Ever wanted to use WhatsApp on your PC or play mobile games on your desktop? YouWave is a program that emulates the Android operating system on your computer.

What does YouWave do?

Much like BlueStacks App Player or Andy OS, YouWave lets you try out Android apps and games on your PC in a way that lets you see exactly how they would look and play on an Android phone.

YouWave doesn't support the latest version of the Android KitKat, but instead offers Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich in the home version of the app. It includes SD card functionality (sharing a folder between your PC and the virtual machine), support for multiplayer online games, dynamic rotating, and volume control buttons.

Installing apps with YouWave

By default, YouWave includes the native Android apps such as music, settings, browser, and more.

Installing apps can be done via Google Play (which in itself you need to install before you start), or by downloading and installing APKs. The process for this isn't as easy as it could be, and is certainly more fiddly than it is in BlueStacks.

The user interface in YouWave feels very old fashioned and the design of the control panel is a bit clunky.

Is it worth it?

On a practical level, despite some minor stability issues, YouWave works OK. It allows external applications to load and simulates quite well on the Android phone interface, although certain applications don't run well if at all, especially if they are designed for newer versions of the Android OS.

YouWave gives Android enthusiasts the opportunity to try out apps on their PC in a simulated Android interface environment