Run any Android app on your Chromebook - Chromebooks

http://surl.im/MhvRr
This has really breathed new life into my HP Chromebook. The only downside to this OS is the way it handles ZIP files. You must drag them to the Download section and they get unpacked and show up in left column.
Android Apps that work for me:
Pandora
DoggCatcher
Garman My-Cast Weather
TWIT.TV
Android Apps that won't run:
iBird Pro
WinAmp

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Gmail 5.0
Anyone know if gmail 5.0 will run well on Chromebook? I need a new laptop and would like to go to ChromeOS but I need a decent exchange email client. The company that hosts our web access will not enable full version of OWA for anything other than IE.

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Thanks for sharing useful information with us.It helps for the new followers who dont know about this.

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I dont see the FIOS app listed, can it be done? I use my tablet like a second tv at home and to watch stuff in HD as I do not have the hd box. Thx.

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Technically, yes you can run any Android application on a Chromebook, but it will require quite a lengthy process that may not even be worth the time. Here's the guide. Just follow these steps: (I would post a link but I'm a new member...)
"Google is currently working with a handful of developers to bring a few Android apps to Chrome OS—but why wait for the pokey process to bear fruit? You can run any Android app on your Chromebook today. Chat on Skype, play Minecraft Pocket Edition, or read the latest news in Flipboard; it’s all possible, with a little help from Linux.
Here’s how it works: Google created a “runtime” that allows any Android app to run on Chrome OS. To test it out, it released four Android apps—Vine, Evernote, Duolingo, and Sight Words—that are now on the Chrome Web Store. Installing one of these apps will get you the runtime, and then you can “sideload” an Android app and run it on your Chromebook.
Google's goal is to get every Android app running on a Chromebook. In practice, the runtime is still in development and some apps crash—especially since Google's Android backend services aren't present on a Chromebook—but many apps already work just fine. Apps that use the microphone and camera even have access to your Chromebook’s microphone and camera. Android app notifications appear in Chrome’s notification center, too.
4.3 skype on chrome os
Skype's Android app running in Chrome OS, complete with notifications in the lower-right corner. Nobody tell Microsoft!
Getting started
First, install one of the four official Android apps—like Kids Sight Words—from the Chrome Web Store. Try the app and ensure it works on your Chromebook. Installing this sample app will also install the Android runtime for Chrome OS, and that’s what lets this hack work behind the scenes.
Install an Android app on Chrome OS
We’ll be using the chromeos-apk tool for this. It runs on UNIX-like systems (read: Linux and Mac OS X). We performed this process with Ubuntu 14.04, but there’s a way to convert APK files manually if you’re on Windows, or you can run Ubuntu from a live CD or Wubi. You can even do this on a Chromebook itself if you’re a geek who’s installed Linux in developer mode.
On Ubuntu, open a Terminal window. Run the following two commands to install and set up node.js:
sudo apt-get install nodejs npm
sudo ln -s /usr/bin/nodejs /usr/bin/node
Next, install the chromeos-apk tool:
sudo npm install chromeos-apk -g
You’ll need the Android app’s APK file. Google doesn’t just allow you to download these from the Google Play Store. You can sometimes find APK files on various websites online, but that's risky—it’s like downloading a program’s .exe file from an unofficial file-hosting site instead of the official source.
1 download android app apk file for chrome
Downloading an Android app's APK using AirDroid's web interface. (Click on any image in this article to enlarge it.)
If you have an Android smartphone or tablet, AirDroid works well for this. Install the Android app you want to run on your Chromebook on your Android device, and install AirDroid as well. Open the AirDroid app and visit the AirDroid website on your computer. Sign in to the AirDroid interface. You don’t need to create an account, just scan the QR code on the screen with your device’s camera. Click the Apps icon, locate the app you want to run, and click the Download button to its right. You’ll get the app’s APK file on your computer.
Next, you’ll use the following command on your computer to package the Android app up for Chrome OS. (Be sure to replace “/path/to/app.apk” with the file path to the downloaded APK file on your drive.)
chromeos-apk /path/to/app.apk
If you’d like to use the app’s tablet interface instead of it smartphone interface, add --tablet to the end of the command, like so:
chromeos-apk /path/to/app.apk --tablet
2.5 convert android app for chrome
Converting an Android app for use on a Chromebook using the Chromeos-apk tool in Ubuntu Linux.
I saw an error message with Skype and had to enter the “com.skype.raider” name when prompted, but the tool still successfully converted Skype and it ran on my Chromebook. The tool is supposed to get the appropriate name from the APK file so you don’t have to enter it by hand, but it doesn’t always work.
The command generates a directory, which will appear in your home directory on Linux. Copy the entire directory to your Chromebook via a USB flash drive, SD Card, or shuffling it around using a cloud syncing service. Go to the Extensions page on your Chromebook (Chrome > "Hamburger" menu > Tools > Extensions), click Enable developer mode, and use the Load unpacked extension button to load the extension directory for the Android app.
3 install unpacked extension
The Extensions menu's developer mode in Chrome OS.
Once that's done, simply open select the Launch option for the app in the Extensions menu.
Run more than one app
This tool has some limitations. Google’s Android runtime for Chrome is currently restricted to four specific apps, and the tool above replaces Vine with an app of your choice. You can only use the command above to install a single Android app on your device at a time. If you want to install up to three more, follow these instructions.
Vladikoff—chromeos-apk’s developer—has also now released a modified Android runtime for Chrome. It’s known as the ARChon Custom Runtime, and it allows you to run any number of apps at a time. It even allows you to run Android apps in Chrome on Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X. This modified runtime is less official and may be more unstable. Of course, Windows users already have a good way to run Android apps with BlueStacks or by installing Android in a virtual machine.
soundcloud chromeos Vladikoff
Soundcloud's Android tablet app running on a Chromebook.
Where is this headed?
In the future, Google will likely improve their Android app runtime and allow all Android developers to easily package their apps and put them on the Chrome Web Store. Google could go even further, adding Chromebooks as another supported device in Google Play so you could easily install any Android app on a Chromebook like you'd install it on a smartphone or tablet.
We’ll probably need unofficial tools like chromeos-apk for a while. It’s unlikely we’ll see every Android app appear in the Chrome Web Store any time soon. Chrome OS users may have to use tools like chromeos-apk to package up apps like Skype; Microsoft probably doesn’t want Skype running on Chromebooks, as they like using it as a cudgel against Chrome OS in their “Scroogled” campaign and other ads.
Check out /r/chromeapks on Reddit for more discussion of this tool, including whether specific apps work! We’ll hopefully see the tool continue to improve, bringing more software to Chrome OS—though you have to wonder what this means for the future of Chrome and its offline “Chrome apps.”
It's a pretty straight forward guide.

