chassis impanel: BlackBerry 10 Android Runtime on track to support Android 4.2.2

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

BlackBerry 10 Android Runtime on track to support Android 4.2.2

Android Central

Update to Jelly Bean for the Android Runtime is still on track and scheduled to land in June

Back in February at BlackBerry Jam Europe we first heard talk of BlackBerry updating their Android Runtime environment from 2.3.3 Gingerbread, to 4.1 Jelly Bean. All has been quiet on that front since then, but today during the BlackBerry Jam keynote at BlackBerry Live, developers were presented with an updated roadmap that confirms the update is still planned, and is running on schedule. Only, it won't be Android 4.1 anymore that the Runtime will be based around, BlackBerry is going straight to 4.2.2.

Until Google introduces a new version of Android -- quite possibly tomorrow during the Google I/O Keynote -- 4.2.2 is the latest build, and BlackBerry should be commended for that. With the update due to hit in June, there's a strong possibility that BlackBerry 10 devices will have access to 4.2.2 before a number of Android devices. OK, so it's not exactly the same, but impressive nevertheless.

Android developers looking to move their apps to BlackBerry by way of re-packaging will benefit hugely from this. Apps designed around Gingerbread feel horribly outdated by current standards, and updating the Runtime to 4.2.2 will open the door to many more developers, with many more apps, and ultimately the BlackBerry 10 users should see a much improved experience. For more from BlackBerry Live, be sure to head over to CrackBerry for all the coverage you can handle.

Source: BlackBerry via CrackBerry