When using Android Emulators of any variety, you may find yourself looking to download the Google Play APK, formerly known as the Android Market APK. You can then either install the APK file directly from your Android device or use my previously outlined methods for installing apps on your Android Emulator from your PC by using ADB. Here's how to get your hands on a Google Play APK...
The Android-x86 emulator, while powerful and fast, leaves something to be desired when it comes to actually installing apps. Since the Google Play store is only available for licensed products, it is inaccessible from the default installation of Android-x86. Fortunately, there are a few other methods you can use to install apps on your Android emulator.
Once you've installed and set up your Android x86 emulator in VirtualBox, there are a few important hardware keys you may be curious about. Since the Home, Menu, and Back keys are not physically available on your virtual machine, here's how you access them.
Home: Windows Key
Menu: Menu Key (between Alt and Ctrl)
Back: ESC
Vol Up: Vol Up Key
Vol Down: Vol Down Key
Dolphin Browser HD is bar none one of my favorite apps for the Android platform. It's fast, smooth, versatile, and has a wide variety of plugins available for download. Now, with its new Dolphin Sonar technology you can surf the web faster than ever simply by using your voice....
Getting the Android-x86 emulator networked properly from within VirtualBox has proven to be more of a challenge than I'd anticipated. Fortunately, I've figured out exactly which steps need to be taken in order to successfully get Android-x86 to connect to the Internet from within VirtualBox...
1. Get rid of long distance calls.
2. Get rid of your texting plan.
3. Turn off your phone while at your desk.
4. Use Android widgets on your PC.
5. Avoid buying an expensive Android device.
While BlueStacks is probably the easiest way to go about testing Android apps in an emulator on your PC, it does not allow you to play around with the core settings that make up the Android operating system. The Android-x86 project takes it one step further to give you the full Android experience through an emulator. In order to get the Android-x86 emulator for your PC, you'll have to do a few things first...
Ever since the advent of BlackBerry's BBM alternative messenger apps have been extremely popular. Kik Messenger is one such Android app that is immensely popular. Kik is currently available for Android, iPhone, and BlackBerry, but there is no native way to install Kik Messenger for your PC. Fortunately, there's a workaround...
BlueStacks is the simplest Android Emulator you can install on your PC. It does not run a traditional Android OS interface, installs directly onto a Windows PC, and allows you to run any app you have installed on your existing Android device. With BlueStacks you can install games like Angry Birds Space, social apps like Facebook and Seesmic, or free, internet-based messaging apps like Skype and Whatsapp messenger. BlueStacks is the winner of C|Net's "Best Software at CES 2012" award, so you really have nothing to lose by trying it out.
There are plenty of Android emulators out there that you can install for your PC. Picking the right one is a matter of personal preference, desired features, and current system requirements. If you have an older Windows computer, you'll probably want an Android emulator that is not dependent on many system resources. However, if you have a newer Windows PC you'll probably want something that makes use of your existing resources and runs quickly on your machine. Fortunately, there are currently a few options available.
You've already read what an Android Emulator is, but that may not explain why you should install one. Obviously, the more software you install on your PC the slower it processes in the long run. So, why would you want to install an Android Emulator for your PC? Here are a few reasons...
If you've stumbled upon this site you probably already know what an Android emulator is and why you might need an Android emulator for your PC. However, for those of you that don't I'm happy to explain it to you.