Handster Android App Market now submitting apps to BlackBerry App World for PlayBook

by Kal Chebli

7 December 2011 No Comment

Back at DevCon a couple months back, we saw Android developers getting their applications moved over to BlackBerry App World thanks to the App Express center at the conference. According to an email received byWJD Designs, Handster (a third party application market for Android) is going to be sending developers’ applications directly to BlackBerry App World for PlayBook. They will be doing the conversions and testing the applications as well. Here’s the full email:

From: Anna Golosovskaya
Date: Wed, Dec 7, 2011 at 9:16 AM
Subject: Android Apps for BlackBerry PlayBook
To: wjddesigns.com

Dear WJD Designs

Some good news from your friends at Handster! Starting December 7, 2011, Handster (a division of Opera Software) will begin submitting your applications to BlackBerry App World. Your apps will then be made available to BlackBerry PlayBook users through the BlackBerry App World storefront in early 2012. This will increase the distribution opportunities for your apps from Handster. For more information on the BlackBerry Runtime for Android Apps on the BlackBerry PlayBook, check out developer.blackberry.com/android.

There is minimal maintenance required from your side. Handster will take care of the verification process on apps, the conversion of APK files to BAR files, apps signing and retesting on BlackBerry PlayBook tablets. All you need to do is resize your application entry icon to 86 x 86 pixels to meet requirements for BlackBerry App World submission and submit us your updated APK file. We will start porting apps as soon as they come in and begin readying them for distribution, so be sure to be one of the first to submit your Android app for conversion.

If you have any new Android apps, please do let us know. Freeware apps can be updated by our content management team automatically. As for paid apps, please update them in your Handster developer account or send them to me via email. Our content managers will upload them in your developer account, and save you some time.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely,
Anna Golosovskaya

Handster/Opera Software | Content manager

So we should be seeing a lot more applications hit BlackBerry App World starting today. For developers, it’s a good thing to monetize more, but I’m not sure how that will go since Handster is passing along the dev apps, rather than the devs themselves.

Source: CrackBerry, BerryReview