Running Market Android apps on the simulator

Question

(Related to, but not the same as this).

I used to be an Android user but switched to an iPhone. There are a few apps that I would like to continue to use, but the idea of carrying around a second phone with me, or even having to charge one, isn't that appealing. They're free apps so piracy is not a concern here, and I've legitimately downloaded the APKs from the Market. Is it possible to sideload the APKs back to my computer and run them in the Android emulator/simulator? (PS: Is it an emulator or simulator?)

Answer 1

1. Download Android SDK from http://developer.android.com/sdk/index.html

2. Unzip Android SDK and move it to ~/.android

3. On a terminal, type ~/.android/tools/android update sdk

4. Install Android SDK Platform Tools, and an SDK Platform Android of your choice.

5. On the Virtual Devices tab, create a new AVD. I called mine "AndroidSandbox", API Level 10, with a 2GB SD card.

6. In the Android SDK Tools, click Start to launch the Android emulator.

7. Once the emulator is open, install any APK files inside it. On a terminal, type: export PATH=$PATH:~/.android/tools/:~/.android/platform-tools/; adb install myapp.apk

Answer 2

You can also install android-x86 in a virtual machine (virtual box...) on your pc, copy your APK from your desktop to this VM and install it.