BlueStacks teams with AMD to optimize Android App Player for Fusion, Radeon chips (video)
BlueStacks teams with AMD to optimize Android App Player for Fusion, Radeon chips (video)
AMD has a disproportionately large $ 6.4 million investment in BlueStacks, and now we're seeing one clear reason why. The two companies have teamed up to create a special version of the BlueStacks App Player that's tuned for AMD's Fusion-based processors and Radeon graphics cards, running Android apps with the full help of the chip desgner's hardware in Windows 7 and 8 PCs. Accordingly, over 500,000 Android apps are invading AMD's new AppZone portal without any needed tweaks of their own, giving the service a much larger catalog than if it had gone with Windows alone. Both companies have a clear incentive to this melding of desktop and mobile: BlueStacks suddenly gets exposure to as many as 100 million AMD-running users, while AMD can tout a giant app catalog that may be preloaded on future PCs using its components. We don't know if the world needs yet another avenue for playing Angry Birds, especially when many AMD-based PCs won't have touchscreens, but the BlueStacks partnership could be a strong lure for new PC buyers who'd like an instant software library.
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AMD AppZone Brings Graphics-Accelerated Windows and Android Apps to PCs Worldwide
AMD (NYSE: AMD) today announced the launch of AMD AppZone, an online showcase for applications and games accelerated by AMD Radeon™ graphics processing units (GPUs) and AMD accelerated processing units (APUs). In addition to featuring some of the most recognizable PC games and productivity apps, consumers can now download and seamlessly run popular Android™ apps on AMD-based PCs running Windows® thanks to a collaboration with BlueStacks to enable the AMD AppZone Player.
Powered by BlueStacks' award-winning technology, the AMD AppZone Player brings thousands of Android apps to the millions of AMD-powered tablets, notebooks, all-in-one and desktop PCs worldwide. In addition, consumers can automatically sync their AppZone apps with Android-based devices via BlueStacks Cloud Connect, a cloud-based service that enables a Windows-based PC to become an extension of an Android mobile device and vice versa1.
"BlueStacks' cross-platform innovation bridges the Android and x86 application ecosystems, providing new opportunities for developers and better experiences for users," said Manju Hegde, corporate vice presid ent, Heterogeneous Applications and Developer Solutions at AMD. "By collaborating with BlueStacks, we are enabling software developers to more easily tap into the full capabilities of AMD's products, and providing millions of consumers with great experiences as they can now run Android apps on AMD-powered devices."
"As the engine behind the AMD AppZone Player, we are providing a potent combination of award-winning software optimized for AMD's industry-leading hardware. Consumers can now enjoy their favorite mobile apps on the larger, more immersive screen of their PC," said Rosen Sharma, CEO of BlueStacks. "With BlueStacks technology, app developers can rest assured their Android apps will run directly on Windows without any code change. We've made it easy for all."
Starting today, the AMD AppZone Player and featured apps like Sleeping Dogs, Adobe® Photoshop® CS6, and CyberLink PowerDirector 11 are available for download at www.amd.com/appzone o r via the VISION Engine Control Center, which will be updated regularly to bring new titles like the highly anticipated Medal of Honor™ Warfighter2. Users can download featured apps directly from within the AMD AppZone Player or search for apps across the built-in app store. In addition, AMD and BlueStacks are currently working with leading OEMs to preload the AppZone Player on upcoming AMD-powered devices.
BlueStacks is an AMD Ventures-backed software company that enables Android apps to run on notebooks, desktops, all-in-one PCs, slates and tablets. BlueStacks was founded in 2009 by Rosen Sharma, is privately held and headquartered in Silicon Valley with global offices in India, Taiwan and Japan. For more information visit http://www.bluestacks.com/, or join their more than 1,000,000 Facebook fans at www.facebook.com/bluestacksinc.
Engadget