BlueStacks brings Android apps to Windows 8’s Metro interface

After gaining notoriety for bringing Android apps to Windows 7, plucky startup Bluestacks is setting its sights on Windows 8, the company announced at the Consumer Electronics Show today.

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But BlueStacks isn’t just porting its software over to the new operating system — it’s taking special care not to mar Windows 8’s sexy Metro user interface. The company has managed to integrate Android apps into Windows 8’s app tiles, making Android apps virtually indistinguishable from Windows-based apps.

“The Metro UI is beautiful, but the number one thing Windows 8 is missing is apps,” BlueStacks CEO Rosen Sharma said in a statement today. “This changes all that.”

The company’s app player uses emulation to run Android apps on Windows, similar to solutions like VMWare or Parallels on Mac.

BlueStacks is poised to be especially useful on Windows 8, since it supports both traditional desktop and tablet interfaces. Tablets running the new OS will be far more appealing than those running Windows 7, so BlueStacks could win big if Windows 8 tablets take off. And given just how much Microsoft’s tablet future relies on Windows 8, there’s no reason to think that it’s going to drop the ball.

The company is also targeting Windows 8 Ultrabook manufacturers to pre-load its Android app player, and it has already landed a deal with Taiwanese manufacturer InHon.

Campbell, Calif.-based BlueStacks has raised $10.6 million so far in a single round of funding.

For more news out of this week’s Consumer Electronics Show, be sure to check out VentureBeat’s live coverage from CES 2012.