Android hits Mac OS X with BlueStacks

BlueStacks has debuted a free public alpha version of its Android app player for Mac OS X.



The software – powered by LayerCake tech – features several Android apps from various partners including HandyGames, Creative Mobile and Pulse.



As you may recall, BlueStacks recently released a PC version of its Android app player for Windows, which racked up an impressive one million downloads in just 9 days. 



The software supports Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7 and enables Android apps to run in windowed or fullscreen mode.

“Our PC version took off a lot faster than we had planned for. People are spending a lot of time on their smartphones and want the same experience on all devices,” explained BlueStacks CEO Rosen Sharma. 



“By bringing Android Apps to Mac we are breaking open the Apple ecosystem, which has traditionally been closed. Also, Android is struggling because of a lack of tablet applications. Developers now have an incentive to build hi‐res apps to work on the resolutions like retina displays on the new mac for example.”



It should be noted that a number of prominent devs behind top apps like Fruit Ninja, SliceIt!, Barnes & Noble’s Nook, Townsmen, Evernote, Defender and StumbleUpon have partnered up with BlueStacks in recent months.

“A billion PCs is a huge potential market for any developer. There is the potential to make good money from the additional app discovery and usage… [And] the best part is, we don’t have to do any work. Our apps run without any modifications or porting,” said Markus Kassulke, CEO of HandyGames.

“[We have] a history of trying new things and seeing what sticks. Working with BlueStacks on the PC version has gotten us a boatload of new discovery for Clouds & Sheep and our other apps. We’re looking forward to this next frontier.”