Introduction

Development of mobile applications is quite different from the traditional Web application development. In the traditional system, you develop, test, and use the application on almost the same platform. But in the case of mobile applications, you will use the more productive environment of a personal computer for developing and testing your applications while targeting a mobile device execution environment. A mobile device is an altogether different platform for running applications. As a mobile device developer, you need to address the special nature of mobile devices: low processing power, small screen, different methods of input, and the premium cost of bandwidth. Not only this, but you might need to test your application on a variety of devices to ensure correct rendering in all of them.

To increase productivity during mobile device development and to cut costs, you should use emulators instead of real mobile device for most of your development and testing requirements. Emulators allow you to test your application directly from desktop computer, and they do not require an actual device or a wireless connection. Emulators also include additional development tools, such as the ability to view page source or device state. Several emulators are available, mostly available through manufacturers to help developers develop applications targeting their devices. You can install several emulators on your computer and ensure desired results in each of that devices without leaving the environment you are already familiar with.