The Android emulator included in the SDK is helpful in running and debugging your applications.  It provides the ability to spoof locations, calls, and texts and set the data speed to simulate slower networks. In fact it works almost as well as the real thing.  There comes a point, however, when you just need the real thing.

Things you will need

1. A rooted G1. Haven’t really tried it with non-root, but really what you need is the USB Debugger feature. (I am using a CyanogenMod ROM)
2. Windows.  I am covering the windows method, but other methods may be found here.
3. Eclipse
4. The Android SDK

First off, install your SDK.  The zip file you download is basically a jumping point for installing many of the features. Just extract it and put it where you want it.  I chose C:\AndroidSDK.  Now in that folder, run the SDK Setup.exe.  This should bring up an interface similar to this:

Now install the packages you want by expanding the repository and checking the ones you want.  Make sure you selsect the ‘Usb Driver package, revision 2′ as well. If you have problems connecting to the repository, try checking force ‘https://…’ in the Settings section.

Now that you have everything installed, you need to turn on USB debugging on your G1.  Open your Settings and go to Applications > Development. Check the USB debugging box.  You can now connect the phone to your computer with the USB cord.  For me, Windows tried to install its drivers the first time.  It was ok for me because I just updated to the SDK drivers.  On your computer go to your Device Manager (Right click My Computer > Manage > System Tools > Device Manager).  There should be an Android Phone in the hardware list.  right click this and choose Update Driver.  Select the option to specify the drivers (Browse my computer…, I already have drivers…), and specify [your AndroidSDK]\usb_driver. Do not go any further down as the .inf file is in that directory.

To make sure your device is installed correctly, in a command prompt cd to [your AndroidSDK]\tools. There you can run adp devices.  If a device shows up that is not one of your emulators, you have setup everything correctly.

Running in Eclipse

Now that your drivers are installed, you can debug in Eclipse just like it was a virtual device.  If you don’t have Eclipse installed with ADT folow these instructions. When you are ready to run or debug an application go to the Run As… drop-down and click Run Configurations… Select your configuration (or create a new one) and in the Target tab, choose Manual for the Deployment Target Selection Mode.

Now when you run or debug your application you can choose either to run it on a device or on your emulator as a virtual device.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 5th, 2010 at 11:27 am and is filed under Android, Programming. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.