The BlackBerry PlayBook is a
tablet like no other. The powerful QNX
Real Time Operating System embedded within allows it run an entirely
different operating system as another application on top of the standard
PlayBook OS. This is how the PlayBook will run repackaged
Android applications. For the most part, though, repackaged apps will appear
to run just like regular PlayBook applications.
That's all well and good if you're willing to wait for your favorite
Android app to be repackaged and made available on BlackBerry
App World. But
if you're a bit impatient and a bit adventurous, it's a fairly straightforward
process to getting the
Android Market and other Android apps running on your
BlackBerry PlayBook. To begin, you'll need a rooted PlayBook...
What we're going to do
We'll need to start with a rooted / jailbroken BlackBerry PlayBook. Without
root access, we won't be able to install the necessary files using a free tool
called WinSCP. Once the PlayBook is rooted, we'll use an application called DDPB
to sideload a single Android app to your PlayBook, Honeycomb Launcher. Using
this launcher application, we'll initialize the Android system on the PlayBook.
Next, we'll use that WinSCP application along with a bundled app called
PuTTYgen to gain access to the root directories on the BlackBerry tablet. We'll
download the latest version of Cyanogen Google apps to install to your PlayBook.
After that, you'll be able to start the
Android OS and gain access to the
Android Market. From there, you can install any Android app you would like.
Please note, not all Android apps will work on the PlayBook.
Preparation
Just as in the process for rooting your PlayBook, you'll need to have a
Windows computer (DingleBerry Mac support coming soon) and a USB cable to
connect your PlayBook to that computer. You'll also need a few programs and
files. Some of these files are installation packages, others are zipped files. I
would recommend downloading them to one single folder, and we'll unzip or
install the programs as needed later.
DDPB
Honeycomb Launcher
WinSCP
Cyanogen Google
Apps
Root your PlayBook
I've already written at great length the steps you'll need to follow in order
to root your PlayBook. As of now, the only way to get OS 2.0.0.4869 on your
PlayBook is to use careful
timing and a local (on your computer) copy of the OS. Instructions and OS
downloads can be found in that linked article. We'll use the .4869 update to
root your PlayBook and add and access the Android Market.
Once you've sucessfully opened and used the Market on your PlayBook, you can
then upgrade to .6149. You'll have to repeat parts of this process again, but
the Market will still work on .6149. Accounts & sync have been disabled in
.6149, but the account information you entered while using .4869 should still be
available to the Market (though you won't be able to update that account
information).
Follow the instructions in our
CrackBerry guide to rooting, make sure you see
the command screen with the # prompt, and then return to this article.
[UPDATED]
So you want to root/jailbreak your BlackBerry PlayBook with DingleBerry? Here's
how to do it
Don't Update to 2.0.0.6149
Research In Motion has disabled the Account & sync part of the Android OS
with this latest OS, certainly a
sneaky clever way to prevent
people from accessing the Market and something that surely caused me trouble.
You'll root the PlayBook using OS
2.0.0.4869; stay on that update. Once you have successfully reached the
Android Market, you can indeed update to .6149. Just make sure you have already
entered your account information into before doing so. After updating to .6149,
you'll need to copy the Cyanogen files, delete SetupWizard.apk, and execute the
two processes once again. I cannot stress enough that you must have the Android
Market properly working on your PlayBook BEFORE upgrading to .6149.
Get the PlayBook ready for the Android Market
We'll need to get the PlayBook's file system ready to accept the Cyanogen
files we'll be sending to it later. To do that, we'll need to start an Android
App on the PlayBook. You could probably do this by installing Angry Birds or one
of the 7000
apps that Handster is submitting. Since we'll use the Honeycomb Launcher to
start the Android OS on our PlayBooks, we'll sideload that application. From
this point on, we'll keep your PlayBook attached via the USB cable.
