Microsoft Garage launches 4 great Android apps

Very interesting Android apps have landed on the Store this week. Beyond their quality, they capture our attention through their publisher, which is none other than Microsoft, through the Microsoft Garage division. Does Microsoft want to seduce Android users? Definitely.

Microsoft Garage is a division of the company that allows employees to work on any project they may find interesting. This week, this tech lab has released a few new apps specifically targeting Android devices. These new features in the Play Store should definitely be taken as proof that Microsoft wants to show what it can bring to the mobile world.

Devin’s move probably doesn’t aim to monetize these apps, but more likely a plan we begin to perceive.

Let’s take a look at four of these Microsoft Garage builds, revisiting great Android classics, debuting Android Wear, and bringing some real new twists. For now, only Next Lock Screen works in France, depending on the model, but Microsoft’s goal of reaching as many Android users as possible suggests it shouldn’t take long.

Next Lock Screen

This is Microsoft’s approach to the lock screen and the table of contents, allowing the user to see their email, text messages and more:

• Calendar : At a glance, we access the day’s events and geographic locations to organize our day.
• Call : Next Lock Screen makes it possible to initiate a call by swiping one of the notifications on the screen, such as a phone appointment whose contact is saved on the smartphone.
• Quick access to apps : Next Lock Screen displays the most used apps based on your location.
• personalization : similarly, the lock screen image may change throughout the day depending on your location.

Journeys and Notes

Journey & Notes wants to be a social network for travelers with a Foursquare flair. So you can leave notes accessible to anyone who uses the app and visits a place you pass.

Likewise, of course, as you wander around your city or anywhere in the World, you will be able to find the thoughts and advice of people who have come before you. application specific the tendency to make connections between social networking and realityin a certain spirit of treasure hunting, not meeting people who have left notes in nature, but a priori.

torque

Here Microsoft is “limited” to Android Wear with an app whose purpose is to no longer need to pronounce the “Ok Google” command to initiate voice detection.

Instead of, users will just bend their wrists and talk to Bing (and logically not Google) to ask questions. It seems that beyond the economy of words the giant offers us here, it’s Cortana that comes first and foremost with an Android smartwatch.

CityZen

This app allows you to send information from the public to the government to solve everyday problems.

Now, app only works in india, but the idea of ​​easier two-way communication between the public and authorities to facilitate certain processes (for example, reporting a road repair to be made) is interesting. If you are in India, here is the link.

Two days ago we were talking about a Microsoft smartwatch possibly coming to market very soon, and the assumption that the device would be compatible with Android and iOS seemed to be confirmed.

At the time, we saw that Microsoft’s smartwatch would therefore be the giant’s attempt to improve the quality of its services to non-Windows smartphone users (i.e., the overwhelming majority). this causes users to migrate to their system. Thus, Microsoft could win on everything, the production of Android smartphones was already earning him 1 billion royalties per year.

Thus, these new applications designed for Android are available to Google OS users on smart watches and smartphones. Taste the pleasures of Microsoft. Does Devin’s plan come to fruition? Can you imagine Microsoft making a breakthrough in the mobile world over the years?

Either way, the apps presented here are free, so give it a shot.