Bluestacks, makers of PC software that can run Android apps, scored a big partnership with Asus. On Monday, at the yearly Computex show in Taipei, the company will announce that 30 million Asus computers will include the Bluestacks app player software, bringing Android mobile apps to Windows PCs.
The convergence of mobile and traditional computing is a good concept — it’s happening already but in the opposite direction: Some PC activities are migrating to mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. But I’m not 100 percent sold on mobile apps running on computers, with one exception: Desktops or laptops with touch screens.
The reason is simple. Android apps are specifically made with touch interfaces in mind. A video demo I saw of Android apps running on Microsoft Windows showed that using a mouse to navigate through screens or app data isn’t optimal.
Still, the concept is intriguing. Asus must agree because of the commitment it’s making to pre-install Bluestacks on so many computers across its product line: Zenbooks, Eee PCs, and more. Bluestacks says that it has worked with developers to bring the top Android apps to its app player, some of which include titles like Fruit Ninja, Evernote, Pulse, and Nook.
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