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Side loading Android apps onto BlackBerry 10 has become a pretty basic thing for folks to these days. The problem with that though for some folks is that not all apps work. Sometimes you load them up and they just crash and burn. As we already know, some of that will be addressed with the forthcoming Android 4.2 support for BlackBerry 10 but if you're looking to try and get ahead a little bit, a new method of converting Android 2.3.3 apps has been posted in the CrackBerry Forums courtesy of xsacha.
The new method, will essentially allow mostly any Android 2.3.3 app run on BlackBerry 10 even including those using native Android code. If you've already been signing and converting apps, the process is fairly straightforward however, if you're new to it all it's a bit of a task to take on. It's certainly for advanced users and it does have a few caveats, like the fact the apps you convert can only be used on your device and you'll need a Windows computer (unless you know how to change the batch script to a shell script) but if you're into such things and have a bit of patience, it's worth the time to look at.
If you're a Mac user be sure to check out our guide here for performing the same process.
If you have a new Android SDK (4.2.2) copy everything from sdk\build-tools\android-4.2.2 to sdk\platform-tools first.
- Download this package: here.
- Edit zandroid2bb.bat and change the first line to point to where you have the Android SDK installed.
- Put your debugtoken.bar in the same directory as the script.
- Now just drag any Android app .apk on to zandroid2bb.bat. A .bar should be generated (otherwise check the error).
Now you can install this .bar on your device and it should just work. You can use the included zInstaller.bat or other means.
(While we'll keep updating this post with the latest files, if you're having issues double check the original post as well)
All sounds rather easy right? I've not had the chance to try it out myself as of yet, but as xsacha noted in his post, he's been making use of this method for quite some time now. Again, I want to reiterate that this covers *most* apps. There is still plenty of apps out there that this will have no effect on and they'll still not work as expected but using this method increases the chances they will work significantly. You can head on into the CrackBerry Forums and check out the post for any further details. If you give this a go, be sure to let us know how it works out for you in the comments or in the forums. Thanks, xsacha!
Tutorial: Run ANY Android 2.3.3 app on Blackberry 10
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