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April 11, 2012

Software Allows Android Based Apps to Run On Windows PCs

Silicon Valley-based nascent company BlueStacks has developed software that allows users to run Android based applications on x86 based Windows devices. The company released a beta-1 version late March.  BlueStacks, a Silicon Valley-based company, is developing technology to allow users to run Android apps on x86-based devices. Their beta-1 version was released March 27, 2012.

Personal technology news website SlashGear reported that the beta release of the BlueStacks software App Player has seen some 1 million downloads and over 12 million apps being run by multitude of users. And the software has gained this widespread popularity within the first 10 days of the beta release, wrote SlashGear reporter Ben Kersey. The App Player beta version was released on March 27th.

Media reports indicate that the BlueStacks App Player is a free software download that gives Android users the ability to get one-click access to their apps on any Windows PC, including full-screen viewing.

On the heels of this early traction, the company has found yet another investor. The latest investment comes from telecom semiconductor giant Qualcomm, according to technology news site TechCrunch.

The TechCrunch report shows that BlueStacks lured $7.6 million in venture funding pre-launch, and added another $6.4 million a few months later from investors like AMD, Citrix Systems, Andreessen Horowitz, Ignition Ventures, and more. Although, Qualcomm’s investment has not been disclosed, the report suggests that the telecom semiconductor supplier may have invested in millions.

 The SlashGear report shows that BlueStacks now has over $15 million in outside investment. And two major semiconductor rivals, Qualcomm and AMD, are supporting the same software developer. The report quotes Qualcomm Ventures Vice President Nagraj Kashyap, as saying, “We believe BlueStacks is well-positioned to capitalize on the marriage of mobile and PC.”

Consumer electronics news site tom’s guide is asking a fundamental question. What will happen once BlueStacks begins charging for the software?  “Perhaps the best route would be for BlueStacks to leave it free and provide its own Android marketplace within the App Player which in turn would use a portion of the revenue to pay for development costs and so on,” wrote tom’s guide reporter Kevin Parrish.

BlueStacks has also introduced Cloud Connect that lets users push apps from their phone onto their PC easily and remotely, turning PCs into extensions of any Android-based mobile device.




Edited by Amanda Ciccatelli


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