to know how your playbook is doing???? lol did u get it working
randymc2641 Jul 21, 2011 at 1:50 pm
My playbook did revive itself, it rebooted, when I ran it again, it opened fine (still nothing to do when it is running) and went into a coma again when trying to close using the swipe up gesture.
neoflasher Jul 21, 2011 at 1:32 pm
I just don't believe that "accidentally" some one left his url.... Installing it though and as soon as someone know how to load apps let me know.. thanks
SupaCoop Jul 21, 2011 at 1:37 pm
25% installed.... Here's hoping it works out!
then of course, as others have mentioned, we need to figure out how to get Apps on it.
arvindh Jul 21, 2011 at 1:38 pm
Is it working for anyone?
SAMSUNG GALAXY S2
PLAYBOOK 16GB
jacmeister68 Jul 21, 2011 at 4:45 pm
Hi you couldnt wait for the 9900 then, its only around the corner. how do you like the SGS2
No BB Drone Jul 22, 2011 at 4:20 am
S2 dances circles around the sensation 4G and Iphone , just think of what it does to a blackberry
SupaCoop Jul 21, 2011 at 1:40 pm
Installed..... How do I download and load on android apps now?
Anyone figure that out? ;P
tbird2000 Jul 21, 2011 at 1:40 pm
Awesome!!!!! Cant wait to get into this badboy
ignaciocalvete Jul 21, 2011 at 1:43 pm
why people yust can´t wait to official relases? each person have a betatester inside.
SupaCoop Jul 21, 2011 at 1:50 pm
We can't wait because this was promised previously and it's late!
SupaCoop Jul 21, 2011 at 1:55 pm
So yeah.... I've opened the player a few times and it didn't do anything....
I've now had it say "Initializing player, please wait" then it went to a garbles "coloured snow" screen and now I've got the BB logo with a teal colour doing a bit of a white scroll diagonally from upper left to lower right....
no menus or anything to access the .apk file I've placed in my downloads folder.
I'm gonna let it sit here for a bit and se...
Ok.... now I have a grey screen that has a slim bar at the top that says "Recent Tasks"
If I do a top-down menu swipe, an orange bar shows at the bottom which says "Set Home View"
Interesting......
randymc2641 Jul 21, 2011 at 2:01 pm
seriously? Mine never even said "Initializing player, please wait" And my Playbook is on it's 3rd life today, it restarted again.
slingxshot Jul 21, 2011 at 2:01 pm
this is no accident, I downloaded the app @ 10megaBYTEs/s, they are hosting this on a speedy set of servers...
randymc2641 Jul 21, 2011 at 2:05 pm
Hey, make sure you post if everything goes smooth on exiting. Thanks
birdman_36 Jul 21, 2011 at 2:02 pm
I'd never install this crap.
SupaCoop Jul 21, 2011 at 2:01 pm
I'm finding more!!! I got some menu system!
khushang88 Jul 21, 2011 at 2:03 pm
Can you post some screenshots?
Dapper37 Jul 21, 2011 at 2:02 pm
my hats off to the guys that are giving it a go.
walabe16 Jul 21, 2011 at 2:05 pm
Hope you buys have all backed up your PBs recently.
randymc2641 Jul 21, 2011 at 2:07 pm
Ah seems I was being impatient, got it loaded now.
randymc2641 Jul 21, 2011 at 2:10 pm
got lots of neat things under installed applications
[IMG]http://i52.tinypic.com/5bdaab.jpg[/IMG]
http://i52.tinypic.com/5bdaab.jpg
aqasem Jul 21, 2011 at 2:08 pm
it is working but still without apps
also once you select a menu there is no way to go back !!
johnmarki Jul 21, 2011 at 2:15 pm
Edit: Nevermind I was wrong.
SupaCoop Jul 21, 2011 at 2:08 pm
Ok... the "Set home view" allows you to pick multiple options.
I was able to get to "Installed Applications"
This provides a menu system for Settings, Messaging, Email, Clock, Phone, Contacts, Camera, Calendar, Browser, Voice Dialer, Gallery, Downloads, Dev Tools and Calculator.
This is a very unfinished product as there is no possible way to navigate back from anywhere you go.
This is fucking sweeeeeeeeet!
OH and I was successful in setting up an e-mail account thought it.....
