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Any Way to Transfer Android Apps to Windows?

Longstone

New Member
So I've owned an android-based tablet for the past (almost) 2 years. As expected I've made a few purchases. I would like those same app/games on my RT. I was wondering if there was any way to get those purchases transferred to the App store for Microsoft so I don't have to repurchase them. My assumption is no, but it doesn't hurt to ask.

Thanks.
 

Rallicat

New Member
I'm afraid the answer is no.

There are -as yet- no agreements in place between the likes of Microsoft, Google or Apple to allow licenses to be transferable to other platforms, and with the market as competitive as it is, such agreements may never materialise.
 
Bluestacks, which is software to allow the use of Android apps in Windows, are working on an app for the Surface, expected to release next year.
 

syounger64

New Member
That would be awesome! I enjoy the Surface but I love my android phone and its apps so it'll be the best of both worlds for me and many others.
 

mrasmussen

New Member
If we could get an android emulator for the surface, that would work too. There has never been a case, at least that I know of, where apps purchased on one plaform were transferable to another. I don't see that happening.
 

RonNitro

New Member
If we could get an android emulator for the surface, that would work too. There has never been a case, at least that I know of, where apps purchased on one platform were transferable to another. I don't see that happening.

Don't tell anyone, cause Redmond and Mountain View Are listening, but the Android Emulator runs just fine on the Surface Pro. :)

from a developer's perspective, the platform guys (Apple, MS, Google) make it REALLY difficult for us to do anything cross-platform. not only do all three require a different code-base and a unique set of binaries, let's not forget that they all have app stores/marketplaces for the purpose of making money. Why would they allow someone who paid Google for an app to be able to just simply bring it over to windows? one of them will actually penalize the developers if they give a discounted price to existing customers on other platforms.

Don't get me wrong, I don't begrudge them their cut (30% BTW). I'm a total capitalist. I'll gladly pay them for their infrastructure which allows me to sell my wares. But man, sometimes i wish they would ask us how many cross-platform customers we have and give us some solutions to accommodate them.

and while i'm on my soapbox, why do people who purchased on one platform think that they are entitled to a free version on a different platform? (not pointing at anyone specific here) The three platforms are totally different development environments, different code bases. different developer skill sets and these things all cost money. in the case of a self-funded company, it costs MY money, so when someone thinks they are entitled to a free version on one platform because they bought on another, it gets a bit aggravating.
That being said, if someone comes to us and asks nicely, we will virtually always give them a key to the alternate versions, unless it's MS, which actually has no method whatsoever for us to comp a free copy to someone.

\. soapbox
 

TeknoBlast

Active Member
Don't tell anyone, cause Redmond and Mountain View Are listening, but the Android Emulator runs just fine on the Surface Pro. :)

from a developer's perspective, the platform guys (Apple, MS, Google) make it REALLY difficult for us to do anything cross-platform. not only do all three require a different code-base and a unique set of binaries, let's not forget that they all have app stores/marketplaces for the purpose of making money. Why would they allow someone who paid Google for an app to be able to just simply bring it over to windows? one of them will actually penalize the developers if they give a discounted price to existing customers on other platforms.

Don't get me wrong, I don't begrudge them their cut (30% BTW). I'm a total capitalist. I'll gladly pay them for their infrastructure which allows me to sell my wares. But man, sometimes i wish they would ask us how many cross-platform customers we have and give us some solutions to accommodate them.

and while i'm on my soapbox, why do people who purchased on one platform think that they are entitled to a free version on a different platform? (not pointing at anyone specific here) The three platforms are totally different development environments, different code bases. different developer skill sets and these things all cost money. in the case of a self-funded company, it costs MY money, so when someone thinks they are entitled to a free version on one platform because they bought on another, it gets a bit aggravating.
That being said, if someone comes to us and asks nicely, we will virtually always give them a key to the alternate versions, unless it's MS, which actually has no method whatsoever for us to comp a free copy to someone.

\. soapbox

Totally agree with you about the entitlement. I have a game for my Xbox and if I want to play the same game on my PS3, I have to go out and buy the PS3 version...there's no way the developer is JUST going to give me a PS3 copy because I already purchased the Xbox version. That's just idiotic to think one should get a copy of a game/app for one platform because that person had already bought it on another. People need to stop being cheap. If they can afford an $800 device, what's another few dollars for an app.
 

magicrobots

New Member
I'd love to hear your impressions of it. To me, it looked really low rez, and the android applications seemed to run pretty slow. And I thought the main interface was just hideously ugly. :)

I was hoping that it would just make your screen look like an Android desktop.
 
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