Android is available for x86 these days and you can use hardware acceleration [android.com] (CPU and GPU). Just set it up and get near-native performance. Or if you have an Android phone just `adb install -r blah.apk` what more can you want?
"Just set it up" isn't as easy as you make it out to be. I just tried it in Android Studio.
First, you have to install a 3rd party kernel extension (from Intel). Then you have to configure an AVD with the new x86 value for the CPU/ABI field. It didn't appear for some reason for my target "Android 4.4.2". After looking around, I found another download in the Android SDK Manager called "Intel x86 Atom System Image", let's download that. The documentation mentions this, but I glossed over it. OK, back to the AV
Given the open source nature of Android, what I don't understand is how no project so far has integrated the Android runtime with the Linux desktop. Licencing issues maybe? Leave it in a separate PPA.
It would be amazing to be able to run Android applications in Linux seamlessly, ideally integrated with the indicators and notifications provided by the OS.
That would be a killer feature (and would expand the library of games available for Linux by 1,000,000%), in addition to other applications.
Whilst playing around a little with Eclipse and the Android SDK, I found it much easier to just plug in my Android tablet (or it could be an Android phone or both) and download/run the app on that. You get to check rotation, multi-touch, camera etc. a lot more easily this way and it's just as easy (if not more so) than running the emulator. Of course, there could be Android devs without any Android devices at all, but I suspect that's a tiny minority.
The main use of the emulator is probably just to test dif
Virtually nothing? I'd say that the simulator covers about 95% of my testing and diagnosis needs. I only have to resort to running on a physical device when I have to test stuff related to the on-board sensors, camera, or push notifications. So far I've found 1 case where the simulator did not behave as expected. If it works on the simulator, chances are it'll work on the device. If it doesn't work on the simulator, in almost all cases you will be able to use the simulator to diagnose and fix the issue
"Just set it up" isn't as easy as you make it out to be. I just tried it in Android Studio.
First, you have to install a 3rd party kernel extension (from Intel). Then you have to configure an AVD with the new x86 value for the CPU/ABI field. It didn't appear for some reason for my target "Android 4.4.2". After looking around, I found another download in the Android SDK Manager called "Intel x86 Atom System Image", let's download that. The documentation mentions this, but I glossed over it. OK, back to the AV
Given the open source nature of Android, what I don't understand is how no project so far has integrated the Android runtime with the Linux desktop. Licencing issues maybe? Leave it in a separate PPA.
It would be amazing to be able to run Android applications in Linux seamlessly, ideally integrated with the indicators and notifications provided by the OS.
That would be a killer feature (and would expand the library of games available for Linux by 1,000,000%), in addition to other applications.
I know it is pos
Whilst playing around a little with Eclipse and the Android SDK, I found it much easier to just plug in my Android tablet (or it could be an Android phone or both) and download/run the app on that. You get to check rotation, multi-touch, camera etc. a lot more easily this way and it's just as easy (if not more so) than running the emulator. Of course, there could be Android devs without any Android devices at all, but I suspect that's a tiny minority.
The main use of the emulator is probably just to test dif