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As a lot of folks know already, the Google Play Store is not coming to BlackBerry 10 but the ability to install Android APK files is already in place on the leaked OS 10.2.1.1055 and will also be available via official releases when they start to roll out as well. While that's all fine and dandy, people still have the concern in regards to where to download APK files should they wish to try them out.
We've mentioned several secondary to Google Play Store offerings such as Amazon, 1Mobile and others but perhaps the best one so far comes to us via the CrackBerry Forums where Flip Shush developer, James Paul Muir, has created a new BlackBerry 10 app called Snap. Snap is a native BlackBerry 10 app that taps into an API created for the sole purpose of searching and downloading APK files directly from the Google Play Store.
You just simply sideload the BAR file, load up the app and search for the app you wish to install, then from there it will pull in the APK file directly from the Google Play Store and you can download and install it directly onto your BlackBerry 10 smartphone. Of course, there is one very reasonable caveat here. While Snap may find paid apps through it's search mechanism, you CANNOT actually install those paid applications as only free downloads are supported.
Needless to say, this should makes things a whole lot easier for people looking to install Android APK files on their BlackBerry 10 devices. It works amazingly well and is simple to use, the hardest thing about it all is probably the fact that you still need to sideload the initial BAR file to get up and running but maybe that will change. I jokingly suggested it should have been an Android app so folks could install it OTA as well.
Discuss more / download in the CrackBerry Forums
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