While not technically Windows Phone 8, it’s interesting to see a die-hard Android lover like the OS so much that he decides to emulate it. Lifehacker reports that a fan of WP8 who isn’t quite ready to make the jump to an actual WP8 handset has faithfully recreated the Windows Phone 8 experience on Android, sans the live tiles. His explanation for how to do so is as follows:
I really like the windows phone UI, but as a die-hard android fan I won’t be closing down my OS by buying a lumia. Instead I’ve been testing out the various Windows Phone-style launchers available on Google Play. Until recently I was using Launcher 7, which is very customizable but based on the older Windows Phone 7, but then I found WP8 Launcher, which allows for more choices of tile shape and size. Both launchers are essentially still in beta and there are advantages to either, but they’re both free, and definitely worth checking out.
I have made the important apps—Chrome, Facebook, and Gallery—nice and big, and have highlighted utilities such as Messaging, Calendar, Google Play, and Camera in orange, contrasting the standard blue theme (which you can change, but I like it anyway).
WP8 Launcher also allows you to mount any installed widget on a tile, however most of my widgets didn’t fit in with the white-on-blue/orange theme I was going for. The clock was achieved using Alarm Clock Plus‘s widget, and the calender by using Simple Calendar Widget‘s Simi Clock skin with a transparent background to display my next two notifications on a 3×1 tile. The remaining non-app tiles were made using transparent 1Tap Quick Bar widgets, allowing for instant “New Message,” Redial,” “New Event,” “Search,” “Sync All,” and other settings buttons, as well as a network switches bar, media controls, a lock button, and a custom note.
It’s always interesting to see other people try and emulate Windows Phone 8 to the point that you have to wonder, why not just buy a handset if you love it that much? He’s missing out on live tiles and some great apps available to Windows Phone 8 users.
