Android Apps Enabled on Windows Devices with Native x86 Runtime from BlueStacks

[dgstorm]

A start-up company called "BlueStacks", is developing an x86 runtime environment within Windows that will allow the use of Android apps along-side Windows apps. To be clear, this is not an emulator, but is an actual way to run Android apps directly within the Microsoft Windows system. the software technology has impressed investors enough that they have sunk $7.6 Million into BlueStacks to get the technology going. Here are a couple of quotes from the arstechnica.com article,

The company says that Android applications running on its stack will be highly responsive on Windows and won't suffer from the kind of lag that developers are accustomed to experiencing when using Google's emulator.

The article also indicated,

...BlueStacks developers have worked to create a really seamless experience for running Android applications on Windows. It offers tight integration with the underlying platform—including mechanisms that bridge the file systems, networking configuration, and notifications.

The BlueStacks runtime makes it possible for Android programs to run in individual windows and be launched from shortcuts like any other standalone Windows application. It also optionally offers the ability to run a complete Android user experience on Windows, including the launcher and other elements. Third-party applications that are built against the standard Android APIs don't have to be recompiled in order to work with the BlueStacks runtime. Users can even install conventional Android software from Amazon's Android Appstore and run it on Windows.

Right now the company is developing partnerships with hardware companies to generate interest in shipping the BlueStacks Android runtime with their products. They plan to demonstrate the technology at Computex, and intend to have a downloadable working alpha version in June or July.

This would be pretty impressive, if it actually works as advertised. There are a ton of ways that utilizing and synchronizing Android apps directly with your home or work PC could be useful. What do you guys think?

Source: Android.net via arstechnica.com

 

[kodiak799]

Yes, neat idea. I have some widgets I'd love to run on the PC (yes, I could probably find many I just don't feel like searching when I already search for Android and IOS apps).

Curious as to how this will work, given that the apps are designed to work with a touchscreen. I'd assume a mouse click can substitute.