Warren says Windows RT and WP is getting android apps. Perfers WP have malware

[k0de]

So you are cool with the idea of WP running android along side Windows apps? First question I have would those apps be able to share info such as Facebook security info or would one be largely be independent of the other? If you know that is.

Yes I am just recently to increase volume in the store.

That is a very good question. What are the pros and cons?

For security reasons ill say independent of each other.

But please elaborate further the difference between the two to clarify my understanding.

Thanks

 

[dalydose]

Eldar is bullsh*t, just like his tweets.

That doesn't refuse his point.

 

[Mike Gibson]

Same here can't wait for the day that VS come shipped with Android support already installed.

I said that because I believe MSFT should ditch Windows Phone and become more of a pure software application/tool company. They're killing Windows Desktop right now with WinRT (which will never fly, which means Windows itself is dead) and that means Windows Phone has absolutely no chance. They will have no viable operating system in ten years (I have no idea which OS will end up dominating the laptop/desktop market).

Have you try ARM DS-5 Community Edition IDE.
DS-5 Community Edition | ARM Development Studio 5

Nope. I'm an old developer and can ride off into the sunset with Win32, C++, and Visual Studio. They'll continue to pay the bills for a decade. If they make a version that can also create Android apps then I'd be happy.

 

[k0de]

I said that because I believe MSFT should ditch Windows Phone and become more of a pure software application/tool company. They're killing Windows Desktop right now with WinRT (which will never fly, which means Windows itself is dead) and that means Windows Phone has absolutely no chance. They will have no viable operating system in ten years (I have no idea which OS will end up dominating the laptop/desktop market).


Nope. I'm an old developer and can ride off into the sunset with Win32, C++, and Visual Studio. They'll continue to pay the bills for a decade. If they make a version that can also create Android apps then I'd be happy.

It is evident with Satya that MSFT cloud first campaign is moving into position to be a Software tool company.

But is the hardware department dead though? I don't think so.

I believe that since the acquisition of Nokia and the push for the Surface line. MSFT is quietly making a move on hardware division also.

You can't go wrong with VS. Glad to hear that VS had been good to you. Hopefully soon Android support is introduced to VS soon.

To bad you didn't like the ARM IDE.

What about NetBeans. Or Eclipse?

They both support Android rather nicely. Best of all everything is free.

https://netbeans.org/

http://eclipse.org/

Also take codeblocks for a spin. Is very similar to VS.

http://www.codeblocks.org/

 

[rodan01]

It doesn't work this way for Blackberry. You could argue that Blackberry is on its way down, but WP isn't exactly lighting the world on fire either.

BlackBerry is a different case. That company collapsed financially months after the launch of BB10, that killed the OS. They launched only one touch device before the collapse, the z10, overpriced and targeting the iPhone. The Android apps had to be published in BlackBerry World in an alternative format, few developers got interested because even today the user base of BB10 is less than 5 million users. So, Android apps is not the important problem for BlackBerry, they didn't have many of those, they didn't have many native apps either, they didn't have apps at all because they don't have users.
Only two weeks ago they announced an agreement with Amazon to pre-install their app store, now they have the apps. But, the brand is destroyed, everybody knows that BlackBerry is dead, so maybe It's too late for them, time will tell.

What incentive does Secret (a random hot app) have to use WP live tiles if MS made an Android library available? If the Android version of Secret works on WP, why would they bother to spend time to make sure live tiles work? Let's say the Android version works on WP. It's not like the people who want to use Secret will refuse to use it without live tiles or that live tiles bring in new users. I have no doubt that project managers will have those features on their radar, but they won't be high-priority compared to regular bug fixes and new features.
It may help market uptake a bit, but I don't see the logic in "Getting people to do A isn't working. Let's let them do B and maybe it will convince them to do A." Now you've got people doing B because it's easier since their doing B anyway. Why would they do A? If it's a matter of time and money, they won't.

Secret is a social network, that's not a good example because they improve the quality of the app mainly increasing the number of users (network effect), not so much with the quality of the app itself. The WP user will use the app even if It sucks because all their friends use the app.
Although, for example, a subscription music app, you won't subscribe to their service if the app sucks. The quality of the app impacts the profits directly, It can give them an edge over the competitors. The decision to build a native app is determined by: the size of the user base, the improvement of the experience of going native vs Android app, the relation between quality and profit for the app, the cost of development (that can be reduced with universal apps). Different combinations of those variables produce different decision for each category of app and developer, and these variables change in time. So, the end result is a mixed app store in which native, android and html5 coexist.

One of those platforms is floundering badly (worse than WP at least) and the other hasn't been officially launched (the app store part, anyway). Windows Phone is the closest thing MS has to a mature app store using XAML/WinJS/WinRT at the moment.

I think sales of Windows tablets will improve for a couple of reasons. They're about to enter in the low-end for the first time, until now tablet sales were like WP sales without the Lumia 520. Windows tablet has a big advantage in the enterprise and the education market. Windows dominate the hybrid devices and probably that form factor is going to grow faster in the future.

