BlackBerry to update Android runtime to Android 4.1 Jelly Bean

BlackBerry has announced that it will update the Android runtime (app player) on its BlackBerry 10 and Playbook operating systems, to Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. The company made the announcement at the recent BlackBerry Jam Europe. The development was first reported by CrackBerry.

With apps being one of the major determinants for the success of a mobile OS platform, BlackBerry has been offering initiatives for developers who choose to port their apps to its new BB10 OS. It's been running port-a-thons for developers to submit their existing apps, and had claimed that 15,000 apps had been ported to the platform.

At the time of its launch, BlackeBerry's new BB10 OS boasted an app selection of 70,000 apps. However, PC Mag recently reported that 28,000 or 40% of these apps were just repackaged Android apps. So it makes more sense for BlackBerry to update its Android runtime (app player) if it really wants to give users a smoother experience while running ported apps.

BlackBerry had added the ability to run Android apps on its PlayBook tablet at the time of its launch, and had even extended the same functionality to BlackBerry 10. The underlying Android runtime version, also known as the 'app player' on the operating systems, however, is still stuck on Android 2.3.3 Gingerbread.

The move would also allow BlackBerry OSs (Playbook and BB10) to support newer versions of Android apps. A major number of Android apps have been updated both in terms of design (with the Holo theme being introduced after Android 3.0) and functionality.

Image courtesy- CrackBerry