Popular Android emulator for PC discontinued, founders join Google

In case you're not familiar with what LeapDroid is (or was, at this point), it's a free Android emulator for PC. It was released in June this year and its developers claimed that it's the fastest and most powerful option on the market.

Well, that certainly isn't the case anymore, since LeapDroid has been discontinued after only five months of short-lived fame.

In an announcement on the LeapDroid site, the two founders, Huan Ren and Huihong Luo, delivered the news that they're now joining Google. The duo didn't state what exactly they will be working on, since it's “too soon to comment on specific plans”. However, it appears that there was some truth to their earlier boasting, if Big-G took interest in the developers.

The LeapDroid creators also included a FAQ section below the announcement, which addresses the main questions LeapDroid users might have asked. In it they explain that the emulator itself is not acquired by Google and, if you happen to have it installed, you are free to continue using it. That probably gives some comfort to developers and hobbyists that work with the emulator, but both will have to look elsewhere in the future, as LeapDroid will no longer be updated or supported in any way.

All versions of the emulator have been taken offline, with all pages, except for the homepage, of LeapDroid's site returning a “404 – Not Found” error. However, versions of the software can still be found on various freeware repositories.

source: LeapDroid via SlashGear