How to sideload Android apps to BlackBerry PlayBook (rooted)

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If you’ve already rooted your BlackBerry PlayBook, you may have encountered a screen like the one above. Unlike a run-of-the-mill Android tablet, there’s no box to check that lets you install Android apps from “unknown sources.”
Instead, you can install Android apps that have been converted to BlackBerry PlayBook apps by downloading them from the BlackBerry App World or another location. Or you can root your tablet and install the Android Market to download apps.
But there is a way to sideload apps that aren’t available from the Android Market.
On my PlayBook, for example, I used the method described below to loadFirefox Nightly and Google Currents — an app which isn’t available in Canada’s Android Market yet.
Prerequsites
Before you get started, you’ll need to make sure your PlayBook is rooted usingDingleberry. Have a look back at the tutorial and follow the steps if you haven’t done that yet.
You’ll also need PlayBook OS 2 beta installed in order to run Android Apps and Android launcher app installed from the list at Playbookbars.com (Zeam and Launcher Honeycomb work quite well) that has been pre-packaged for use on the PlayBook (otherwise you won’t have a way to launch your sideloaded apps).

Sideloading Android apps
Now, launch Dingleberry on your computer. On the main screen, click the Dingle SSH button near the top. Next, enter the IP address and password for your PlayBook into the blanks and click the connect button.
You should see a window like the one above. When the black command prompt window appears, your PlayBook is ready for SSH connections.
Next, launch WinSCP on your computer. If you don’t have it or aren’t sure why it’s needed, take a look at the tutorial on installing the Android Market on the PlayBook for some insight.


Once WinSCP has connected to your PlayBook, browse to the /data/appfolder in the right-hand pane of the file transfer window. On the left, browse to the folder on your desktop where you’ve saved the .APK of the Android App you want to install.
Click and drag the app over to the /data/app folder and release your mouse button, and let WinSCP copy the file.
Now pick up your PlayBook and simply tap the launcher app you’ve installed and tap the apps icon to pull up the full list of Android apps you have installed on your PlayBook. Your new app should appear automatically!

Before you get too excited…both Angry Birds apps force close and the Amazon Appstore isn’t able to install apps just yet.
Hopefully that will change soon, as more people root their Playbooks and figure out new tricks. In the meantime, you can use Dingleberry and WinSCP to load Android apps on your BlackBerry Tablet to see which ones work.

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How to install PlayBook OS 2.0 Beta

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There are two things that have people (some of them, anyway) talking about the PlayBook OS 2.0 update coming in February 2012. First, it’s going to add the missing native BlackBerry email, calendar, and contacts apps. Second, the Android Player will finally make its debut, allowing users to run thousands of Android applications on BlackBerry’s tablet.
If you’re willing to install a beta version of OS 2.0, you can take an early look at the Android Player right now. Why bother? For starters, there are a ton of converted Android apps that you can load onto your PlayBook. And if you can handle a bit more hacking and root your PlayBook using Dingleberry, you can even install the Android Market and download Android apps directly onto your PlayBook.
We’ll have details on rooting the PlayBook and installing the Android Market soon, but for now let’s start with installing BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0.

1. Go to this page to register for beta downloads for RIM
2. Find your PIN number. On your PlayBook, go to settings > about and then tap the drop-down menu and choose hardware. Your PIN will appear on the first line
3. Enter your PIN and email address, check the box to agree to RIM’s terms, and then wait for the update notification to arrive on your PlayBook
4. Install the update when the notification appears — if you’re waited more than 15 or 20 minutes and haven’t seen it, try registering again

When your PlayBook has rebooted, you’ll be able to install the converted apps that are indexed at PlayBook BARs.
Once you’ve got some BARs downloaded, the easiest way to install them on your PlayBook is by using the DDPb Installer (full instructions at the link).

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How To :: Root A BlackBerry Playbook

before you start, you’ll need a BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, the Blackberry Desktop software for Windows, and DingleBerry.
There’s one big asterisk here: Dingleberry currently only works on Windows. A Mac version is due soon, but for now you’ll need a Windows PC to root your BlackBerry tablet.

