Wine is a free Linux program that allows you to run Windows programs on Linux (e.g. run Microsoft Word on Ubuntu via Wine). Alexandre Julliard, a developer, is developing an ARM-friendly Wine compatibility layer that runs on Android. So Wine on Android mean Windows programs on your phone — if it’s fast enough.

Julliard showed off his Android version of Wine at the 2013 Free and Open Source Software Developers European Meeting, and, according to reports, it was “horrendously slow.” So Windows emulating Android emulating Windows was slow? No surprise there.

Julliard says that the slowness was mostly due to the fact that it was running on Android emulator. A test running natively on Android should give a real idea of how feasible running Windows applications on your Android device will be, but Wine for Android remains a work-in-progress. Meaning, there’s still no idea on when this interesting little experiment will land in users’ hands and how well it will work when it gets there.

Still, keep an eye out for this one. If it works, it could turn the tech industry on its head.

[via Engadget, image via LAI Ryanne]