If you are new to Android and looking for a way to test some of the currently available Android applications, here is how to proceed :

1. First get the Android SDK and unzip it somewhere on your hard drive
2. Add SDK_ROOT to your system variables pointing to /tools folder under the sdk
3. Run the emulator
4. Copy the apk file to /tools folder
5. Change directory to /tools and run from commandline $adb install your_application.apk
6. Now check applications list in the emulator and you should see the new application installed and ready.

Some pointed me to the error message when running adb on windows : * deamon still not running * error: no device.

In this case try to shutdown adb server and start it manually using :
$adb kill-server
$adb start-server

You can test if deamon is working by running $adb shell

The uninstall procedure is

$adb shell rm your_application.apk

Hope this help, enjoy !

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In the latest interview, Brendan mentioned that SDK releases have slowed down and here is today the official Android blog announcing the immediate availability of the new release m3-rc37a. Highlited features in this release :

• The ability to inject SMS messages into the emulator, which will allow you to more easily test IntentReceivers for incoming SMS messages (Telnet to Android then run: sms senderPhoneNumber senderPhoneNumber)
• Android Debug Bridge (ADB) supports multiple emulators on one host computer
• The audio problem with the emulator on Windows should be fixed
• There’s a new emulator control panel that you can use to control network events like radio state changes and incoming calls.
• The Eclipse plugin now does color syntax highlighting on the XML files, such as AndroidManifest.xml
• The new default skin for the emulator is HVGA, portrait mode. That’s the one you should focus on for your submissions for the Android Developer Challenge.

It seems there are problems with com.google.android.providers.media in this release, others are reporting that many applications are not running such contacts, maps, browser and even Xmpp settings. Here all applications are working fine and I’m able to emulate phone call, but not sending sms. We’ll try to update you as we get more information on the subject.

More changes on the release notes, and you can download the latest Android SDK release from Google code. Be sure to update the ADT Eclipse Plugin as usual, instructions available for upgrading the SDK.

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