PlayBook's Android app support explored

RIM's PlayBook tablet has finally taken off its training wheels – after ten months of suckling at your smartphone – and it's PlayBook OS 2.0's newfound Android abilities that are coming in for the most attention. The updated platform supports select Android apps, and efforts have been underway for some time figuring out which of the popular titles for Google's platform will also play nicely on RIM's tablet.

There's a work-in-progress testing report here, which lists around 800 Android apps that have been pitted against the PlayBook having been sideloaded manually. Not all of them work, mind, and even those that do often have some partial issues, often to do with connectivity or general stability.

Still, there's a fair number of apps that are functioning, and we're guessing more developers will jump on board now OS 2.0 is in the wild. RIM also made a big show of handing out free PlayBook units to coders willing to submit modified Android apps for inclusion in BlackBerry App World, and the first batch of those showed up earlier today.

So, PlayBook owners, is OS 2.0 proving sufficient to keep you overjoyed with your BlackBerry tablet? Or, if you're yet to jump on the PlayBook gravy-train, is the new functionality in OS 2.0 – along with RIM's significant discounted prices - enough to make you consider picking up the upgraded slate? Let us know in the comments.

[via Twitter]