Android apps coming to Windows 8 courtesy of AMD
Chip-manufacturer AMD, alongsidevirtual Android specialist Bluestacks,is set to bring half-a-million Android apps to Windows users, reports techradar.com. The software, which will help the apps run on AMD hardware, will enable the likes of ‘Flipboard’ and ‘Fruit Ninja’ to be played on upcoming Windows 8 devices via the new AppZone Player. Furthermore, the AppZone store can also be used with BlueStacks’ Cloud Connect system, letting those with business mobile phones to sync Android apps from their phones or tablets to an AMD device. The apps will take advantage of the firm’s graphic acceleration technology, either in the form of a discrete graphics card or the company’s ‘integrated accelerated processing units’. In addition, AMD is also working to convince original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to ship products with the AppZone pre-loaded, which means Android functionality will be ‘baked-in’ todevices from the off. This will come as a hit to Intel-based PCs as their devices will only have around 2,000 apps available through the Windows 8 store at launch. Rosen Sharma, CEO of BlueStacks, documented the deal in an email, cited by pcadvisor.co.uk: “This helps AMD leapfrog Intel by making Windows8 more attractive on their tablets and PCs. “We’ve worked closely together to optimise the performance of the apps for AMD’s unique ‘graphics and computing on one chip’ setup. The result is awesome – mobile apps run beautifully on their machines,” he added.