BlueStacks has built its solid reputation on providing software which
enables Android apps to run on a variety of different platforms besides
Google’s. With the Windows beta version released last year to some 5 million+ downloads and the OS X beta
arriving just six weeks ago, the BlueStacks team has now compiled a
version adapted to the relatively-new Windows 8 platform, as well as
optimization for the Microsoft Surface Pro. Details after the break.
Running such apps on Windows and Mac is one thing, but in order to
fully emulate the experience of using apps and playing games on an
Android, it’s better to run an emulator tool like BlueStacks on a
touch-based device. The Surface Pro, which is proving to be a popular
device, having exhausted its initial batch of the 128GB storage
configuration, would seem the perfect candidate for some BlueStacks
treatment, and thanks to this new release from the Silicon Valley-based
outfit, enjoying the three quarters of a million Android titles on
Microsoft’s highly-anticipated slate.
It’s amazing to think that BlueStacks, as a company, is scarcely two
years old, and yet in such a short space of time, has achieved so much.
Millions have gone ahead and downloaded BlueStacks beta for Windows and
Mac, and with this new version also catering to the swiftly-adopted
Windows 8, I would expect that same trend to continue once more.
Intriguingly, the company also recently signed a distribution deal
with a slew of PC OEMs to pre-load the BlueStacks software onto over 100
million PCs during the course of 2013. Considering Android’s already
expansive reach in mobile space, the move will not only enhance the user
base in terms of numbers, but it will mean Android developers need not
port apps separately for the Windows platform.
Having given the beta a whirl on my Mac back when I covered it in
December, I have to say, I was very impressed by the responsiveness, and
general smoothness of the whole experience. If it is half as good on
the Surface Pro as it has been so far at desktop level, it’s fair to say
BlueStacks could be a game-changer in terms of how we deal with
cross-platform experiences.
You can download BlueStacks for Windows 8 from here.
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