RIM is thought to be considering use of Android’s Dalvik Virtual Machine to run the latest edition of Java on its forthcoming PlayBook tablet and future smartphones, based on its new QNX OS. According to Boy Genius Report, “we have been told RIM is very much considering the Dalvik virtual machine, and we ultimately expect the company to choose Dalvik”.  The adoption of Dalvik should allow QNX-based devices to run apps from the Android Market. There are a number of tactics that RIM could employ in this situation, including adopting Dalvik although not working directly with Google. Or it could reach an agreement with Google and make the arrangement more official so that Gmail, Google Maps, Android Market and other Google services are available to the PlayBook and other QNX-based devices.

If Dalvik was chosen, and QNX-based devices could run Android apps, it  would offer a huge boost for RIM’s BlackBerry App World. RIM opened the store to apps for its PlayBook, its first QNX-based device, in December. It has a lot of ground to make up on rivals. The addition of Android apps would make the PlayBook a more credible competitor to the likes of Apple’s iPad, or indeed any Android-based tablets which might raise the question of why Google would want to co-operate with RIM. One possible reason is that the PlayBook is an attractive tablet, and potentially could haul in Apple’s lead in the tablet market.

But there are arguments against the credibility of RIM adopting Dalvik too. One is that the app store market is still new enough for the market to change, so independent players such as RIM and Google are not under immediate pressure to join forces. On a technical note, Pocketnow says: “RIM would also have to support the Android application framework; just choosing the Dalvik VM is not enough to provide Android application compatibility.” So perhaps a link-up is not so straightforward.

RIM’s starting point was the need for a Java-based virtual machine to provide legacy support  for apps, particularly those its enterprise customers have spent money on building for themselves. Among the options was Dalvik, which is now apparently under consideration by RIM.