With each passing day, the number of apps found through the Windows Store continues to increase. That said, when it comes to certain games, social and productivity apps, you’ll find that you’ll often have to settle for third-party versions or clones at this stage.
Microsoft is dedicated to attracting big-name developers to Windows 8, so you can rest assured that many of these programs will eventually make their way to the platform.
What if you don’t want to wait? If you’re currently rocking a touch-optimized Windows device, you don’t need to select the current app. Instead, you can also open your device up to over 500,000 Android apps.
Still not sold on Windows 8? You may want to turn your attention to the upcoming Windows 8.1 update and check out our guide to 9 reasons why it’s better than Windows 8.
How to do this correctly? While there are technically many ways to accomplish this task, the easiest is to use a program called BlueStacks. not just BlueStacks it’s easy to use, it’s pretty stable, works with 3D games, and comes fully integrated with Google Play Store support – along with several alternative Android stores.
Add Android apps to your Windows 8 device
To get started, follow these simple steps:
Step 1: Go to BlueStack’s Website and download their special suite.
Step 2: Once you open the downloaded file, you will see a settings box asking you to accept the terms and press continue (marked with a red arrow).
Step 3: Circled in red, you’ll see two clickable options for handling app notifications and store access. If you want to use the Play Store and have apps notify you of important things, make sure both boxes are checked and then hit the install button.
Step 4: Bluestacks will go through the installation and when it’s done, will start uploading in full screen right away.
It may take about half a minute for BlueStacks to load. Once done, you will see a custom user interface.
Wondering how to navigate around the UI? By hovering the mouse on the bottom right part of the user interface, you will bring up the following menu bar:
The big button with the android robot on it is The main menu button. The search icon in the toolbar is for setting. Arrow is to go back. The rest of the buttons are easy enough to figure out just by playing around with it for a minute or so.
Step 5: One of the first steps after installing Bluestacks is to click 1-click sync options (as indicated by the red arrow above). What this does is sync with your existing Android device – if you have one. This means that any apps you have there can be purchased and downloaded here.
Clicking this option also allows you to go through the process of adding your Google account to gain access to the Play Store and other Google resources.
Step 6: Follow the prompts and you’ll be done soon. Bluestacks will take you back to its home screen. Find the button that says My Apps. Click on it and go to Search for apps.
Step 7: Now you will see a search screen to find the application. Enter the desired application name. For this tutorial, I searched Angry Birds Star Wars.
Step 8: Search will return several results from different stores like Amazon and Google Play. If an app appears in Google Play, we recommend choosing that app as your download destination over any other app.
Why? It is often the best-maintained download and is less likely to contain malware lurking in the shadows. Once in the store, follow the download instructions and Bluestacks will do the rest.
It’s quite a lot. Now you know how to set up your account and download the app. There are some other cool settings you can learn to use on the go, but this should be more than enough to get you started.
Optional: Now might also be a good time to go back My Apps of BlueStacks and check any apps you have installed to make sure they work. As you will see in the screenshot below, mine Angry Birds Star Wars installation works perfectly!
End of thought and consideration
Is Bluestacks the perfect solution? Are not. If you want 100% compatibility with Android, you want an Android device.
Currently, Bluestacks is built on the older Android 2.3.4 platform and that means it may not work with some newer apps. The good news is that Bluestacks is said to be working on a move to Android Jelly Bean in the not too distant future, which should improve compatibility with apps even more.
It’s also important to note that a faster machine will run these Android apps better than a mainstream tablet or touch PC, since emulation is required for everything to run. That said, if it’s a non-graphically intense application (not a game), even a slower machine should handle the experience just fine.
So what, have you downloaded and set up Bluestacks? What do you think, glad to finally have all the apps you’ve been missing out on?
Categories: How to
Source: thpttranhungdao.edu.vn/en/
