“Research In Motion Ltd., seeking to boost the appeal of its BlackBerrys and revive slowing sales, plans to enable models expected next year to run applications built for Google Inc.’s Android operating system, three people familiar with the plan said,” Hugo Miller and Olga Kharif report for Bloomberg.
MacDailyNews Take: Oftentimes, apps of the same name have more features/run better on iOS devices than their Android versions do. Android apps are often watered-down afterthoughts of iOS apps. Why settle for inferior versions running on also-ran hardware when iPhone/iPad/iPod touch are readily available?
Miller and Kharif report, “BlackBerrys that run on RIM’s new QNX software will be Android-compatible, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the effort isn’t public. RIM has said it plans to introduce QNX phones in ‘early’ 2012.”
MacDailyNews Take: Now you can make your BlackBerry as insecure as an Android phone!
“While RIM has said that its QNX-powered PlayBook tablet will be equipped with technology that allows it to run Android apps, it hasn’t disclosed whether QNX phones will have the same capability. Marisa Conway, a spokeswoman for Waterloo, Ontario- based RIM, declined to comment,” Miller and Kharif report. “The Android app player in the new BlackBerrys is the same one that has been built for the PlayBook, and it is being tweaked to fit the different screen size and resolution of various BlackBerry models, one of the people said.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Again, why run kludgey apps on a kludgey device from an obviously desperate company? Do the rapidly dwindling number of CrackBerry addicts really have a burning desire to run keystroke loggers that send their bank accounts and other personal information to Russian hackers?
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Fred Mertz” for the heads up.]
Related articles:
Apple’s iOS unaffected by malware as Android exploits surge 76% – August 24, 2011
McAfee: Google’s Android number one in malware – August 23, 2011
Android malware records phone calls; iPhone users unaffected – August 2, 2011
Symantec: Apple iOS offers ‘full protection,’ Google Android ‘little protection’ vs. malware attacksSymantec: Apple iOS offers ‘full protection,’ Google Android ‘little protection’ vs. malware attacks – June 29, 2011
Malware apps spoof Android Market to infect Android phones – June 21, 2011
Google forced to pull several malware-infested apps from Android market – June 8, 2011
Starbucks exec: Android apps often ‘watered down’ – May 16, 2011
Android malware sees explosive growth; even faster than with PCs – April 27, 2011
Virus-laden apps infest Google’s ‘open’ Android platform; iPhone unaffected – March 3, 2011
Security firm warns of new Android trojan that can steal personal information; iPhone unaffected – December 30, 2010
Trojan infects Android smartphones; iPhone unaffected – August 10, 2010
Millions of Android phone users slammed by malicious data theft app – July 29, 2010
Unlike proactive Apple, reactive Google doesn’t block malware from Android app store – June 4, 2010
Malware designed to steal bank information pops up in Google’s Android app store – January 11, 2010
This is probably the smartest thing RIM can do.
It’s not like they have the option of loading iOS.
Actually this is the dumbest thing. Why would a developer code for QNX when he can take the lazy road and dump his Android version of the app on a BB phone.
Developers will have zero incentive to code for the QNX ecosystem, so they will never have a 3rd party ecosystem.
What a twisted and confused ecosystem that will be for consumers. Guess RIM wants their fair share of Android malware.
Last gasp of a dying platform
So basically they are becoming the same as samsung and htc with no significant differentiation between android phone models. With this, they will have lower and lower profit margins. Android – a race to the bottom.
Of course, by the time this comes out there may be few android devices on the market and little development.
MDN really has to stop using kids to run their site. They’ve screwed up the link again. This has been happening more often as time goes on.
Again, here is the proper link:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-24/blackberry-said-to-get-android-apps-as-rim-seeks-to-widen-device-s-appeal.html
Yeah, they are too busy looking for “political” news snipes to inflame the left vs right comments.
Their orbit around the bowl is quickly decaying…
“The Android app player in the new BlackBerrys is the same one that has been built for the PlayBook, and it is being tweaked to fit the different screen size and resolution of various BlackBerry models, one of the people said.”
If Apple can’t figure out screen resolution for iOS despite running only two screen sizes, has RIM cracked this barrier?
In my opinion, Apple has done a decent job of addressing iOS screen resolution: 480×320 for older iPhones and iPod touch devices, doubled resolution to 960×640 for newer model iPhones and iPod touch devices, and 1024×768 for the iPad (with rumors of doubling to 2048×1536 in the future to support fully 1080P HD video and larger display sizes).
If you are poking at the holy grail of resolution independence, then I believe that the whole concept of a touch interface combined with a wide range of screen sizes starting with the very small (3.5″ diagonally) has increased the magnitude of the challenge. However, I am willing to bet that Apple will devise and implement a practical solution to that challenge before anyone else.
Succinct, as always. Thanks for answering.
And Windows mobile di………
Ah forget it.
Rudderless ship.
This is the captain speaking. There is nothing to worry about. The Titanic is unsinkable and we regret any inconvenience. For your pleasure, we are inviting aboard some entertainers from Somalia. They are dressed as sailors and say they have much experience in boarding large ships. Please go back to your Blackberries, that is all…
Oh by the way captain, you forgot to hand out travel brochures for sunny Somalia. The passengers could be spending some time there admiring the views of the beaches, mud huts and festering hulks of other ships moored alongside waiting to be ransomed.
+1 Yes, please grab those brochures on the way out. Bloody Hell! Does anyone speak Russian?
Running a shoddy malware OS atop an outdated architecture to offer a washed out semblance of originality.
Just what I’m looking for.
And how will this benefit RIMs strong enterprise foothold as THE secure platform? Wellcome to malware…