Blackberry Z30 Android Version
Ophelia Gurin
I'm almost done building my first android app and I was looking at making a version for Blackberry. Now since Blackberry native language is Java like Android, is easier to make a blackberry version of your android app from your android code? Is there a way to port it? (Not using the runtime software. More like porting the code to blackberry os standards) Will there be code that is reusable? I'm going to download the SDK soon and read their apis and stuff later but before I did that I just wanted to know about the similarities between developing an android app and a blackberry one.
While porting Android app is easier, we're usually not too happy with them. Native apps look a lot better and work faster! Then again, we prefer a port then no app. I have 3200 downloads on Google Play and 2200 on BlackBerry World on a port (it's longer on google!), and I am considering rewriting it in Cascades.
You can't make Java apps for BB10. It will take some time to get used to BB10 way of working but it's worth it. I prefer Cascades over Android for design making, since those XML layouts have a mind of its own.
Porting apps from the Native NDK in Android over to BlackBerry is relatively simple. You can either port it directly into Eclipse or you can use runtime tools. Check out the following link with a plethora of tools to use:
As of the latest Blackberry 10 leak, 10.2.1.1925 the retroarch android apk now works great on blackberry! Prior to this latest release the android retroarch would not work with the blackberry z10 touchscreen. This is a huge improvement from the native built retroarch, as it is extremely buggy and lacks many of the features of the android version. The only bad thing I have found so far is the bluetooth connectivity to the Wiimote controller has been lost. This works perfectly on the native version, however, the android version will not detect my wiimote when it is properly connected.
I do not know the difficulty involved in such a task but would it be possible to replace the bluetooth files on the android version with the bluetooth from the blackberry version and release it as a second blackberry version?
The other day I received a notice from my mobile device manufacture (Blackberry) of an OTA update containing security patches for my DTEK60. Excited, I rushed to install the patch only to discover that something didn't work quite right. The upgrade window would simply hang after tapping the "restart & install" button and no amount of rebooting or re-pressing the button would fix it. In most cases this would mean I'd need to reboot into fastboot, clear the cache partition, and try again. Sadly, I own a DTEK60 from Blackberry and this is not an option. The recovery menu provided by Blackberry for Android is massively lacking and the normal fastboot binary does not work. I messaged support to see if there's something I can do, but they simply say I need to do a factory reset to resolve the issue, *which is completely unacceptable. So I did what any good nerd would do, I spent far too long messing with the device until I figured out a workaround.
Download the CCleaner app from the google play store (no worries you'll uninstall this when you're done with it). You'll be using this app to access some of the system apps that are generally kept away from you.
Use the CCleaner app, tap "storage", then tap "apps", finally tap "system". Select the trash icon and accept the warning. Navigate to and select Google Play Services & Blackberry Hub+ Services. With both of these applications selected, press "uninstall". Select "OK" when system will ask if you want to roll the application back to the "factory version" of the application.
If everything worked, the update will have downloaded correctly and verify itself. After you press the "restart & install" button the update application will count down from ten, reboot the device, and apply the updates. After the device update completes, uninstall the CCleaner app, and install the needed "google play services" and "Blackberry hub+" updates using the google play store.
Amazingly/unfortunately the DTEK60 is a "secure" android device, which is amazing, however it also means it's terrible when simple hacks are needed to get things moving again. The simple removal of an update.zip file was turned into a day of messing around with a limited access device and because of the strong security posturing from the infamous Blackberry Ltd the normal options found on XDA and other forums simply did not work to get this job done. All that said, the fix is easy, anyone can do it, even Blackberry support and while it took me far to long to get here I hope this helps someone else in the future. .
c80f0f1006