At CES 2012 in Las Vegas, we previewed the upcoming BlackBerry® PlayBook™ OS 2.0 software, which is designed to have the BlackBerry® Runtime for Android™ Apps built-in! This offering will allow developers to repackage their existing Android™ applications to run on the BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet, as well as the upcoming BlackBerry® 10 devices.
Seeing the great response for the BlackBerry Runtime for Android Apps at CES, developer meet-ups and conferences that we’ve attended over the last few months, we’re expecting a huge interest in the consumer space for these apps when the update is made available next month. We want to ensure that you are able to capitalize on this unique opportunity by having your applications available when BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 is launched!
In order to ensure that your packaged and signed Android app is available in the BlackBerry App World™ storefront for the release of BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0, be sure to have your app submitted by Monday, February 6th, 2012.
To help with the process of submitting your application for approval and entry into BlackBerry App World, we strongly recommend the following:
- Before submitting your Android application to BlackBerry App World, please make sure to remove all mention of the word “Android” from your application. Both in the application description and the application itself.
- Please remove all links to Android Market from within your application.
- When submitting your Android application to BlackBerry App World, please make sure to select a minimum BlackBerry PlayBook OS of 2.0.
- Please make sure your application is signed. For more information on code signing, please view the code signing documentation on the BlackBerry Runtime for Android Apps webpage (linked here).
- The BlackBerry Plug-in for ADT, which is designed to augment your existing Eclipse development environment
- The BlackBerry Packager for Android apps, which is designed to allow you to test/convert your app through your browser (no downloads required!)
- The BlackBerry SDK for Android apps, which is designed to give you access to command-line arguments for scripting and getting your hands dirty
If you have any questions, our Android microsite is extremely useful, or feel free to drop by our forum or tweet us (@BlackBerryDev). It’s a great time to be a BlackBerry developer!