Xamarin Android Player

Xamarin Android Player gives you the possibility of running, testing, debugging or demoing Android apps in a comfortable environment that runs on Windows. In plain terms, you can play around with a virtual Android phone on your computer. It supports several virtual phone models, with different Android versions. You can do almost anything you would normally do on an Android phone, like web surfing, installing and running apps, and much more.

The software is free and it is available for Windows and Mac OS X. Installing it may take some time, because the setup wizard will also install Orcale's VirtualBox on your computer, which is a requirement. The hardware requirements should not be a challenge for any modern-day computer.

The supported devices are listed on Xamarin Android Player's main user interface, along with download options. You can find several Nexus models, with different Jelly Bean KitKat and Lollipop Android versions. It takes about a minute to download a virtual device. Downloaded devices are displayed in a separate list, along with options for retrieving their general details, duplicating them, factory resetting them and, of course, starting them up.

Virtual devices look and feel exactly like the real-life smartphones. They display the same kind of home screen, menus, options, and they are even displayed in the same aspect ratio as the actual devices they are replicating. The only difference is the fact that you have to click and drag with the mouse, instead of tapping and swiping with your finger.

Besides looking like Android phones, the software's virtual devices also act like them. They simulate the battery level and consumption, your location and even the camera, if you have a webcam connected.

With Xamarin Android Player's advanced functionality, you will be able to run convincing Android phone simulations on your computer, without any kind of difficulties.