Development Mode
In order to sideload applications and install files to your PlayBook, you'll
need to have development mode on. If your computer ever has trouble connecting
to the PlayBook, double check that development mode is on.
On your PlayBook, tap the gear icon in the upper right corner. From the list
on the left and below Storage & Sharing, tap Security. From the list that
appears on the right, tap Development Mode. Set the slider tab sitting next to
User Development Mode to On. You'll be prompted to enter your password before
the developer mode can be set.
Take a look at that development address; you'll need it later. It is usually
best to leave it set at the default setting of 169.254.0.1.
DDPB and the Honeycomb Launcher
One of the easiest and friendliest ways to sideload an app is to use the
application DDPB. If you haven't already (and thank you for following
directions), go ahead and install that application to your computer. Also, you
can unzip the Honeycomb Launcher application, now. Make sure it is in a place
that is easy to find. Once done, start the DDPB application.
Enter your development address and PlayBook password in the boxes on the
left. If you were clever, you left the address as the default 169.254.0.1 when
you turned on Development mode on your PlayBook. In the DDPB application, click
the Add button. Find the Honeycomb Launcher application that you downloaded
earlier, select it, and click Open (or OK). The application will now appear in
that area on the right. Click the box beside the HCL name so that a check
appears. At the bottom of DDPB, click Install.
After a few moments, the HCL Updater application will appear on your
PlayBook. Tap it to launch the app. Select Honeycomb Launcher when prompted with
the "Complete action using" dialog box. Once the app has started, close it.
Trust me; we're done with that for the moment. You can also close DDPB.
Prepare and connect with WinSCP
Next, we'll use WinSCP to transfer your Cyanogen Google apps files to the
PlayBook. Included with these files is the Android Market, your link to many
Android applications. Before we can get started with WinSCP, we'll need to
generate the security keys that will allow it to connect to the PlayBook.
Making keys with PuTTYgen
If you downloaded WinSCP from the link provided above, another application
called PuTTYgen will be included with the download. Go ahead an install WinSCP
to your computer; this will install PuTTYgen as well. Once completed, find the
PuTTYgen application. If you're on Windows 7 or Vista, you can simply open the
Start menu and type Puttygen. The PuTTYgen application should be at the top of
the search results. Start the application.
In PuTTYgen, click the Load button. You'll need to find the key that
DingleBerry created during the jailbreaking process. This will be in your
DingleBerry folder. Since I kept my unzipped DingleBerry folder on the Desktop,
it was simple to locate.
After navigating to your DingleBerry folder, it may appear to be empty; it is
not. At the bottom of the window, change the box that reads, "PuTTY Private Key
Files (*.ppk)" so that it says "All files (*.*). Select the rsa file; make sure
you do not select rsa.pub. Click Open or Okay.
Now that the key has been successfully imported into PuTTYgen, we need to
save it so that WinSCP can use it. Click Save private key (not public key), and
click Yes when the program warns you about saving keys without a passphrase.
You'll need to save the key you created; personally, I saved my key in the
DingleBerry folder and used the name "playbook." Make sure you leave the file
type as PuTTY Private Key Files (*.ppk). Once the key has been saved, you can
close PuTTYgen.
Connecting with WinSCP
Now, we'll make use of that key we just created to connect WinSCP to your
PlayBook. With this program, we'll transfer the Cyanogen Google apps to your
PlayBook. First, though, we have to establish a connection.
Open WinSCP on your computer. If this is the first time you've used the
application, it should look like the picture above. If not, click on "Session"
in the upper left of the program. We'll use the boxes to enter information about
our connection
- Host Name: 169.254.0.1 (as long as you used the default value when
turning on your PlayBook's development mode)
- Port: 22 (default)
- User name: devuser
- Password: (leave blank)
- Private Key file: click on the button with the three dots (...) on
the right. Find and open the playbook.ppk file (or whatever you called it) that
you just created with PuTTYgen.