OMG!!!! I HAVE NATIVE EMAIL!!!!!!!
thezman Jul 21, 2011 at 2:11 pm
how did you type? I can't get it to respond to the BB PB keyboard.
thezman Jul 21, 2011 at 2:19 pm
Nevermind. Just restarted it and now I have the android keyboard.
robpasell Jul 21, 2011 at 4:58 pm
Left to right, or right to left swipe in the lower gesture area will go back.
Kiddo2050 Jul 21, 2011 at 2:08 pm
Sounds like we are months away from the Android player.
randymc2641 Jul 21, 2011 at 2:09 pm
how do i post a screen shot here?
khushang88 Jul 21, 2011 at 2:10 pm
Post it wherever you want and just paste the link over here
randymc2641 Jul 21, 2011 at 2:11 pm
http://i52.tinypic.com/5bdaab.jpg
khushang88 Jul 21, 2011 at 2:14 pm
Does anything out of it work?
randymc2641 Jul 21, 2011 at 2:18 pm
trying, the email setup menus work, can't get it to verify my email, but i might have forgotten my password lol
khushang88 Jul 21, 2011 at 2:25 pm
What about .apk files?
can you install them?
aqasem Jul 21, 2011 at 2:13 pm
it also has a different keyboard layout !!
bquinney Jul 21, 2011 at 2:13 pm
Interesting....apparently it's the 2.3.3 version as well according to: http://www.androidcentral.com/blackberry-playbook-has-newer-version-andr...
Jonathank Jul 21, 2011 at 2:14 pm
Mr. K Whats the word people??? is it working?? is it a Go red team go for the download....any issues???
randymc2641 Jul 21, 2011 at 2:14 pm
and here is screen shot of email setup: http://i52.tinypic.com/182esw.jpg
shupor Jul 21, 2011 at 2:15 pm
Definitely giving it a go once i get outta work. Who cares if the PB crashes? lol!!!
randymc2641 Jul 21, 2011 at 2:17 pm
just be patient and it wont crash
lnichols Jul 21, 2011 at 2:17 pm
Leaks right after the crypto kernel is approved.... Hmmm!
khushang88 Jul 21, 2011 at 2:19 pm
You have got a point over there
kris3kgt Jul 21, 2011 at 2:18 pm
Screenshots here > http://goo.gl/jX7zj
Happy PlayBooking
minijaws Jul 21, 2011 at 2:19 pm
there is a folder called android in misc GO GO GO!!!
randymc2641 Jul 21, 2011 at 2:26 pm
the smaller delete key is being a problem....hard to hit perfect
randymc2641 Jul 21, 2011 at 2:27 pm
I am stuck in email setup!!!
randymc2641 Jul 21, 2011 at 2:32 pm
too many passwords, got email setup now
Spaceheater Jul 21, 2011 at 2:32 pm
Wow, hit the clock button!
aqasem Jul 21, 2011 at 2:33 pm
anyone know how to install android apps ?
randymc2641 Jul 21, 2011 at 2:42 pm
Email pics, it's a client so it checks for mail on a determined schedule, not push, but still nice:
http://i52.tinypic.com/55o4ms.jpg
http://i51.tinypic.com/vor8jo.jpg
http://i51.tinypic.com/mr7dkj.jpg
Trying to figure out how to exit now.
HofstraJet Jul 21, 2011 at 2:43 pm
It's gone. Went to download on one PC, cancelled and decided to download on another and poof! 404
Anybody uploading it to a mirror?
goeman Jul 21, 2011 at 2:43 pm
two finger swipe left gesture on bottom bezel = back
sometimes you have to swipe twice.
SupaCoop Jul 21, 2011 at 2:49 pm
Oh excellent!
Now all I need to know is where do I put the Android apk files so I can load them!
I want to get angry birds on here!
johnmarki Jul 21, 2011 at 2:51 pm
This worked at first but it stopped working for me...hmmm I wonder what I did wrong.
Doubleho7 Jul 21, 2011 at 2:53 pm
its been taken down my my download stoped at 116 :-( any1 have a mirror ?
Perseus71 Jul 21, 2011 at 3:45 pm
Thank you!@!!! Missed your post first time around... too excited downloading and installing....
wheresmy600 Jul 21, 2011 at 2:52 pm
Y'all are CRAZY!!!! LOL!
