john777_a wrote:
I see every where on the interweb about sideloading.
Is this safe? Will it affect the warranty?
This is a bit of a grey area. I mean, you can get free Android .apk files and use online tools to convert them to .bar files which the PlayBook can use. Some will work, many will not since the libraries the apps require are not native to the PlayBook. The grey area comes in with the fact that you can do this with paid apps too which is IP theft and robs the author of their hard work and due profits.
You can run into trouble loading applications that are difficult to uninstall and may leave files behind which require special applications to uninstall properly. There is no guarantee that the source where you got your files from won't introduce a virus unless its directly from the Google App Store.
I don't know if this process is sanctioned or not nor if it will void your warranty. I mean the Android Player is an integral part of the BB OS so I would think it is safe to do. I can't personally see how this would void your Warranty either. I mean ultimately if you ran into trouble, you could nuke the OS install and reinstall it from scratch. No one would know the difference.
I am not going to list the tools here in order to sideload but I will say that YouTube is full of videos on how to accomplish this if you're indeed interested.
So it's up to you. Personally, I prefer to purchase my apps from the BB App World so I get support and updates for my apps. I don't want problems with my apps not working to my expectation levels. I believe paying for them from legitimate sources is the right way to ensure piece of mind.
