Hasn’t everyone wished, at one time or another, for a straightforward way to use Android apps on Windows PCs? I personally haven’t, but Intel apparently thinks the idea is a popular one, because it intends to highlight at CES computers capable of running Android applications alongside Windows programs. Dubbed “Dual OS” or “PC Plus,” the idea is to use the Android app ecosystem to augment the languishing Windows 8 app store.
The concept is hardly new. Device manufactures have attempted clunky marriages of mobile and PC operating systems before: Acer launched a netbook that dual-booted Android and Windows in 2009, and computer makers ViewSonic and Azpen followed suit. More recently, though, companies like Asus and Samsung have taken a different tact, preferring setups that eschew separately partitioned OSes for virtualization and emulation. The obvious benefit is a less disjointed user experience; depending on the implementation, Android apps could be minimized and resized just like Windows programs.
Although Intel has invested significantly in a solution unifying Android and Windows – the company’s Bay Trail CPU architecture is capable of running either operating system – the respective maintainers of each OS, Microsoft and Google, are less enthusiastic. Google may be skeptical of the quality of Intel’s implementation, while Microsoft, which has been working towards a store that incorporates both mobile and computer apps, is afraid Android apps will dilute its efforts and deter developers.
Hesitation on the part of either company could be a death sentence for Intel’s plans: Microsoft could threaten PC OEMs with increased prices on volume Windows licenses, while Google could prevent access to Google services (the Play Store and Google Play Services, among others). It remains to be seen whether Intel’s idea will ever gain enough traction to be perceived as a threat, but the chip maker faces an uphill battle.



What ever happened to BlueStacks?
I’ll pass.
what about blue-stacks it was an app that was released for AMD based pc’s that allowed this, and has been out for over a year now. I personally have not had a chance to try it out didn’t see much of need.
“taken a different tact”? Gag me with a malapropism.
I think its a pretty good idea. Windows hardware is usually much stronger than android-running hardware, so any android apps should be emulatable on windows. I’d like to see more of this.
You better hope they aren’t emulated.
ARM Android emulators SUCK on any x86 hardware.
They could just port dalvik, not the entire OS. (Like a JVM)
That alone won’t allow ARM compiled software to run on x86 (AFAIK).
He’s right, most any real game (not crap using a built in web browser, etc), is compiled in C/C++ natively for Android. Though, it shouldn’t be any real issue at all to set your target in the compiler options and build… I wrote a 3D rendering application for Windows a LONG time ago that utilized Open GL (then added Direct X support to it but it wasn’t as fleshed out at the time), and it shouldn’t be too much of an issue…well I don’t see why it should. Target libraries will be different.(ok granted I haven’t looked at open gl in c/c++ for android yet as I’ve had no need to, but it’s open gl…it is easily portable because the all is the same (well should be).
The bigger question is, how many developers are actually going to do that though?
Question 2: How does Intel deal with it on their Android phones?
Which pretty much leaves out a lot of games.
Android already runs on x86, so they have a starting point with that.
Great move on their part. If I could get Google Play Music All Access on a Windows Tablet, I’d consider switching.
Windows Tablets don’t come with a web browser?
I think he means as a standalone app, without having to run in a web browser. At least that is what I would like to see anyway.
Did the new Samsung one get canceled because Google said they couldn’t use the Play Store on it?
Am I the only one who thinks this will be a great idea.. I like the idea..
I don’t mind it at all.
Yes. Yes you are.
I have wanted this since Windows 8 consumer preview.
As someone who develops Android on a Windows 8.1 laptop with a touch screen I would love this idea. Even on my top of the line Core i7 setup Android emulators are still far more sluggish than even my oldest Android device. That was one of the main reasons I sprung for a touch screen laptop, and I have so far been very disappointed with the Android emulator.
Why does Intel of all companies care about this? Why Android and Windows in particular? What benefit does it give them to attempt this?
Well you are already talking about them, so they are already getting advertisement with just the thought of doing this.
Because smartphone sales are booming while PCs are declining, and practically all smartphones run on ARM CPUs, not Intel CPUs, which until now where limited to PCs.
When you are a five year old with a hammer, everything looks like a nail.
Why does anyone dual boot? Answer that and you have an answer for this.
The reason Intel has interest in this is because if there was a desirable market place on a Windows device, like the Google Play Store it could be an incentive to purchase a device. If you had the choice of a device that could give you the windows environment, and Android apps for play it’d be a nice 2 in 1. Intel wants to be the base for those devices. They want to get in on the ground level. I think it is an idea that can catch on and apparently Intel thinks so as well. They want to be first in as these devices (assuming they catch on) would run on Intel CPUs.
I installed Chrome on my Windows PC years ago. Sorry Intel, I beat you to it.
I can’t even….
Kris thinks the Chrome browser is Android?
No I never thought that for a second. But what would be the difference between having Chrome which basically utilizes a majority, if not all of the same apps that can be found in the play store? Obviously I’m missing the bigger picture of what Intel is painting.
You really think that there is a Chrome version of every Android app out there?
I just randomly checked using Timely as an example.
Nope.
OK smartass, what I was asking was what would be the difference? Why the f would you want and alarm on your computer anyway?
Ever heard of tablets, genius? They aren’t just Android or iOS anymore.
Yes, of course I have. But this article is about dual OS on “PC’s”…..
It is no different than the MediaSmart crap that HP has included on PCs in the past. It gives them a different user interface to do things that PC users don’t typically do.
When you consider that PCs are attempting to move to a touch interface, Android suddenly makes more sense. Is it beneficial to anyone but a basic consumer? Not even a little. But those are the crux of PC users.
To make sense of this is to try and make sense of Windows 8 too….
Don’t even try, it will just make your head hurt.
You realize Chrome is an operating system and not just a browser right? What do you think comes in a Chromebook?
The os has a bit more to it than the browser and Kris was talking about the browser.
Ahhh I thought he was referring to having installed Chrome OS on his PC years ago, not just the browser. My bad. It would be nice to see the Play store on Windows 8 machines to supplicant the Microsoft store. If only we can get apks to run on 32 bit architecture. Outside of something like blue stack I couldn’t imagine how though.
Chrome is a browser, Chromium is the operating system.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrome_OS
wtf are you even talking about?
The connection between your brain and keyboard seems to have come undone.
Ahahhahah! Shut up!
“From the people who brought you ‘NSA backdoors in your hardware’…”
Pass.
http://i.imgur.com/PmeL6OR.jpg
Need a bigger Intel logo.
Although Intel has invested significantly in a solution unifying Android and Windows – the company’s Bay Trail CPU architecture is capable of running either operating system
haz,bourt,neighbour,actualie,bay tr,labtop…
I dont see anything wrong with it
the problem is it only takes up 1/3 of the page
Oh it’s massive on my 24″ monitor
Yup, it takes up half the height and half the width of my monitor. Because of the big header and logo, the story does not appear on the front screen at all. It only starts one and a half screens from the top.
but we all care more about the logo. the logo does need to be bigger. better yet, put to logos next to each other
I don’t think this will take off