Wish I had this much guts.
randymc2641 Jul 21, 2011 at 2:53 pm
Interesting, there is a vibrate option, then got this message when trying to email screenshots to myself...here's 4 more pics:
http://i51.tinypic.com/hrzrl4.jpg
http://i53.tinypic.com/2mxlie9.jpg
http://i53.tinypic.com/1zb7aio.jpg
http://i51.tinypic.com/xdw96g.jpg
It is pretty slow i think
Clock was pretty cool
How do you go back? Like i am in Downloads and seem stuck
the brother Jul 21, 2011 at 2:54 pm
am i the only one having BBM issues????
backstage Jul 21, 2011 at 2:58 pm
i'm having bbm issues from my phone right now, southwestern ontario area. talked to a buddy over facebook and he is as well.
SupaCoop Jul 21, 2011 at 3:02 pm
I'm in Waterloo not even a 10 minute walk from RIM right now...
I just BBM'ed a friend and he's talking to me.
the brother Jul 21, 2011 at 3:47 pm
i have plenty of contacts also with issues, on Rogers/Fido...not showing the "D" or "R" yet some messages are getting through on delay. located in Mississauga, ON.
randymc2641 Jul 21, 2011 at 2:55 pm
Also just learned that a swipe from either top corner to screen brings up the header bar. That's probably been around for a while, but I didn't know that, I know it's not part of this.
SupaCoop Jul 21, 2011 at 2:55 pm
OMG I got SOOOOOO close.
I was able to use the browser to go to the android market and select apps to install....
BUT! I have no Android phones associated with my google account so it won't let me download!
webslinger1 Jul 21, 2011 at 2:57 pm
Don't android apps need to be signed before they'll run in the player?
Doubleho7 Jul 21, 2011 at 2:57 pm
please mirror the bar file as been taken down
minijaws Jul 21, 2011 at 3:00 pm
mirrors here http://n4bb.com/8556/android-app-player-for-blackberry-playbook-leaked
BrokenSaint Jul 21, 2011 at 3:05 pm
Thanks!! Trying it right now!!!
BrokenSaint Jul 21, 2011 at 3:01 pm
Today... I officially hate my job!!!! I saw the post, but could not download because I was on a meeting... Now it's gone!!!! Can someone mirror it please!!!
minijaws Jul 21, 2011 at 3:09 pm
i just said MIRRORS HERE http://n4bb.com/8556/android-app-player-for-blackberry-playbook-leaked
lol
Doubleho7 Jul 21, 2011 at 3:01 pm
thanks
El Cid Jul 21, 2011 at 3:11 pm
ROFL... You guys are hilariously insane. Do you really want to ruin your Playbooks by installing something like this? LOL.
InvisibleWeight Jul 21, 2011 at 3:42 pm
the more people try it, the faster the bugs get squeezed out. i can see how RIM can benefit from this if they really want to make this work for the PB.
SupaCoop Jul 21, 2011 at 4:07 pm
How would someone ruin their PlayBook?
Honestly, please fill my mind with some rational and reasonable explanation as to how you would ruin the device...
Seems to have cause no damage to my device what so ever.
TheSaltyLime Jul 21, 2011 at 3:11 pm
there are a few mirrors out there...just google it
shatty Jul 21, 2011 at 3:13 pm
https://www.lovosystemsny.com/droid.zip ENJOY Off of my server
cookie_m0nster Jul 21, 2011 at 3:14 pm
the android player will never start .apk files... its a normal jvm not a dalvik vm. it only has the same api as android, so developers can reuse their source code.
There are .jar files in the bar maybe you can compile your androird apps against them (with normal jdk or j2me?) and pack it as .bar (bars are only renamed zip files with a manifest file)
and btw. why did nobody try this on the simulator first? then there wouldnt be any risk for your real device...
minijaws Jul 21, 2011 at 3:20 pm
why are there apk's in native\system\app then?
cookie_m0nster Jul 21, 2011 at 4:03 pm
seems you are right... the jar files i saw contain also .dex code
szparaj Jul 21, 2011 at 3:15 pm
Why do I fell like this was done on purpose to let people beta test it. If it sucks like first update this week did then they can just say we are working on it, not ready yet
cjterminator Jul 21, 2011 at 4:12 pm
well your statement would have made little sense if there was something to test definitely in the currently available player. It's leak which is closed now. Btw RIM took only a day to get the fix to us (as fas as previous update is concerned, thats quite quick response and everybody works flawlessly now.
shatty Jul 21, 2011 at 3:19 pm
all i see are recent tasks
rudd777 Jul 21, 2011 at 3:19 pm
I was able to install successfully but the player will not load. It starts up, gives me a loading message and then closes. Anyone with a similar experience? Running latest build of OS 1.0.7
john_kaufman Jul 21, 2011 at 3:22 pm
Once installed and email's running, how do you navigate back other apps? Or do I need to close the VM and start over?
