RIM confirms side loading apps on the PlayBook will still be available
According to a report on DroidMatters, RIM wants to avoid, what it calls the "chaotic cesspool" of piracy on Android’s Google Play Store (quote from RIM.) They shall will be locking the BlackBerry PlayBook to keep users from being able to side-load Android apps. Alec Saunders, VP of Developer Relations at RIM, announced these plans on Twitter. Mr. Saunders claims, without citing sources, that over 25% of Android device apps are downloaded illegally. RIM plans to create the lock in a future update.
Things have developed now and Mr Saunders has confirmed what direction RIM are taking with side loading apps over on the BlackBerry developer blog.
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.What are we doing?
Starting with our next release of the BlackBerry PlayBook OS, we’re introducing a feature that will encrypt apps so they can only be run by the user who purchased the app.What’s next?
We’re working with you, our developer community, to ensure you can still quickly and easily test your apps on real hardware. That’s one of the reasons we’re kicking off BlackBerry 10 Jam by giving each developer attendee a prototype device to start building on. I’ll be on-hand at the show to answer your questions – look forward to seeing you there.Let’s Jam.
@asaunders
While it can be argued that there are some piracy issues with Android, the Google Play Store can hardly be called a "chaotic cesspool" by any means.
Posted by: Gareth
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