In June 2010, Steve Jobs announced we were entering the post-PC era. Five years later, few people doubt that. My wife is like many, who have not touched a PC in years. For surfing the web, checking email and many other tasks, an iPad or tablet is more than sufficient to provide an efficient and, in most cases superior, user experience to that of a desktop.
It’s no wonder why Windows 8 metro apps are now beginning to catch on. We want the user experience that mobile apps brings us yet few desktop apps provide that for us. Some apps that we have grown accustomed to and are an integral part of our daily lives aren’t even available in a desktop version. I think with the launch of Windows 10, you’ll start seeing greater acceptance of Windows apps because of this mobile-like functionality that people have now become used to.
Enter Bluestacks that can run Android apps on both Macs and Windows PCs. How cool is that? The really cool thing is – IT WORKS, and works well! This isn’t some emulator hack. Android apps run smoothly and act just as they would on a mobile device. Now, it does take some time to get used to pretending your mouse is your finger and how to emulate touch gestures while using a mouse, but once you get the basics down it’s smooth sailing.
What’s your favorite app you can’t live without? For me it’s Flipboard. By the way, I’m a die-hard Apple Fan Boy. I have a Mac, iPad and iPhone and have fallen in love with the Apple ecosystem. Still, the Android apps function almost identically as an iPhone so if you’ve never used Android before, do not fear. If you are an Android user, you’ll be totally freaked out by Bluestacks because your PC is now an Android device. Scary, I know.
Anyway, Flipboard is what I use to peruse articles that I want read later. It’s basically an information aggregator that displays posts from newspapers, magazines, websites and other sources (even your Facebook and Twitter account if you choose) in a gorgeous magazine-style format. I like to go through and cherry pick article, save them to and app called Pocket, and then read them later. I couldn’t read a third as much as I do if I couldn’t use Flipboard. Now, I can use Flipboard while I’m at my PC (which is where I spend at least ten hours a day).
If you’re tired of the ho-hum of regular apps on your desktop PC and you need the functionality of a mobile app on your desktop, try running Android apps using Bluestacks on your Mac or Windows PC.