They have been doing pretty much just this for the past 3+ years.

They can concentrate in top apps if Android apps cover big part of the ground.

Maybe it's the high-risk kick the platform needs, maybe it's just delaying the inevitable, maybe it's what finally kills WP. I don't feel confident about it. It feels like a desperation move. I guess we'll see. I just wish MS would clear up their strategy sooner rather than later. All this speculation is driving the community nuts.

It feels as a desperate move because It is a desperate move. Most of the sales of WP are low-end devices, WP had a performance advantage over Android, but now Android is improving in low-end hardware. The main reason to buy a WP for most of the user base is gone, and the main reason to avoid WP, the app gap, is still there. Time to move.

 

[androidtoWM]

Re: Warren says WIndows RT and WP are getting android apps. Perfers WP have malware

I'm older and he just posted this comment. But the bigger question for me is, who is Tom Warren? I see his posts in this forum often and he is treated like he is some mega "insider".

he used to run the blog winrumors and now works for The Verge. He's usually right about MS related rumors (especially Windows Phone).

 

[Dave Bhullar]

I don't think Android/iOS apps on WP would be a good idea. Maybe Microsoft is working on making it super simple for developers to port apps from Android to WP and that might be the real reason behind these rumors, just an optimistic guess lol.

 

[androidtoWM]

One other journalist have confirmed the existence of Android apps on WP.
Ars Technica MS correspondent Peter Bright. https://twitter.com/DrPizza/status/488169562731323393

I don't think any developer would be interested in developing native windows phone apps if these rumors are true (there will be exceptions but majority of them won't be interested).

 

[Dave Bhullar]

He didn't say it would "p!ss off", anyone. He used the word "upset" and he wasn't clear if he meant upset as in anger or upset as in abruptly change.

I remember he clarified in the comments section that it's gonna be a positive change for WP users

 

[girishN]

Instead of developing a virtual machine for android they could make an app porting kind of software, just one click to port and if app was in android's default design language then android's elements could get changed with similar elements of windows phone keeping the functionality same. Android apps layout is identical to windows phone's pivot/panoramic layout in functionality.

 

[dlalonde]

Android apps supposedly coming to WP: A thought

When I heard that maybe WP would become compatible with Android apps, I was turned off and thought this rang the end of Windows Phone. Why keep a platform alive if companies don't even have to make apps for it? I really thought it would be the death of WP and started looking at the price of iPhones.

Then I thought of it differently.

WP is first and foremost a user experience, an ecosystem if you will. The general experience itself is quite different to that of Android. But it is just that: an experience, a feeling, a way of using this tool that is the smartphone. Something that you can, yes, tweak Android to LOOK like but never imitate or surpass. Android has its own ecosystem with Google in the middle of it all with Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Play and so on. WP is the same with Outlook and the Microsoft Store.

But there's one thing lacking with Windows Phone that many complain about: apps. Most companies (not all I know) either create subpar apps that they don't even bother updating (Instagram, Vine) if any at all (Flipboard, Google services). For example, the two radio stations I listen to the most have an iPhone and an Android app. My bank, same. The news paper I read the most, same. And so on...

Now given that Microsoft cannot force companies to invest in creating and maintaining apps (because lets not forget that an App costs money to develop and maintain even when they are free), if the rumours are true, they decided to take matters in their own hands to bring us, their users, the apps we want with their features.

So where's the harm really? All those who really like WP will not cross over to Android or iPhone because of it. They won't have to. They will have all that they need on the WP platform.

Plus, to all those calling the end of WP, do you really think MS would invest so much in developing Cortana if it was about to pack it in and just create Android phones? Again, developing such a complex system costs money and Microsoft did not become a company worth and generating billions by throwing money out the windows (no pun intended).

Now if they manage to do this better than Blackberry did, making the apps run more smoothly, and manage to protect users from malware and Google's evil prying eye, then I'm on board.

And remember we can't be dogmatic about this, it's just a bloody phone!

 

[EC Translating Services]

Just asking..
Why not shift to some stock Android Phone and literally close the app gap overnight?
If you're here for the UI and Nokia can try X2?
Just asking why people want it here on a different platform? No offense.

Some people want the WP OS with the quality, choice and flexibility they get on Android. In short, they like the Google apps because many of them are really good and cater for a lot of users also globally (where WP lacks a lot) but don't want the Android UI or the issues Google causes to its users with that OS that basically sucks all your personal data etc etc.. Long story short, that's it. 4 years waiting for basic functionalities is too long. It's better if they open to an ecosystem that's already there. I'd stay on WP if they allowed me to add the apps i am missing and the keyboard input i need from a third party app developer on Android.

 

[EC Translating Services]

Re: Android apps supposedly coming to WP: A thought

So where's the harm really? All those who really like WP will not cross over to Android or iPhone because of it. They won't have to. They will have all that they need on the WP platform.

