RIM has announced their first tablet computer, Blackberry Playbook. BlackBerry Playbook naming beyond belief among many who had expected a tablet PC or RIM will be named Blackpad Surfbook or Surfboard. In fact, the facts say another, Playbook is the name selected and announced by RIM CEO Mike Lazaridis yesterday at their annual developer event in San Francisco's Blackberry 2010.
RIM's announcement yesterday regarding the expansion of the application ecosystem for the BlackBerry PlayBook brought with it the big news that Android Apps (specifically Android 2.3 apps for the time being) will be supported on the BlackBerry PlayBook. This doesn't mean that RIM is working with Google to bring Android marketplace to BlackBerry, but rather that developers who have made Android apps can sign up as BlackBerry App World developers (which is now free of charge) and distribute their apps to BlackBerry PlayBook owners via App World. Developers will have to repackage, code sign and submit their Android apps to BlackBerry App World, but the process should be pretty simple for any current Android app developer should they choose to. These android apps will then run on the BlackBerry PlayBook via an "App Player" in a "sandboxed" environment on the PlayBook. This is the same process that will also allow current BlackBerry Smartphone java apps to run on the PlayBook. The Android App Player will be demoed at BlackBerry World in May, and will become available this summer to PlayBook owners - so it won't be there on the April 19th launch date.