Make Android Look Like Windows Phone with Launcher 8

Do you have an Android device and love the apps and freedom the platform gives you, but on the other hand, you really dig the Windows Phone interface? With the free app, Launcher 8, you can have the best of both worlds – Android functionality and the Windows Phone interface.

Launcher 8 free (fake wp8)

Launcher 8 free (fake wp8) – this is the full name of the launcher – is one of the most interesting ideas I’ve ever seen on Android so far (and believe me, I’ve seen quite a few). This little launcher allows you to turn your Android smartphone into something that you could swear is a Windows Phone (at least at first sight). More than that, it doesn’t just look like a Windows Phone; there are many ways in which it actually feels like Windows Phone.

Once the installation is done, you will be asked, in not-very-clear English, if you want to set it as your launcher.

Then you’ll have to confirm things with the Android system. I suggest tapping the always button after you decide for Launcher 8, otherwise you’ll keep getting the question.

Then you’ll get a brief lesson on how to play with tiles. If you have ever used a Windows Phone, the similarity of Launcher 8 is astonishing. Tiles can be resized – just long-press and select the size of your tile the same way as in Windows Phone 8.

Sliding your finger right to left brings up your list of programs and long-pressing one of them allows you to turn it into a tile.

It’s like having Windows Phone 8 with Android apps, but that’s just for the main theme. If you slide your finger left to right, a new set of options appears and, the same as for any other launcher, you can find other themes for it – there are quite a few, but some are in other languages. If you press the Settings menu, you can even edit the theme and save the results.

Speaking of other themes, I found one called red, which looks very Nokia-style. Oddly enough, sliding right to left brought up a menu which looked very Android-ish. I guess it’s all in the theme…

Launcher 8 free (fake WP8) also has a paid version (it costs $2.58) with more features, but I found the free one a lot of fun, too.

I’m actually thinking of keeping it for a while, just to trick friends into thinking that I’ve managed to install Windows Phone 8 on my Android smartphone.