Googles entry into the mobile phone operating system (OS) arena with Android has generated a lot of interest among smart phone enthusiasts. Until recently, it was available for developers only, but now there are plenty of manufacturers who have brought Android handsets into the market. What sets Android apart from other popular mobile OS, is the number of applications available for downloading and a range of functionalities that they support.

To test how an Android phone will work and to run available applications without purchasing an actual device, try out Android simulator available free for Linux, Mac and Windows.

The first step is to install JDK (Java Development Kit) and then download Android SDK (Software Development Kit) from developer.android.com. Unzip the SDK and start the Android SDK Manager which is located in the tools folder.

This will bring up the initial configuration window. Select 'Installed Packages' from the menu list on the left and click on the 'Update All' icon followed by 'Install Accepted'. It will take a while for all the packages—which support the latest Android version—to download and install. Once packages are installed, select 'Virtual Devices' from the menu on the left to create what is called an Android Virtual Device or AVD.

Enter a name for the device, for example, Test Device, and then select the latest version of Android in Target drop-down field. Now enter the size of SD memory card—say 10 MB. Select a phone skin, or keep it to default, and finally set the Hardware options in the virtual device. This is where a lot of customisation is possible the way a user would want it.

Select from the available options such as accelerometer, audio support, trackball, camera, touch-screen, keyboard, GPS and GPRS modem, along with device settings such as screen resolution, camera specifications, memory and cache sizes, etc. It is important to customise these settings according to the nature of testing required. For example, some applications require higher memory specifications, while large external storage may be required for extensive testing of multimedia content.

Now that all the prerequisites have been set up, click on the 'Start' icon. This will bring up Launch Options window. Keep everything to default and press the Launch button. Wait for the Android to boot-up and hardware settings to take effect which may take about a couple of minutes.

As soon as the system boots up, home screen of virtual devices will flare up along with a right side panel with keyboard and common phone controls including five-way soft keys, volume keys, camera button, back and zoom buttons, call pick-up and hang-up buttons and a power button.

The phone screen can now be used to explore Android inside out—its menus, settings and all other options. Theres a mock battery and signal strength bar at the top in addition to a 3G-enabled icon just like a real handset would have. Besides this, the home screen comes with a Google search bar which actually makes use of the internet connection available on computer for browsing right inside the Android virtual device.

However, because of auto-complete feature, the closest match of entered search word is displayed, which slows down the simulator. You can counter this by entering text using the on-screen keyboard, or the one present adjacent to the phones main screen instead of using the computer keyboard.

To download and run an Android application, visit an online application store page and follow the on-screen instructions. All this takes place from within the Android virtual device and doesnt require any downloading or browsing outside the simulator window. After the download is complete, it will appear in the phones notification window followed by an installation prompt.

The downloaded and installed applications can be managed using the Menu key and selecting Applications from the Options sub-menu.