Microsoft has added to its stable
of Android Apps with the acquisition of Double Labs, the makers of Echo
Notification Lockscreen, a popular app on Google’s mobile platform that helps
user control the notifications they see. Echo replaces the default Android Lock
screen with a new interface for handling push notifications.
The app’s marquee feature is its
ability to categorize and sort user’s incoming notifications and only wake
their phone for high priority messages. In addition, users can tell the lock screen
to remind them of notifications at a later time or in a different place, so
they can postpone seeing notifications about personal emails until they get
home. It’s not the company’s first foray into Android Lock screens.
Microsoft’s garage division put out
the Next Lock Screen app last year, which is another take on replacing the
default experience for users of Google’s mobile platform. The acquisition,
which took place in August, gives Microsoft another beachhead on Android, but
it is also aimed at getting Microsoft access to the personalization technology
that powers the lock screen’s features. The work with Next and Echo will
translate the information the company will use to improve products like Office
and Windows 10.
By acquiring Echo, Microsoft is
picking up more information that it can use to power products like its Cortana
virtual assistant, which is currently available in public beta for Android
users. Microsoft has a variety of other Android utilities available including
an app launcher currently in private beta, a voice search tool for Bing and an
app that provides information about air quality to users in China.
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