Running Android Apps on a Windows PC

Running Android apps on a smaller screen phone is quite uneasy. You have to deal with tucking in your viewing space, which can be a mood dampener and can cut off your fun and entertainment.

Plus, if you happen to have a slower processor on your Android phone, you will never get to enjoy those jaw-dropping games and applications running on some of the high-end Android phones. It just makes wish you can run those apps on your PC, which runs considerably faster than your smartphone.

With BlueStacks App Player for Windows, that wish seems to be a wish granted. BlueStacks lets you enjoy your Android apps on the faster and wider screen desktop on your Windows PC. You might also get to enjoy some of the latest Android apps without having to own an Android phone.

Here’s a video preview of what BlueStacks App Player for Windows can do:

Preview of BlueStacks Features

BlueStacks App Player for Windows lets you run Android apps on Windows PC and tablets, allowing you to enjoy your favorite Android apps, while optimizing the bigger display and faster processor in your Windows PC and tablets.

Using your mouse or your touch pad, you can play your favorite Android games on a Windows machine.

Aside from enjoying game apps, you also get to enjoy social networking apps, such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and keep yourself updated on latest news with Pulse right on your Windows desktop.

With BlueStacks, it looks like you can make the hundreds of thousands of Android apps on the Android Market run on your desktop or laptop.

BlueStacks opens the gate for Android, allowing Android apps to run on x86-based tablets, netbooks, notebooks, and desktops. A caveat, though: the performance and speed of apps run through BlueStacks will depend on your desktop or laptop hardware. Therefore, performance may not be too smooth on some desktops or laptops with older hardware.

Through its Cloud Connect feature, BlueStacks can also sync your Android apps on your smartphone, making them available on your Windows PC. And, with the integration of Citrix’s Enterprise App Store, you can effortlessly and securely access apps on Windows.

Technology

Because BlueStacks uses virtualization technology, it can run multiplatform apps simultaneously on the same machine.

The program’s developers also claim that the latest version of BlueStacks supports different operating systems (and apps developed for those operating systems). Thus, it can run Android on Windows or vice-versa.

Moreover, the BlueStacks user interface is user configurable and can be integrated with custom software designed by PC manufacturers.

Availability

The limited alpha version of BlueStackS App Player for Windows is currently free, and is only available for Windows 7 and higher. Developers are planning to release versions for Windows XP, Vista, and Mac.

A premium or pro version is also currently being worked on and will soon be released.

Have you tried BlueStacks? What do you think of it?