Do you remember how BlackBerry turned into Android BlackBerry? Well, it all begun by small baby steps; availing BB features here and another one there into the Android platform (BB ported its advanced security into the Android platform).
Before we knew it, BlackBerry platform became irrelevant. Just ask BB users who have already been threatened by discontinued support by major software developers like Facebook. Now let’s take a look at another platform that made many headlines in the tech world last week.
The Windows 10 platform by Microsoft was the talk of the tech streets for the better part of the previous week. However, you would notice there was more talk about iOS and Android more than its platform, the Windows 10 Mobile.
Many see Microsoft more interested in availing its apps on other mobile operating systems than it is in attracting users to its mobile ecosystem. You only need to look at the numbers of traditional Windows apps now availed on iOS and Android. Some may argue this is Microsoft plan to lure people onto the Windows Mobile platform, but critics say users get satisfied using Microsoft apps on other platforms and don’t have the intention of making the switch.
Last week, Microsoft announced it is teaming up with Ubuntu to make a whole Linux subsystem and Unix’s Bash shell into Windows 10. Well, Microsoft went further to announce it is now integrating features specific to the Android platform to its Windows 10 computer. Users will now be able to mirror their Android phones’ notification on their Windows 10 PCs; dismissing a notification on PC will dismiss all notifications on all devices you have signed in with the same account.
Windows 10 notification center has been given cloud capabilities, giving all Windows 10 devices ability to sync notification centers with each other. Note Android 4.3 and higher version enabled shipping of the entire notification panel to other apps, now the app Cortana will now give you your Android notification right on your Windows 10 computer. However, you must be signed in on both devices using your Microsoft account.
You can view a demo video on the Android notification being ported to Cortana on Windows 10 computers below. The demo for Android notification center merge with Cortana starts at 16:30.
Speculators are saying Microsoft seem less interested in building more users base on its Windows Mobile platform rather it is more interested in helping Windows users have access to a multi-OS ecosystem. The syncing of Cortana with Android notification center, Microsoft has linked the most popular desktop operating system with the most popular mobile operating system.
A wild guess like an Android Lumia phone might be in the works might not seem like a too far-fetched idea at this point.