BlackBerry 10 apps not as they appear: one in five is an Android app

When it comes to competing with Apple’s iOS devices and Android devices, there’s one area where BlackBerry still falls short: it’s hard to compete with the massive app markets for the respective devices.

Apple CEO Tim Cook announced in October that there were more than 700,000 apps in the App Store, while the Google Play store is expected to cross the 1 million mark in June. Meanwhile, BlackBerry announced last week that BlackBerry World is now home to 100,000 apps, still behind the Windows Store (which has 130,000 apps for Windows Phone).

But it looks like BlackBerry has figured out a way to give itself a boost in the app market while giving developers an easy way to bring their Android apps to BB10. BlackBerry offers an emulation engine, All Things D explains, which allows Android developers to easily port their apps onto the BlackBerry 10 platform.

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BlackBerry vice president for global alliances and business development Martyn Mallick announced on Tuesday that roughly 20 per cent of the apps currently available for BB10 make use of this engine, making it a more attractive opportunity for developers.

“We give them a very nice on-ramp to get onto the platform,” Mallick told All Things D in an interview. “Our users deserve to have great content. If that is the fastest way we can get some of that content, that’s great.”

While BlackBerry would prefer for developers to eventually make apps specifically designed for BB10, the emulation engine has proven a good way for them to introduce the platform to those who may be hesitant to develop for it. BlackBerry’s latest OS is a make-or-break venture for the company, which has some developers, both big and small, wary of committing time and money to BB10. BlackBerry World is still missing apps from major companies like Netflix and Instagram, but with incentives like a guaranteed $10,000 to those who develop for BB10, BlackBerry is clearly optimistic about its future.

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The company is also attempting to make it easier for developers by limiting its devices to two different screen sizes; presumably the 4.2” touch screen on the Z10 and the 3.1” square display of the BlackBerry Q10, expected to launch in Canada this April. BlackBerry has said they aim to launch a total of six BB10 devices this year, all of which will likely have one of those two screen sizes.

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