Instagram, Google Voice, and more run on BlackBerry 10 thanks to Android (gallery)

Summary: There may not yet be an official Instagram app, but the Android one works quite well on the BlackBerry Z10.

By Matthew Miller for Smartphones and Cell Phones | March 6, 2013 -- 14:18 GMT (06:18 PST)

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Instagram works well on the BlackBerry Z10

I've been using the BlackBerry Z10 as my daily smartphone and last week I mentioned 10 apps that get me through the day. To fill in the app gap as BlackBerry continues to fill out their catalog, I installed several Android apps.

The folks at CrackBerry.com have a couple of great posts to help Windows and Mac users to sideload apps on your BlackBerry 10 device. I also found a helpful site that lists tons of Android apps you can install on your BB10 device.

A few of these Android apps appear in BlackBerry World, but most of what I show in this image gallery are sideloaded apps. Performance isn't always quite as good as native apps, but it's much better than I was led to believe, and having Android apps fill the gap is a viable option for BlackBerry 10 owners.

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6 comments

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Battery...

How's the battery life since the recent OS update?

dunnsantee

6 March, 2013 15:26

Reply 1 Vote

I hear much better

Reading through owner comments - sounds like it's much improved.

kooool1
7 March, 2013 03:26

Reply 1 Vote
Great Battery Life.

Under normal use, the battery will last throughout the entire day.

sk8er_tor
7 March, 2013 15:05

Reply Vote

Good, useful reporting!

Thanks for showing this off. It's not ABC level of easiness to sideload, but neither is Jailbreaking, nor rooting/custom ROMs which are required on the majority of Android devices for stability. Sideloading should be sold as a feature of BB10 as much as anything else frankly, and it increases their app catalog substantially.

Personally once you have it set up the first time, it takes seconds to download and sideload an app every time you find something afterwards. I run quite a few on my device, from Flipboard to Path to Instagram and I find relatively few stability issues.

svlt86

6 March, 2013 18:45

Reply 1 Vote

Z10

"it's much better than I was led to believe"
That's because so many people like to bash BlackBerry without even trying it out for themselves. The BlackBerry Z10 is a great device.

sk8er_tor

7 March, 2013 15:04

Reply Vote