PlayBook Android App Player may show by early Sept

Talk of a delay for the BlackBerry PlayBook's Android support may have been premature after a countering leak has it largely on track. Based on anonymous tips, the Android App Player should reach developer testing in two to three weeks, CrackBerry heard. End users would likely get it about two weeks later, putting the release as soon as the end of August or more likely early September.

Any worry would come if developers didn't have their copies by the end of the month.

Rumors of a delay had pushed it back as far as late fall, a full season past RIM's original promise. RIM had accidentally posted an early version but was still lacking any easy way to load third-party apps, which on the PlayBook need to be put in a special app bundle to work. When ready, supporting Android apps will go through BlackBerry App World.

RIM has had trouble living up to original promises of software support on its tablet and pushed back native e-mail support to the summer after an original executive promise that would have had it on PlayBooks before the end of June.

By Electronista Staff