11 November 2012

Apkenv will run Android games on Nokia N9

Apkenv is a recently developed Android apps compatibility layer for our Nokia N9. The idea itself is nothing new, as there is NITDroid project which allows to install Android as second system in Nokia N9. Installation of Apkenv, however, is much easier and faster. I'm going to show you how to make an Android game work on Nokia N9 in a few easy steps.

Official Apkenv project page contains android game and application compatibility lists and it'll take just under a second to realize it doesn't cover much at the moment.  There are just a few games supported like Angry Birds, Angry Birds Seasons, Angry Birds Space, Angry Birds Rio, and Fruit Ninja. I highly recommend dropping back once in a while as the supported games list might expand with some more titles. Truth be told, Fruit Ninja was probably the one that made me give apkenv a try.

The video below demonstrates Angry Birds Space running on a Nokia N9 with Apkenv:



Installation:

1. Download apkenv, unzip and copy the contents to /home/user/MyDocs/apkenv (i.e. the /home/user/MyDocs/ directory is the one you'd normally see when connected the phone with USB cable).
2. Run Nokia N9 Terminal and type:
mkdir -p /home/user/apkenv
cp -R /home/user/MyDocs/apkenv/* /home/user/apkenv/
chmod 775 /home/user/apkenv/apkenv
devel-su
Password: rootme
apt-get install libsdl1.2 libsdl-mixer1.2 libgles1-sgx-img
Note: Your password may be different if you have installed Inception.


3. When prompted, press 'Y' and press enter to agree..
4. Download and install apkenv-qml installation shell, (see instructions on how to install non-store applications) which will allow you to install apps and create nice main menu icons for Nokia N9.

Main menu with apkenv-qml installed

5. Run apkenv-qml from the phone's main menu. Press menu button and go to settings. Press 'apkenv' button on the left to change apkenv default libraries location from /opt/apkenv/bin/apkenv to the one you put your libraries in, i.e. /home/user/apkenv/apkenv, press save (see screens below).







6. Now, you obviously need APK file of a supported game (i.e. Angry Birds, Angry Birds Seasons, Angry Birds Space, Angry Birds Rio, Fruit Ninja, please refer to the compatibility list)

One of the ways you can get the games is APK Downloader.



7. When you get the APK files of the games, its time to install the games and set their icons (the icons are not generated automatically). First, copy the APK files to a folder in your phone's memory, e.g. /home/user/MyDocs/apk

Run apkenv-qml, press the big '+' button, choose the location of your game's APK file, and the icon you would like it to have in the menu screen. Go here to download a package of the icons you might use for your installations.

8. Press install. The game is ready to play. Whenever you wish to uninstall a game, run apkenv-qml, and choose a game to uninstall by press and hold.



14 comments:

  1. Multi-touch is not workin ???

    ReplyDelete
  2. Nice post.Give it up. Thanks for share this article. For more visit:android development

    ReplyDelete
  3. I cant put in the password after I typed "devel-su" and the password pops up, wont type a single letter.

    Help please?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Password letters do not show. Just carefully type password and press enter.

    ReplyDelete
  5. it said can't create, denied

    ReplyDelete
  6. can you add Subway Surfers it will make N9 perfect

    ReplyDelete
  7. nothing happens when i click on install button. Any help on this?

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  8. Hmm. weird. I can only run Fruit Ninja and Angry Birds everything else is failing. It's not opening.

    ReplyDelete
  9. People complaining about this not working for them; Java with support for the api calls that Android apps make isn't present on the N9. It's not easy.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Thanks for sharing. I want to share Wear Game, Skyscraper Jumper is an endless runner game. You need to time jumps carefully between the towers and see how far you can go. Download it Now

    ReplyDelete
  11. Astropup game is a journey through space as the puppy undertakes an epic quest to find the way back home on earth. The Astropup on #Android, it's FREE!!! Now on Google Play. If you fancy yourself a pro gamer, and if you seek more variety than the average #Puzzle #Game, #Astropup should be your next download.

    ReplyDelete