But you can still sideload Android apps to the PlayBook.
A big brouhaha broke out yesterday when it looked like RIM was going to backtrack on the Android app support it had nurtured for its tablet device.
A year or so ago, RIM confirmed that its tablet would contain software that enables it to run Android apps. This was seen as a critical boost to the PlayBook, instantly adding thousands of apps to its available catalogue.
But in the interim, all manner of security and malware scares have beset the Google app platform.
Yesterday it looked like RIM had decided to act against all this by outlawing the sideloading of Android apps. Alec Saunders, RIM's VP of developer relations, tweeted; "Piracy is a huge problem for Android devs, and we don't want to duplicate the chaotic cesspool of Android market."
Well, now he's backtracked a bit, saying that "140 characters doesn't allow for nuance" and that side-loading support will actually remain in Blackberry Playbook OS and BB10.
But there will be changes. Saunders blogged: "We’re not getting rid of side-loading on the BlackBerry PlayBook OS or in BlackBerry 10. Side-loading on our platform is changing in nature. Side-loading is a developer feature. It exists so that developers can load their apps onto their own devices to test. It’s there so developers can send a beta release to their testing community for review. It is definitely not there for some people to side load a pirated app."
All a bit vague, isn't it?
We wait to see exactly what RIM has planned.
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