- File protocol: SCP
Towards the bottom of the WinSCP program, you'll see a check box for Advanced
options; click it. Select SCP/Shell from the expanded list on the left. Complete
the requested information.
- Shell: /tmp/setuidgid root /bin/sh - Note the space before and after
"root"
- Return code variable: Autodetect (default)
- Uncheck to box marked "Lookup user groups"
Click Save... to store your settings. If you make a mistake but forget to
save, you'll have to enter all of this information again. Plus, if you use
WinSCP to access your PlayBook again, you'll have all of this information stored
for you.
Before you can successfully connect using WinSCP, you'll need to make sure a
connection to the PlayBook is active. The easiest way to do this is to start
Dingle SSH. Start the DingleBerry rooting tool; at the top, you'll see Dingle
SSH. Click this button, and then click Connect at the bottom of the next screen.
A command window will open and should give you the same # that you saw when you
first rooted your PlayBook.
Return to WinSCP. Make sure the information you just saved is highlighted,
and click Login. The software will connect with your attached PlayBook.
Copying Cyanogen Google Apps files
Once logged in, WinSCP is split into two panels. The panel on the right
contains all of the files and folders of your PlayBook; the Panel on the left
contains the folders and files of your computer. At this time, go ahead and
unzip the gapps-gb-20110828-signed.zip file. These are your Cyanogen Google apps
files. Make sure you get all of the folders unzipped to somewhere you can easily
find it, like the desktop.
In the panel on the right - the PlayBook panel - double-click the three dots
until you reach the root of the tablet. Each time you click those three dots,
you go one folder higher in the series. When you've reached the root directory,
you'll see folders like accounts, air, and apps. In the left panel, do the same
thing to find your unzipped Google apps folder.
Click on the System folder in the left panel (the one from your computer).
From the Files menu at the top, select Copy... You should get a confirmation
window that looks like this. If the message is different, stop and try again. We
must copy the System folder to the root directory of the PlayBook.
You'll get a message warning you that the directory already exists on the
PlayBook. This is normal and expected. Click Yes or Yes to All.
Final Steps
In the right pane of WinSCP (the PlayBook pane) and from the root directory
that you should already be in, go to (root)/system/app/ To do that, Double click
the system folder, then double click the app folder. Inside that folder, find
the file SetupWizard.apk. Click on that file once to select it, then press the
delete key. Choose OK when asked to confirm that you want to delete the file
SetupWizard.apk.
Return to the root directory of the PlayBook by double clicking twice on the
triple dots (they are always at the top of each folder listing). Open the apps
folder by double-clicking it. Next, we'll need to find the folder called
sys.android.[really_long_string_of_characters].ns The
[really_long_string_of_characters] is unique to every PlayBook, so just make
sure all the other parts of the folder name are correct. Open this folder by
double clicking it. Double click the Native folder to open it, and then open the
scripts folder by - you guessed it - double clicking. In the end, you'll need to
be in the folder (root)/apps/sys.android.[RLSoC]/native/scripts.
Find the file android-player.cmd.sh, right click on it, move your mouse down
to where it says Custom Commands, and choose execute.
Do the same thing with the file: kill-android-core.sh (Do not confuse this
with kill-android-apps.sh; we want to kill the core.)
Restart your PlayBook
After you restart your BlackBerry PlayBook, you will have access to the
Android Market. First start the HCL Updater which will start the Android OS on
your PlayBook. In the upper right of the Android environment, you'll see Apps.
Tap that to open; then find Market Place in the list of available apps. Once you
tap that icon, be prepared to provide or set up a Google account.
As you explore the Market, keep in mind that not everything the store has to
offer will work on your PlayBook. I don't think movie rentals work, and some
apps - like Angry Birds and Skype - don't quite work. Still, other Android
applications like Twitter, Pandora, Google Plus and Google Sky worked just fine.
With the PlayBook rooted and the Android Market installed, what applications
will you add to the PlayBook?
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9:40 PM
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