Prepare your tablet
1. Using BlackBerry Desktop, make a full backup of your PlayBook.
2.Head to your PlayBook settings screen > storage and sharing and turn on file sharing, wi-fi sharing, and make sure password protect is off.
3. Tap security and then tap development mode. Flip the off slider to on, and enter a password when prompted (jot it down or remember it, you’ll need it later).
4. Tap about, select network from the dropdown, and make note of your PlayBook’s Wi-Fi IP address.
Use Dingleberry to root the PlayBook
1. Download Dingleberry, unzip it, and then double-click dingleberry.exe.
2. Click continue after the main Dingleberry window appears and follow the instructions (I’ll list them here, too).

3. Enter the IP address and password you noted in previous steps.
4. Click the jailbreak button. Press continue once you’re prompted to do so.

5. Press the choose button to select the backup you made in step 1.
6. Dingleberry will modify that backup and create a new one in the same directory (typically under documents\Blackberry\backup).
7. Using BlackBerry Desktop, restore the Dingleberry-created backup to your PlayBook — choose custom, and make sure only settings is checked.
Voila! You’ve got a rooted PlayBook.

To see if the process was actually successful, click the Dingle SSH button to see if Dingleberry can establish a connection to your PlayBook. If the blue box reads like it does in the picture above, you’re good to go (you should also see a black SSH session window open and display a # prompt).

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HOW TO :: Install Android Market on BlackBerry PlayBook

Ok, you’ve installed the PlayBook OS 2 beta. You’ve rooted your PlayBook. Now it’s time to get the Android Market up and running on your PlayBook.

Why?

Because while it’s certainly cool that PlayBook OS 2 lets you run repackaged Android apps that have been converted to RIM’s .BAR format, it’s way cooler to just install them as if you’re using a regular old Android device via the Market. It’s also a lot easier and makes a wider selection of Android apps available for the PlayBook.

If you haven’t already rooted your PlayBook and installed PlayBook OS 2 beta, go do that now before attempting to install the market. You won’t get anywhere if you skip those two steps.

You’re also going to need an SCP client like WinSCP (use the first link labelled ‘installation package’) and PuTTYgen. Download and install them on your computer before following the steps below, too.

The following instructions assume you’re using a Windows computer, because for now the only way to root a PlayBook is to use a Windows PC.

1. Download the current Google Apps package from CyanogenMod.

2. Extract the contents of the .zip file (you’ll need them later).

3. Download an Android launcher app packaged as a .bar file from PlayBook Bars and install it using DDPb Installer (mentioned on the PlayBook OS 2 tutorial. (Just choose any of the apps with “Launcher” in the name such as Android Launcher, Launcher, or the Honeycomb Launcher).

4.Tap your launcher app to initialize the Android Player on your PlayBook (it should appear on your PlayBook homescreen near the bottom).

5.Launch PuTTYgen on your computer, press the load button, and browse to your Dingleberry folder. Change the file type dropdown to all files and double click the file rsa to select it.

6.Click OK when you see the PuTTYgen notice above and then click save private key. Name your file something easy to remember (like playbook.psk) and save it.

7. Log into your playbook as root with an scp client (eg: WinSCP for windows). Use your PlayBook’s IP address for the host name and root for the username. Under private key file, click the … button and browse to (and select) theplaybook.psk file you just saved in PuTTYgen.

8. When the WinSCP file explorer opens, your computer appears on the left and the PlayBook appears on the right. In the left pane, browse to the folder where you extracted the CyanogenMod Google apps.

9. Copy the META-INF and system folders to the root directory of your PlayBook (the system folder will merge with the existing system folder on your PlayBook).

10. In the right pane, browse to /system/app/ and deleteSetupWizard.apk. Now click the folder icon with the up arrow (again, in the right pane)

11. Again in the right pane, browse to/apps/sys.android.XXXX.ns/native/scripts [enter]. XXXX is different for every PlayBook, and it’s a LONG number.

12. Once you’ve changed directories, click the black box icon that says HOM to open a command prompt in WinSCP.

13. Type ./android-player-cmd.sh kill-android-core.sh [enter] to kill the current Android Player process on your PlayBook.

14.Launch the launcher app you installed in step 3.

15. Using the launcher app, tap through to the full apps listing (often in the top right corner of a launcher’s main screen). Tap Android Market (or another Google app), and enter your Google account details.

16. If Google logs you in, you’re done! If not, retrace your steps.

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