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.