BlackBerry PlayBook – Side Loading Apps

… or,

How to install MIT AI2 Companion (AppInventor) on the PlayBook

I have a bunch of BlackBerry PlayBook tablet at home in our office so I decided to make use of them. I thought to have the Android AppInventor would be a good one.

This a short guide how to do that.

Installing BAR files directly from the computer to the tablet, a.k.a. sideloading, is done through an additional app.

The best app (so far) is the DDPB, the last version is 1.0.9 (12/03/2012)
Website: http://ddpb.dauden.vn (no longer available)
User guide: http://ddpb.dauden.vn/?page_id=17 (no longer available)

The app is available for download on other websites.
DOWNLOAD: DDPB – Load Android Apps on Playbook and Blackberry 10
http://apps.goodereader.com/playbook/essential-playbook-and-bb10-apps/?did=177

There are also guides how to work with te app as well as other useful tips.
ARTICLE: Side Load PlayBook Apps (Windows)
http://forums.crackberry.com/playbook-apps-games-f243/side-load-playbook-apps-windows-619796/

NOTE: Installing the DDPB may cause issues – error asking for Microsoft .Net framework version 2.0 or compatible.

SOLUTION: DDPB asking for Microsoft .NET framework 2, already have 4 (Windows 8)
http://forums.crackberry.com/playbook-apps-games-f243/ddpb-asking-net-framework-2-already-have-4-windows-8-a-730369/

The original Android APK files should be converted into BlackBerry PlayBook BAR files.

TOOL: PlayBook .apk to .bar converter
http://apk2bar.org/

Example, MIT AI2 Companion: http://apk2bar.org/bar/02/f8/447791/edu.mit.appinventor.aicompanion3_v2.36.bar

Simply download the BAR file and add it the DDPB, the press the “install” button.

Other Tools: localbar2
http://yohan.es/playbook/

 

 

How to setup Try’n’Buy product at RIM/BlackBerry App World

This is based on my personal experience while resolving issues with the products of our company Interlecta, and it is not a general solution.

Start with a new product

It is always better to start with a new product. Don’t use previously created product that was free or paid – the time you could save by doing that will cause more troubles afterward.

This is mostly because the existing user that have already downloaded previous versions will have problem upgrading to the new release, either “try” or “buy” one.

Incremental versions

Cannot get the correct version. One of the first problems that usually occurs is that people cannot see the correct version depending on whether they have purchased the product or not. The issue present almost in all cases when someone downloaded the trial and then purchases the full version – the result is that they cannot download the full version because it is not available on the screen.

Cannot upgrade. Another case would be when there is an upgrade of the release. They see the message, a notification by App World, that there’s a new version but there’s no button to download it.

Always increment versions. What we have learned while trying to resolve those issues was that the versions should be always incremental, i.e. the “buy” versions should be greater that the “try” version. Example: our Interlecta Translator trial was 1.3.19 while the full version was 1.3.21. That makes sense from database design point of view, but it’s not convenient at all, and such behavior is not documented, you have to learn it from experiments.

Problems with upgrading to full version

This is a common problem.

Canno upgrade to new release. If you have new release of your Try’n’Buy product people will receive a notification but when they go to the product screen at App World they will not be able to do the upgrade simply because there is no button for doing that. In our particular case there’s only a button to install the trial version.

An experiment worth trying. What we’ve found out is not a solution, but is more like a work around, it’s annoyingly slow process, but it’s ate least something that may help your customers. In short, you have to: Remove your application from App World; Remove the App World itself; Reinstall the App World; Login to App World through PayPal; Reinstall your application. It also involves rebooting your BlackBerry 4 times. That’s not convenient at all, but was the only was for me to get the latest full version.

Links

More details were posted on our company blog at http://blog.interlecta.com/?p=466.

There’s also discussion at supportforums .blackberry.com forums: http://supportforums.blackberry.com/t5/BlackBerry-App-World-Development/Try-and-buy/m-p/232573.

Please share your experience following the steps above, either here or on our company blog.

Haitian Creole available for Interlecta Translator (RIM/BlackBerry App World)

Haitian Creole is now available for testing on Interlecta Translator for BlackBerry, downloadable at RIM’s App World application store.

Just couple of hours ago we have finished the first testing version of the new functionality of our BlackBerry application – Haitian Creole.

I have to admit that recently I’ve been talking with quite few people about our initiative to provide Haitian Creole, and especially Marian Douglas-Ungaro. We spent last several days looking for the best technologies to combine to bring that new feature to life, and finally today late in the afternoon we’ve managed to get the first translation on my BlackBerry from Engliush toHaitian Creole.

I don’t know how many people will download this and use it and how many of them will be doing anything in Haiti, but I’m glad that are able to provide that service. And not only that, we are the first company to offer that kind of software for BlackBerry.

The product, Interlecta Translator with Haitian Creole, is available for download at App World. There’s 7 days free to try download, but for some regions and countries it is available for free – just open App World on your BlackBerry and do a search for Interlecta to find out.

PLEASE, HELP US SPREAD THE WORD.

Interlecta promoted on App World

This morning our application for BlackBerry was promoted on the front page of the the RIM‘s App World and it will remain there for about a week.

There are some new features that we added since the last time it was there, most notably the connection diagnostic and setup tool. That allows the application on the first start to test all the available for the device connection and choose the best one, preferably the BIS-B because if its high availability. Of course it could be manually setup ti use Wi-Fi to save some bandwidth.

The application is priced at $2.99 and has a 7-day trial period, so you don’t really need to buy it before you see what you can do with it.

There are quite few new features coming up in the next version of the application, scheduled for sometimes next month, but most interesting will be probably our solution for the problem with missing fonts on your BlackBerry and the square boxes you may see sometime, especially when you receive Asian texts. I will post more info here and on Interlecta website when it becomes available.

Interlecta featured on App World

Finally!

Our product for BlackBerry was promoted as a featured application on RIM/BlackBerry App World, check this out – App World – Webstore. Currently we are getting about 300 downloads every hour – couple tousands of downloads just for today. I’m excited about it.

UPDATE: We were getting over 10000download every day, it seamed that people really liked it.