Microsoft today provided an update on the tools it offers to developers and said it has canceled plans the Windows Bridge for Android (project Astoria). The Bridge was meant to help Android developers re-use their code and port their apps to Windows. Microsoft released the Windows Bridge for iOS last summer and keep that Bridge up and running based on the positive feedback it has received from developers. Microsoft also announced that it has purchased a company called Xamarin. Xamarin offers tools to developers so they can build mobile apps using C# and deliver native mobile apps to all major devices, including iOS, Android, and Windows. The Xamarin acquisition will help make up for, in part, the loss of the Windows Bridge for Android, as it lets developers use .NET and C# along with a full set of APIs for each platform. Microsoft believes it now has a more robust set of tools for developers to use to write apps not only for the Universal Windows Program, but also for Android and iOS.


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