BlackBerry PlayBook ready to run Android apps?

The BlackBerry PlayBook could run Android apps, if rumours are to be believed. Forthcoming BlackBerry phones and tablets could boast a feature that makes them compatible with software developed for Google's open-source operating system.

Boy Genius Report reckons BlackBerry-makers Research In Motion is planning to use the Dalvik virtual machine to run Java on future devices. It's the same virtual machine that Android uses, so any app built on the Android platform would be able to work on BlackBerry devices.

Tenuous, maybe, but not necessarily as daft as it sounds. We've seen netbooks and tablets that run both Windows and Android. If you can put Android in a microwave or even in an iPhone, then why not a BlackBerry?

It would be a great shortcut to a vastly expanded catalogue of apps. BlackBerry has its own App World with more than 10,000 apps, but it's not a patch on the Android Market, which has more than 200,000. Apple's App Store offers more than 400,000 apps for the iPhone and iPad. 

Sony has also unveiled PlayStation Suite today, which puts a range of PSOne games on Android phones. Sweet.

Are you a BlackBerry user? Is the App World up to snuff or would you love to get your hands on Android? And which apps do you fancy? We suggest you start with our favourite Android apps and our top five free Android games.