Topic: Blackberry Playbook

Does anyone know how to make the Chumby Android app work on the Playbook, or if it will work at all? A lot of Android apps are showing up now "ported" for the Playbook OS, but not the Chumby app yet. I've read that Android apps can be "sideloaded" onto the Playbook, but I'm afraid that's beyond my level. Any guesses or theories will be appreciated. I never anticipated how much I'd miss the Chumby simplicity using a tablet. Good thing I still have my 3 Chumbys to keep me constantly updated on the world.

(I'm still searching for a safe buy for another 'backup' Chumby. Those Infocast ads on eBay and Amazon are just a little hard to believe.)

Thanks.

Re: Blackberry Playbook

While it was possible to sideload Android apps that were not in AppWorld, that function has been removed since the "upgrade" to version 2.1 of the Playbook OS. Now, if you don't see your favorite Android app in AppWorld you are out of luck. I am not sure what the requirements are to have an Android app added to AppWorld. Converting most apk files to bar files isn't a big deal. At this point I am not certain who owns the Chumby app. I expect they would have to submit it to Blackberry.

Tar, feathers, congress. Some assembly required.

Re: Blackberry Playbook

Thanks for the info that "sideloading" wouldn't even do it now. Too bad that Chumby app won't work. The way Playbook prices have tanked the past few days, they might be cheaper than the "new" Infocasts on Amazon soon. Guess I should start watching WOOT! again for a 64 GB one to replace my 16 GB!

Re: Blackberry Playbook

Yup, I tried but no way I can get the "Chumby Lite" on the Playbook. Ironic, they ported it to the Sony Tablet, which is the alleged "Dash killer." Well, that was back in 2011 when Chumby actually had paid employees to work on such things.

Re: Blackberry Playbook

Well, the Sony thing wasn't much of a port - it's the same app with a different package code.  The only reason it's different at all is that we wanted the ability to fork that app if Sony wanted to - at the moment, it's created by an automated build script based on the Chumby Lite codebase.

We did have a Playbook and started a port - however, it wasn't going to be a cakewalk.  While the Playbook's primary development system is Adobe AIR (based on Flash), it is a mobile version that only supports AS3 (AVM2).  Unlike the desktop version, it didn't have an AVM1, so it could not load and run the current widgets, which are all pretty much AS1 and AS2, which therefore require AVM1.

That left using some sort of WebView hosting a Flash Player plugin - however that turned out to be an issue as well, since at the time they didn't support the plugin.

So, we backed off, and waited for the announced Android runtime, to run some variant of Chumby Lite.  We closed before that became a reality.

Re: Blackberry Playbook

I've been meaning to wrap the "Virtual Chumby" in a webOS app for the HP TouchPad... it has a Flash 10 runtime that works well.

Re: Blackberry Playbook

@Duane- thanks for this bit of Chumby history. I guess timing is everything. Now the Playbook App Store is welcoming Andriod apps with opened arms, but sometimes with lousy results. And they just updated the Playbook OS which "broke" some of the apps anyway. @unwiredben- good luck. Great thing HP let webOS go public. And it never occurred to me that I could keep my basic channel in a Virtual Chumby on a web page regardless of the OS or device. May not be perfect, but it's something. Thanks to you both.

Re: Blackberry Playbook

Well, today I got closer to having Chumby Lite on my Playbook- another learning experience. Converted the .apk to a .bar app via an online converter, then installed it via a chrome (Iron) browser extension. Voila- there was the blue octy icon on my Playbook! Unfortunately, when I open it, it alerts me I need to install Flash 10 or later, and won't run. PB has Flash 11, so I guess this is not as straightforward as it seemed. Definitely another learning experience thanks to Chumby.

Re: Blackberry Playbook

It's not specifically looking for Flash 10 - it's looking for the Android package "com.adobe.flashplayer", which is how you would detect the presence of Flash on Android.  Since Flash appears to be installed in some other way on the Playbook, this apparently fails.

One thing you might try is to create a small .apk with that package code and install it - that should be enough to pass this check.

If that doesn't work, please let me know.

The next thing that might trip you up is whether the Flash Player is supported in the Android WebView on the Playbook.

Re: Blackberry Playbook

Thanks, Duane. I'll give it a try.

Re: Blackberry Playbook

FYI folks, I gave up on this little project. It seems the Playbook is pretty secure in that I can't get an apk file in there without getting special BB versions of Putty, etc. Just as well. Turns out the Playbook has an "unresolved issue" in that the screen goes dark after 5 minutes of inactivity, unless watching a video. There's supposed to be a selection to keep the screen on, but it's not working. BB folks are a loyal bunch, content to wait for the next OS update. Also, I've noted a couple of Android apps converted for Playbook don't quite run right. So, I'm going to enjoy the tablet for what it is, a good tablet, but not a Chumby. I really wanted the tablet for a web radio and simple browsing. I think I'm just going to pick an extra Chumby-based device online- much simpler that way!

Re: Blackberry Playbook

BTW, I meant to mention what a simple solution it is to just use a virtual Chumby on the web. The interactive apps don't always work perfectly, but most look and work good. I figure I'll put up my few favorite channels and try them as virtual Chumby channels. My Chumby widgets can be with me anyplace there's a web browser.

Re: Blackberry Playbook

bobsz wrote:

FYI folks, I gave up on this little project. It seems the Playbook is pretty secure in that I can't get an apk file in there without getting special BB versions of Putty, etc. Just as well. Turns out the Playbook has an "unresolved issue" in that the screen goes dark after 5 minutes of inactivity, unless watching a video. There's supposed to be a selection to keep the screen on, but it's not working. BB folks are a loyal bunch, content to wait for the next OS update. Also, I've noted a couple of Android apps converted for Playbook don't quite run right. So, I'm going to enjoy the tablet for what it is, a good tablet, but not a Chumby. I really wanted the tablet for a web radio and simple browsing. I think I'm just going to pick an extra Chumby-based device online- much simpler that way!


bobsz,

Would something like the playbook app "stayon" solve your problem of the screen shutting off? I have not tried it myself, just read a couple of posts on crackberry.

Tar, feathers, congress. Some assembly required.