Introducing the Android Emulator, managing Android Virtual Devices (AVD)

Tue, 02/23/2010 - 16:20 | by gabor

SDK Version:

The emulator available in the Android SDK is not just a tool that allows you to easily test applications without having to install it to a real device, or even having one. With the proper configuration it is possible to test situations which are hardly reproduced on a physical one.

After installing the android plugin and SDK in eclipse an icon is automatically placed on the toolbar to quickly access the Android SDK and AVD (Android Virtual Device) manager.

You can create multiple AVDs with different parameters:

sdk

For an AVD you can set the

screen resolution
Android version
SD card size
and various hardware availability and properties such as GPS, RAM, accelerometer, camera, cache etc.

new

When you press the new hardware button, it pops this dialog to select the hardware and aftred adding it you can change value attribute for it. The value often is a boolen to set if the hardvare is available or not, but it can for example an integer to set the size for the RAM.

hardware

Of course it you set a hardware like GPS available on the emulator the running application will detect that it is available, but this 'virtual' GPS naturally can not provide a GPS coordinate on its own. Like we discussed it in a previous tutorial a coordinate can be sent by using telnet in the command line. This goes for similar hardware too.

All of this makes possible for example to test behavior of the application when SD card has not enough space, the memory runs low, or how does the user interface fit in different resolution.

The backwards compatibility is another important question. Each project has android versions meant to be compatible with. This can be validated easily since all the previous Android versions can be downloaded. It is an essential test, because the available API versions for development and the mostly used versions worldwide can greatly differ.

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Comments

The emulator sounds like a

Submitted by cadee on Thu, 09/02/2010 - 12:44.

The emulator sounds like a very useful tool. I wasn't aware that the Android SDK had one available. Thanks for the tutorial.
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Excellent

Submitted by bisner on Thu, 09/02/2010 - 06:23.

Excellent. How should we see in our own real phone the actual Android version ?
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This is the BEST Android

Submitted by MatthewWilliams on Thu, 09/02/2010 - 03:29.

This is the BEST Android emulator so far! Beats the rest of the emulators out there!
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I love this

Submitted by mackintosh21 on Thu, 09/02/2010 - 02:59.

It's a great way to do this
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Tool look like awesome

Submitted by stphndnl on Wed, 09/01/2010 - 23:33.

Before can launch the emulator, must create an Android Virtual Device (AVD). including an introduction to terms and concepts used in this document and in the ..... The Android SDK includes six emulator skins to get started.
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This is cool

Submitted by Profollica on Wed, 09/01/2010 - 21:09.

I want to develop for the Android platform.

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Agree

Submitted by SleepMD on Wed, 09/01/2010 - 21:21.

Can anyone recommend a guide for development?

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just.........wow.....

Submitted by seopal on Wed, 09/01/2010 - 12:07.

I think that device which is coming for reading e books having android platform gonna rock the book reader toys. I would really buy one.....It will sure gonna be amazing than Kindle or sony reader or anything...

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good stuff

Submitted by jaison on Wed, 09/01/2010 - 10:46.

This is a good stuff.

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Symbian or Android?

Submitted by brooney on Wed, 09/01/2010 - 10:23.

I thinking of buying a phone with an Android OS or a Symbian OS, which would be better?

brooney,

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I love android it really

Submitted by jojones55 on Wed, 09/01/2010 - 07:28.

I love android it really helps me find Tenerife property

android wonderful

Submitted by yessi on Wed, 09/01/2010 - 08:33.

android very wonderful for me
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Excellent Emulator for App Creators

Submitted by big7dave on Wed, 09/01/2010 - 06:50.

I've been modding my Android for some time and this is definitely a great piece of software if you are not just a user of an android-based phone, but someone who really mods it and even create apps for it. I think my penny stocks list site can benefit from becoming a simple app so this software can come in handy for me when I finally have the time to work on it.

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this is great for android

Submitted by jojones55 on Wed, 09/01/2010 - 07:09.

this is great for android lovers especially those with a slow computer

help with emulator

Submitted by nancygray on Tue, 08/31/2010 - 16:18.

Hi there
I have searched all over the net for a solution for my problem and this is the closest I have found so far. But I am having problems installing the emulator on my Cricut Imagine. What I am doing wrong?

Android plugin

Submitted by banionline on Mon, 08/30/2010 - 13:25.

installing the android plugin and SDK in eclipse tutorial is great Easy to follow the steps.
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Android

Submitted by toptweaks on Sun, 08/29/2010 - 11:29.

I think this is a revolutionary thing and will go a long way in the future and Android will be cool in the mean time.

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android

Submitted by yessi on Wed, 09/01/2010 - 08:38.

good article and nice
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Why not a virtual path GPS simulator ?

Submitted by androfan on Sat, 08/28/2010 - 04:13.

It should be really usefull to have the possibility of simulating a GPS in movment.
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Why does Eclipse (Java software development kit) keep crashing?

Submitted by jack2012 on Fri, 08/27/2010 - 06:22.

