A new report from Bloomberg confirms that Android compatibility will come to QNX BlackBerry phones when they launch in "early 2012." Though Android app support has been announced for the PlayBook, this is the first confirmation that phones will get the same treatment. According to Bloomberg, RIM wants to retain customers who have "grown weary of the aging BlackBerry portfolio and its narrower selection of apps." Of course, the company still hasn’t released Android Player for the PlayBook, but time is ticking for the BlackBerry platform — so we hope RIM can deliver at launch. Additionally, the PlayBook will allegedly receive a software upgrade in September to finally add a dedicated e-mail program and BlackBerry Messenger -- the Android player "may come later on in the year.

Meanwhile, if putting Android apps on RIM hardware isn’t your thing, you may be pleased to know that RIM announced that it has opened up a private beta for the BlackBerry Playbook native SDK. The SDK will enable developers to create games with C/C++ and Open GL. Developers can find more information about the native SDK here. Finding more information about which of the many, many options you should use to develop apps for the PlayBook is a trickier proposition. The native SDK for QNX on PlayBook brings the count up to six — native SDK, BlackBerry Java, BlackBerry WebWorks, Android (eventually), Adobe Flash, and Adobe Air.

Source: Bloomberg, via Business Insider