WindRiver Brings Overlapping App Windows To Android

Android users may soon be able to work with multiple app windows if an Intel-owned company called Wind River has anything to say about it. The company has recently announced they have worked up a way to implement overlapping application windows in Android, and the results look pretty slick.

The multi-window UI is slightly reminiscent of Motorola’s Webtop concept, except without the need to purchase additional hardware to make it work. The revamped app display system is part of what Wind River calls their “User Experience” module, which also include tweaks for super-fast booting. Other software modules in the series include the Connectivity (DLNA and SyncML support) and Medical (support for Bluetooth-enabled medical equipment), and Wind River ultimately hopes to sell them to device vendors for inclusion in their set of Android tweaks.

Quick application switchers like the one baked into Ice Cream Sandwich work well enough for basic multitasking, but I’d love to see this sort of functionality pop up on a tablet sooner rather than later. With tablets quickly taking over certain market niches, a more familiar usage experience could help Android tabs pick up steam among consumers considering ditching full-blown PCs and notebooks for light daily use.

The wait could take a while though — as you could probably tell from the image Wind River provided, the UI looks fine on Cupcake (or whatever version that is), though it’s unknown how much work it’ll take to get it running on more modern Android versions.