That's exactly so. I am just waiting for the apps i need to shift completely to WP. I couldn't care less if the apps come from Android, from Mars or from the Moon (An App is an App i need it and take it from where i get the best). What i want is to keep the OS and add up what i need. Like me i think many others tired of Google.
My 2 cents. There is nothing to fear for WP. It's only going to bring more users. Why go back to Android if you can have the Android apps without having to deal with Google? WP is suitable once you add up what you need.

 

[twint7787]

Re: Android apps supposedly coming to WP: A thought

That's exactly so. I am just waiting for the apps i need to shift completely to WP. I couldn't care less if the apps come from Android, from Mars or from the Moon (An App is an App i need it and take it from where i get the best). What i want is to keep the OS and add up what i need. Like me i think many others tired of Google.
My 2 cents. There is nothing to fear for WP. It's only going to bring more users. Why go back to Android if you can have the Android apps without having to deal with Google? WP is suitable once you add up what you need.

I don't think the general public see it that way though. I also don't think most people think Google is evil, or any more evil than any big tech company; they are learning to live with this kind of invasion of privacy if you will. If MS does this I honestly can not see this being a good thing for native app development IMO. All we have are opinions I suppose. Read this article if you have not already
Android apps on Windows Phone would be an ugly capitulation | Ars Technica

 

[dlalonde]

Re: Android apps supposedly coming to WP: A thought

I don't think the general public see it that way though. I also don't think most people think Google is evil, or any more evil than any big tech company; they are learning to live with this kind of invasion of privacy if you will. If MS does this I honestly can not see this being a good thing for native app development IMO. All we have are opinions I suppose. Read this article if you have not already
Android apps on Windows Phone would be an ugly capitulation | Ars Technica

Oh it will probably be an important jab at native apps. That's a given... then again it all depends how it's done. But when you look at the most popular apps, the differences between other OS is getting thinner and thinner. Skype, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Vine, etc. They look more and more the same on every platform. So that's not so bad. Of course, for the rest, that remains to be seen.

 

[twint7787]

Yeah its not so much about how apps will look as much as how they perform. Also, as the article states, why would a developer code for WP if they know coding for Android will hit both markets? I personally don't see this helping Microsoft because I think the people who would switch to WP but are waiting for apps is so negligible.

 

[dlalonde]

Yeah its not so much about how apps will look as much as how they perform. Also, as the article states, why would a developer code for WP if they know coding for Android will hit both markets? I personally don't see this helping Microsoft because I think the people who would switch to WP but are waiting for apps is so negligible.

That's the point I wanted to get accross. Take a power outlook.com user who needs a smartphone. That person will get either an Android phone, which will force him/her to get a Google account or an iPhone which will force him/her to have an Apple ID. With Windows Phone, he/she gets a great machine, much cheaper than iPhones, that fits with his/her existing services. No migration, no need for accounts you won't use.

Right now, that person will be told "don't get a Windows Phone, you can barely get any apps on there" which is an exageration but still not completely false. But if Microsoft does that, then that person will be able to respond "no cause I can install Android versions". So they get the Microsoft ecosystem, use Microsoft services on a Microsoft (or OEM) machine but get all the apps that an Android user gets.

 

[twint7787]

But how many people is that? It isn't going to really help them in this mobile race is what I am trying to say. I have no doubt that some people might benefit from this, but I personally believe this will do more harm then good.

 

[Ryan ODonnell]

Imagine this for one second! See picture in thread:
http://forums.windowscentral.com/wi...ew-developers/296073-could-future-update.html

 

[richard_rsp]

After reading many responses on this, I have come to the conclusion: If Windows Phone does indeed start to allow Android apps, then I am out. I firmly believe that this would be the end of Windows Phone. Why?

a) No more native development - as several people have already said, having access to an Android app would essentially negate the need for a Windows Phone app. Would my bank ever create a Windows Phone app? They haven't yet and I doubt they would bother if the small sliver of WP users were covered by an Android app.

b) Windows Phone just becomes "Another Android Phone". Even if they bypass using Google services and go from their own "App Store", the first thing people will do is find a way to sideload the other apps they want to run (that arent in the Microsoft Store). Once this happens, Windows Phone will just be seen as another Android phone that "is more difficult to get what you want on it". While there might be some people who want a "Microsoft" version of Android, the world will see Android vs iPhone (which is pretty much how it is now), but this time, those will be the only options - Windows Phone falls into that Android list, losing the distinction of being a different platform. This places even more emphasis on the need for carriers to "sell" the Windows Phones (in order to distinguish them from other Androids). And we all know how well the carriers support Windows Phones as it is.

c) Fragmentation. Most likely, not all android apps will work well on an emulator. Settings, menus, and navigation will be even further different between apps. This takes the relatively consistent WP OS and mushes it up.

Rather than deal with this, I would very likely go back to iPhone. Or to a full on Android phone. But staying with Windows Phone would very likely be a very distant 3rd. As to me, it would have NO advantage over the other two.