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by MichaelGG 4087 days ago
MS really needs to allow Android emulation on Windows Phone. It's just too painful because so many apps don't exist or have shitty WP hacks only. Controlling a speaker? Playing Go on various servers? Sending secure messages (TextSecure/Signal)? I've no high performance needs, but WP simply lacks the apps I need.

Also, their store is a disgrace of crap, shovelwear and outright scams. They even had a fake Windows 8.1 Update pass their "approval" process. Even when I find a non scam, the quality is usually poor.
2 comments
azakai 4087 days ago
It's obviously not quite the same, but Microsoft supporting Android apps on Windows Phone reminds me of IBM supporting Windows apps on OS/2. Supporting your competitor's apps can prevent some immediate suffering by users, but it isn't a good strategy for an ecosystem.

If people end up mostly running the emulated apps on your OS, you might as well just use that other OS, and run those apps on it natively, for the best experience. And figure out a way to run your ecosystem on top of that. Specifically here, that would mean for Microsoft to switch to Cyanogen for its devices, and ship a .NET runtime so Windows Phone apps can work on it.

I doubt that's a great idea, but I think it's better than emulating Android apps on top of Windows Phone. I'm just guessing here though.

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SyneRyder 4087 days ago
On the other hand, Parallels Desktop, VMWare and Bootcamp helped a lot of people switch from Windows computers over to the Mac. Sometimes it can work out & bring more customers.
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MichaelGG 4087 days ago
Sure, that's obviously the debate inside MS, or they'd done it a long time ago. But it's clear, despite the Windows Store touting app counts, that WP is just not happening. So providing a slow, limited emulator could help bridge the gap on essential apps, while not totally giving up. Otherwise folks like me that would really prefer Windows Phone, we're just gonna stick to Android.
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joshuapants 4087 days ago
> Also, their store is a disgrace of crap, shovelwear and outright scams. They even had a fake Windows 8.1 Update pass their "approval" process. Even when I find a non scam, the quality is usually poor.

This is something that infuriates me as a Windows Phone user. I don't need many apps, but occasionally I get interested in something and decide to check it out. It seems that 90% of the Windows Store is utter crap. Microsoft should never have gotten into the app numbers game. I would rather they had a very strict approval process and only let through the best of the best than this scummy garbage.

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