BlackBerry may support Android apps

PanARMENIAN.Net - BlackBerry-maker Research in Motion could be about to announce that its device will begin to support applications made for Google’s Android platform.

Earlier reports from Bloomberg had suggested that RIM was working internally on a project to make its Playbook tablet compatible with Google’s 130,000 apps, and at mobile world congress software maker Myriad was demonstrating its Alien Dalvik software, which can make Android apps run on other platforms.

Now app ShopSavvy has said on its blog that according to its “logs someone in Waterloo, Ontario (where RIM is based) has been running ShopSavvy for Android on various BlackBerry devices”.

According to the firm, the 8300, 8600 and 8520 have all been recorded running ShopSavvy this year. They added that “This makes sense since BlackBerry OS can support Java Virtual Machines and it would be pretty easy to compile Android in one of the them. This is a pretty interesting development – we would love to optimize ShopSavvy for the new BlackBerry+Android”.

Although BlackBerry has garnered positive reviews for its forthcoming 7” PlayBook tablet, a lack of available apps could hold it back. Apple is expected to announce an update to its iPad at on event on 2 March, and Motorola has already launched the Xoom Google Honeycomb Tablet in America, The Telegraph reported.