AfterDawn: Tech news

Play Android apps on Windows: BlueStacks hits beta

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 27 Mar 2012 1:38

Play Android apps on Windows: BlueStacks hits beta BlueStacks app player, the software that allows Windows fans to run Android apps on their devices, has gone into beta.
The startup company has raised $14 million in capital from venture firms and large corporations like AMD and Citrix.

In BlueStack's previous alpha of the software, Windows users were given access to Android apps, but graphics-intensive apps, like many of the popular games on the platform, had severe issues.

The new beta will give access to all 450,000 Android apps, including full screen support for all intensive apps, as well. Crunch explains that this "new functionality is made possible by the company?s new patent-pending technology, called Layercake, which allows Android apps to run on x86-based PCs, including apps that are written for the ARM processor."



BlueStack's latest update will use your PC's video card to run the apps that need it, including hardware acceleration. The beta also comes with accelerometer tilting and pinch-to-zoom, using your PC's arrow keys.

Download the beta here: Bluestacks.com

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