shatty Jul 21, 2011 at 3:28 pm
2 finger right swipe on bezel
john_kaufman Jul 21, 2011 at 3:59 pm
Got it, thanks! :-)
john_kaufman Jul 21, 2011 at 4:03 pm
1 finger right-to-left swipe on bottom bezel will also get ya there ;-)
kevin.mcca Jul 21, 2011 at 3:27 pm
everybody is going crazy out here!! OMG PB PB :D ugghh wtf ill just download it right now :D:D:D
jmac875 Jul 21, 2011 at 3:40 pm
I think BB took the download site down.... :( I am 1 1/2hrs too late....
Doubleho7 Jul 21, 2011 at 3:42 pm
try the mirrors there are a few
dmonty Jul 21, 2011 at 4:17 pm
where are the mirrors?
henryg23 Jul 21, 2011 at 4:21 pm
http://n4bb.com/8556/android-app-player-for-blackberry-playbook-leaked
Perseus71 Jul 21, 2011 at 3:43 pm
I have it running on my with the latest OS. Just can't figure out how to go back.....
goeman Jul 21, 2011 at 3:46 pm
two finger swipe on bezel, left or right
Doubleho7 Jul 21, 2011 at 3:44 pm
any one figure out how to get it working with the market?
streak81 Jul 21, 2011 at 3:50 pm
you cant...only apps signed with blackberry keys can run on the android player. those tools are not yet available to developers.
shatty Jul 21, 2011 at 3:51 pm
To tell u the truth...i cant get it to do sh*t. No file browser to install apps. No market..And why does it have a phone icon? I think some1 played a mean joke and did a stupid VM. Dont think this came from RIM.
tuffy100 Jul 21, 2011 at 3:53 pm
nah, i'm gonna keep my playbook in one piece and install it when it's official.
kevin.mcca Jul 21, 2011 at 3:59 pm
Yeah me too, seems like everyone's having trouble using it.
soaresr Jul 21, 2011 at 4:06 pm
I have it installed and running. I'm able to browse installed apps (contacts, email, browser, etc). I can even browse the internet but the keyboard doesn't work. I can bring up the playbook keyboard but nothing I type displays in the URL or any text field.
Oh well, was nice to play with. Hopefully this means the player will be released soon :)
soaresr Jul 21, 2011 at 4:27 pm
After restarting the app everything started to work. Was able to access my email and all. Really cool. Bring on the Apps!! :)
john_kaufman Jul 21, 2011 at 4:26 pm
No trouble other than navigation really. The very first time you start the VM it seems to run some behind the scenes install tasks; if you are patient it will come back to life then run just fine... a reboot for good measure isn't a bad idea IMO. Also, my opinion is that this is basically a default Android install, and hooks from Android-to-Playbook (like contacts import) aren't in place.
Possibly this just is a 2.3.3 OS integration beta?? Also, this is not native email, this is Android email in an Android VM.
The inclusion of the Android phone apps threw me off - I can't imagine they will be part of the release.
The apps everyone is talking about are inside the VM, pretty contained really. I've already done an uninstall and reinstall just to see what happens; I can't see the PB filesystem at an OS level (no root access right?) however everything seemed to uninstall cleanly from a user perspective, no artifacts were apparent.
Just some observations...
Just Me Jul 21, 2011 at 4:13 pm
Leaking this was a great idea, it really stirred the pot. I wonder if RIM leaked this unofficially and then quickly plugged the leak. It provided proof that projects which were prommised are working and their is a huge amount of development going on in the background.
randymc2641 Jul 21, 2011 at 4:17 pm
Yes that is the best part, the thought that an 2.3 is out there and they are indeed working on the Android apps compatibility is great to know.
john_kaufman Jul 21, 2011 at 4:30 pm
Agreed - I'll bet they are much further along than what we saw today. I'm standing by my guess that the purpose of this is OS integration related, possibly looking for memory leaks, performance, external navigation and such...
But hey, I've been wrong before - today even! ;-)
SupaCoop Jul 21, 2011 at 4:22 pm
To everyone saying it will break your PlayBook.... no it wont
To anyone saying there's no functionality.... there is.
Use it because you're a techie and you're interested in seeing just what they've got (something that looks to need a ton of work) or don't use it.
