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Research In Motion is working on software that will allow its BlackBerry PlayBook tablet to run Android apps, according to a report on Bloomberg citing 'three people familiar with the matter'.

The move would make more than 130,000 apps available for the PlayBook, although the report suggests that the software may not be ready until the second half of this year, a few months after the PlayBook goes on sale this spring.

"It will be a shrewd move to let Android apps run RIM without any performance or user interface hiccups," analyst Chetan Sharma says in response. "It will make the RIM platform attractive to consumers as it lacks the strength of the rivals from an apps perspective."

However, the move could also backfire if it makes developers more likely to make Android apps rather than native BlackBerry and/or PlayBook applications.