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chromebooks are a google product...
griffmac12 said:
Anyone know if gmail 5.0 will run well on Chromebook? I need a new laptop and would like to go to ChromeOS but I need a decent exchange email client. The company that hosts our web access will not enable full version of OWA for anything other than IE.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
where chromebooks are a google product, yes, you shouldn't have any problem running your gmail.. i can sink my email from my samsung gal 4 and no issues... comes equipped with gmail, you will have to set up an account, or use an old one... to set your chromebook up... it's like an android netbook... but i love this... ( had a netbook, loved it too, but... this is way better!!!)
good luck with yours!!

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apps
hi
i have a hp 14 chromebook(celeron)
android skype and ymail are working for me

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hi
how successful are people at running android apps on there chromebooks?
i have been trying off and on since christmas to run android apps on a intel acer chromebook with no success,
while i havent used this method described here, as i havent got linux, i have tried the other two methods that are supposed to work.
i have mainly been trying to convert mincraft as this is supposed to work fine, i just thought get this working and move on
first i installed evernote, to get the run time on chrome book, its definetly on there
then i have put ARChon
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=me.bpear.archonpackager
on my phone, and used it to create the files/folders from apk files which then i put on the chromebook, and install via chrome/load unpacked extension
but it just shows the icon for a minute then the chrome crash screen
i have then tried installing Twerk,
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/twerk/jhdnjmjhmfihbfjdgmnappnoaehnhiaf?hl=en
directly on the chromebook, converting the apks with twerk and then again install the resulting files/folders via load unpacked extension
but same result,
next attempt, i put the Archon runtime on the chromebook
https://archon-runtime.github.io/
i have repeated the previous steps, archon on my phone and twerk on the chromebook but still get same results
i have also tried a few other random apks, and i have tested the apks im using on a tablet so they all work

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For older Chromebooks/Chromeboxes that Google will not load the Android store on, there is one possibility. There is a Linux distribution called "Android x86". I have installed this Linux distribution on my PC laptop, dual boot with Windows 10 and Ubuntu. It looks and runs android marshmallow just like my android tablet and phone. You don't need touchscreen. The mouse point, click and drag works fine to perform all touch functions. I can download and run Google Play Store apps to my PC with Android x86.
So, since you can install Linux through Crouton on a Chromebook/Chromebox, you should be able to install Linux Android x86 through Crouton.