Windows plus Android: A solution to a non-problem?

PC sales are slumping, thanks in large part to the ascendancy of Android (and iOS) devices, so why not jump on both bandwagons and create a device that runs Android and Windows at the same time?

That seems to be the bright idea behind a number of devices set to be demoed at the Consumer Electronics Show this week in Las Vegas, with multiple PC manufacturers getting on board with the idea and using the label “PC Plus” to describe the resulting machines.

Too bad the idea doesn’t seem to be generating more than perplexity and indifference — particularly from Google and Microsoft.

The implementation of the core idea is still very much under wraps, and it may vary from manufacturer to manufacturer. AndroidHeadlines.com reports that Asus’s yet-to-be-released Transformer Book Duet TD300 appears to be one incarnation of the concept. Apparently Asus mistakenly leaked a video on YouTube — and quickly took it down again — that shows the TD300 switching between Windows and Android in the space of about eight seconds when the unit is docked. (My guess: It sounds like the switch involves hibernating Windows, then booting to Android from a separate disk or partition.)

The Verge did some homework on the concept and believes Intel is the one most directly responsible for the whole idea — which makes sense, since Intel hardware can run both OSes. But it also appears that “neither Microsoft nor Google is on board,” as the Verge puts it. Microsoft would rather have Windows users buying Windows Phone devices (and eventually the Threshold edition of Windows), and could kill any bulk-licensing incentives to the PC makers behind dual-boot devices.

Google could also elect to withdraw support for such devices. It might be possible to get around Google’s restrictions by using a nonstandard build of Android — such as CyanogenMod — but any device maker that risked the combined ire of two of tech’s biggest names would likely be on the losing end.

Some of this is only the newest incarnation of an idea that’s been floating around in one form or another for quite some time and in multiple incarnations. To wit:

• The ViewSonic ViewPad 10Pro and ViewPad 10 (both released in 2011), which also allowed toggling between Windows 7 and Android without a reboot.
• The BlueStacks software app lets users run Android directly on Windows (as well as iOS apps on Android). It’s a slightly more elegant version of another approach used by enthusiasts: downloading a custom build of Android and running it on a PC in a VM.

None of these products have made much of a splash, perhaps simply because the idea doesn’t solve a user problem that’s urgent enough to be worthwhile.

As far as the use case goes, the ViewPad 10 had it partly right: Windows 7 wasn’t much of a touch OS, so being able to jump to a more touch-friendly environment with one click did make sense. But Windows 8, for all its faults, has a better approach to touch, so the only reason to flip between Windows 8 and Android is the apps. As Jared Newman of PCWorld put it when commenting on Acer’s Android-power all-in-one touch PC, the Android app world isn’t particularly known for its productivity solutions — which further confirms that it makes more sense for users to pick a device that complements their primary use case.

Andrew Cunningham of Ars Technica was similarly skeptical. “I don’t think running Android apps on Windows desktops, laptops, or tablets does anything to solve anyone’s problems,” he wrote. To him, it was “the result of a sort of ‘more-is-more’ mentality, the one that believes consumers will buy the gadget with the longest feature checklist rather than the one that does a better job at fewer things.”

What’s more, Cunningham feels the whole idea defeats much of the purpose of having a good Android device. “My favorite Android products … are the ones like the Nexus 7 or the Moto G, the ones that eschew the everything-but-the-kitchen-sink approach in favor of a relatively clean and simple aesthetic.”

Or as the Verge put it: “Is the problem with Windows tablets really that they can’t run Android apps?”

This story, “Windows plus Android: A solution to a non-problem?,” was originally published at InfoWorld.com. Get the first word on what the important tech news really means with the InfoWorld Tech Watch blog. For the latest developments in business technology news, follow InfoWorld.com on Twitter.