Don't tell people they'll break their PB when you haven't even tried it and have no real experience to make valid comments.
I know some said they couldn't get the typing to work, but I've used both my native e-mail app and the browser. the Android keyboard pops up... though sometimes the screen flashes and I think the PB keyboard is trying to come through.
No issues really, even though there's limited functionality (there's a difference between none at all and a limited amount :P).
henryg23 Jul 21, 2011 at 4:22 pm
Hey guys, this is new http://n4bb.com/8588/how-to-install-android-apps-on-blackberry-playbook-...
SupaCoop Jul 21, 2011 at 4:47 pm
OMG OMG OMG
YAYYYYY!!!
I'm trying an angry birds download.
kmbauer Jul 21, 2011 at 4:37 pm
http://n4bb.com/8588/
how-to-install-android-apps-on-blackberry-playbook-example-netflix
jmac875 Jul 21, 2011 at 4:43 pm
I am posting from the android browser in the andriod app player on the playbook! I think i am geeking a little....lol
robpasell Jul 21, 2011 at 4:55 pm
It's working for me. One note, there is no back button, so once you are in an app, you have to close the player and open it up again. I did successfully set up my GMail account though.
Edit - swipe up seems to perform a back function.
Edit again - It's not swipe up, its a left to right swipe in the bottom gesture area.
EdwardBlackberryHands Jul 21, 2011 at 4:48 pm
Well I think its pretty obvious that from the lack of interest in this story that PB owners really do not want apps. What good are they anyway when you have the full web "rolls eyes"
SupaCoop Jul 21, 2011 at 5:16 pm
Angry Birds didn't work
WhatsApp (chat program) wants to detect what phone I'm running
I'm now going for AngryBirds RIO...... didn't work.
Unspecified crashing.
So.... some Android Apps work, others die horribly or expect you're on a cell phone.
I can see why the player is most likely months away......
jmac875 Jul 21, 2011 at 6:23 pm
i found that if you swip from the middle of the bottom bezel, right in the middle of the word "Blaxkberry", to the lower half of the right side, it will move you back in the android player. let me know how it works out for you
alangblake Jul 21, 2011 at 8:50 pm
http://n4bb.com/8588/
how-to-install-android-apps-on-blackberry-playbook-example-netflix
Followed the instructions above. Just a few comments. The Android SDK now has the ADB tool in platform-tools. You don't need the port number when connecting, it defaults to port 5555. You have to have the Android App running on the Playbook.
Tried 4 Apps, Netflix, Kindle, Adobe Reader and PDF Viewer.
Netflix....crashes
Kindle...very frustrating. Can get to my books and downloaded an archived book, but I cannot get the screen to display any actual pages of any book so far
Adobe/PDF... both crash
SlickBassPlaya Jul 21, 2011 at 8:36 pm
The Android keyboard is not working on my PlayBook.
kpd001 Jul 21, 2011 at 8:49 pm
Did anyone else notice that the Android email gives notifications in the Playbook OS? Cant say I was expecting that :D
scotty1024 Jul 22, 2011 at 12:26 am
I got Fandango to install via adb wireless method. It fires up, I give it m y zip, it gets movie info and I was able to pick my theater, see movies, change date, see movies for that date, pick movie, watch trailer w/audio!!!
Amazon AppStore "works" but can't install anything. But it will download anything out of my shelf.
Tried installing Vending.apk but there is a missing shared library.
Kindle seems to go black on black for displaying pages in books.
AmazonMP3 lets me buy music but I only have an older one with no cloud player (gots to gets a new one)
Netflix didn't work for me.
Pandora works.
mike22 Jul 22, 2011 at 7:00 am
Who cares about android junk
Gr8trgood Jul 22, 2011 at 12:30 pm
-Gr8trgood
Gr8trgood Jul 22, 2011 at 12:34 pm
Hey Guys and Gals! I got the Android player installed but Can someone explain to me how to load the JDK on my playbook. When on Oracle you can download it ( to the pc) or the playbook but it gives you a error message. But one, I am not sure what platform to use, and two how to load it on my playbook. Thank for all your tips and tricks
-Gr8trgood
siddo_d Aug 2, 2011 at 9:58 am
will the app player be available for blackberry devices in general
csantoss Aug 25, 2011 at 7:24 am
Hey Bla1ze...
checkout this article that came out today, referring to android players on phones...
It also states that the Playbook also officially supports android apps today...
typo or leak?
www.mobilebusinessbriefing.com