Okay, I recently decided to look into software design for the Android OS, and after extensively following all of the setup instructions on http://developer.android.com/sdk/index.h… concerning installing the Java Runtime Environment (I have experience with Java, I just had it installed on a different machine), the Android SDK, Eclipse, and the ADT Plugin for Eclipse I am finding everything to work properly except for Eclipse being unstable. I have only created Android Projects since this install, but here is my problem; when I open an item (.Java, .xml, whatever) from the Package Eplorer panel on Eclipse it works fine, but then when I go to open a second item (whether it's the same item again or something different, whether I close the first window or leave it open) Eclipse ALWAYS stops responding and NEVER starts working again.
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Types

Submitted by sunexpert on Fri, 08/27/2010 - 15:31.

If these type of inventions are possible then all the work will be easy and we can also take video training without going any where.
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Nice

Submitted by radiant on Fri, 08/27/2010 - 04:45.

I think if they took time to develop the phone itself a bit more it could make a dent in the iphone, and who knows possible surpass it.

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Amazing ......!

Submitted by Zuenta on Fri, 08/27/2010 - 02:57.

Technology is so cool these days hope android beats windows soon!!!

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Thank you

Submitted by dgonid on Thu, 08/26/2010 - 14:25.

Android is so freaking awesome! I can't wait to get one!

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Nice emulator

Submitted by jaison on Wed, 08/25/2010 - 10:54.

I think this is a revolutionary thing and will go a long way in the future.

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How much is an Android?

Submitted by kaledavid on Mon, 08/23/2010 - 08:12.

Hey could someone tell me how much it is in US dollars.

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Nice introducing of Android

Submitted by tonywanhjor on Sun, 08/22/2010 - 23:26.

When you first lay your eyes on the Android, the first thing that comes to mind is 'sexy'. Although this device still sports the familiar candy bar form factor, it is able to stand out from the "ordinariness" of most Smartphones.

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Android Emulator

Submitted by alexalex1985 on Sun, 08/22/2010 - 09:49.

Android Emulator is my exact need at this time, thanks a lot. I am trying it now and it works really nice.
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that's really a cool

Submitted by rachna on Fri, 08/20/2010 - 03:27.

that's really a cool application. thanks for sharing. i hope that this Android Emulator could help me a lot for my new..the application when SD card has not enough space, the memory runs low, or how does the user interface fit in different resolution.master cleanse

Cool one!

Submitted by zerobyte009 on Thu, 08/19/2010 - 17:43.

that's really cool, thanks for sharing. There're a lot of cool apps in the Newest Phone .

Nice post I really inspired

Submitted by gourmetlemon on Fri, 08/20/2010 - 00:06.

Nice post I really inspired from the device AVD given by Android . I like to see the different functions of these devices.
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The emulator available in the

Submitted by Amila123 on Thu, 08/19/2010 - 00:17.

The emulator available in the Android SDK is not just a tool that allows you to easily test applications without having to install it.
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I'm not able to find

Submitted by darrenanthony on Thu, 08/19/2010 - 05:09.

Amila, i'm not able to find this emulator in the android sdk. kindly help. thank you
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Great Info

Submitted by jrokaip1 on Wed, 08/18/2010 - 10:55.

Great information about managing android virtual devices. Love it when people know what they are talking about.

This Android Emulator is

Submitted by FelixG55 on Tue, 08/17/2010 - 13:32.

This Android Emulator is absolutely awesome. There are many fabulous Android applications and games that I can't actually use because I don't have normal device for it. This Emulator can run all of them! It is a real pleasure to use this toy for me. Thanks for publishing this one here, without you I would never known that such a tool exists.
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Some Android Development

Submitted by effect22 on Mon, 08/16/2010 - 21:11.

What's up with all the junk comments on this article? I'm considering doing some android development of my own and an emulator is definitely on the top of my download list. Thanks for giving me a good heads up!

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It's convenient that all

Submitted by Utbcs on Mon, 08/16/2010 - 12:44.

It's convenient that all previous versions of Android can be downloaded. Website promotion

without using a physical device

Submitted by sennygirl21 on Sun, 08/15/2010 - 02:46.

This emulator lets you prototype, develop, and test Android applications without using a physical device, save lot of time and money!

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Useful for programmers

Submitted by plr_pete on Sun, 08/15/2010 - 02:40.

The emulator is really useful for developers because we can test how our application will function before we release it in to the wild - saves a lot of cost of testers and beta versions! -- PLR Articles

great idea

Submitted by gold124 on Sat, 08/14/2010 - 12:13.

another question I have is related to books. Do you believe that android will become a platform for reading books? I've always wondered whether the differences between the iPad and the kindle will reflect on the Android market. I would really appreciate an answer to this question.
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Android Emulator Youtube Video

Submitted by Youtube Videos on Thu, 08/12/2010 - 23:01.

it is possible to put using it on approval the emulator of Android that the own company distributes free of charge. With this emulator it you can do everything almost. You can trastear the surroundings of the operating system, prove the applications installed by defect, simulate calls or messages, sail by Internet and to even install and prove all the programs that there are, at the moment, in the network.
The video of android emulator in Youtube is here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bdGc-QZicw
More nice Youtube Videos here:
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Nice info

Submitted by yantuar on Thu, 08/12/2010 - 03:55.

Thanks for the wonderful post. I don’t always agree with what you have to say (and that’s a good thing) but this one I think hit the nail succinctly and elegantly on the head.

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