RIM is removing the ability to sideload apps to the BlackBerry PlayBook in a future update of the OS, meaning owners will have to download and install software through BlackBerry App World. The move was announced on Twitter by the company's VP of Developer Relations, Alec Saunders, who said he was "pretty sure" there would be a solution for developers who need to test their apps. Saunders said the reason was to prevent piracy, citing figures from an unknown source saying that over a quarter of Android apps are downloaded illegally, and calling Google Play a "chaotic cesspool."
RIM cutting sideloaded app support for PlayBook to avoid Android piracy ‘cesspool’
RIM is removing the ability to sideload apps to the BlackBerry PlayBook in a future update of the OS to prevent piracy.
RIM is removing the ability to sideload apps to the BlackBerry PlayBook in a future update of the OS to prevent piracy.
While BlackBerry App World doesn’t have anywhere near the volume of apps that Android enjoys, it’s apparently more profitable, and Saunders claims that there are developers who refuse to work with RIM until sideloading support is removed. Until the company has a solid, modern smartphone platform to build on, however, we’re not sure the change will amount to much.
@blondeboyofdoom piracy is a huge problem for Android devs, and we don't want to duplicate the chaotic cesspool of Android market
— Alec Saunders (@asaunders) April 5, 2012
Follow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.
Most Popular
Most Popular
- Sam Altman addresses RAM comments: People should ‘put as much as they want in their computers’
- Anker’s new window-mounted camera monitors the outside of your home from within it
- Those Jeff Bezos hair transplant photos are very fake
- The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time never gets old
- Rian Johnson explains why he had to build his own iPhone camera app
