How can I simulate mobile device browsers to test websites on a desktop?

Question

Are there any good tools that can be run on desktop machines (Windows or Linux) that can simulate a mobile device, preferably with some options as to screen size and mobile browser (user agent if not full render engine).

I know it is never going to be perfect (especially without an actual touchscreen), but having a tool on our development machines to do what testing we can that way would be very useful.

Answer 1

There is a round-up of them on Mashable (second section).

iBBDemo2 — This Adobe Air app will let you see content as it would appear on the iPad and on the iPhone. Support for Android is reportedly coming soon. The app is a bit slow but it does a good job showing accurate results for iOS devices. Just point the app towards your test mobile site.

Android SDK — The Android SDK comes with its own device emulator so you can see how websites will appear on Android handsets. Check out these guides for installing the Android SDK on Mac or Windows.

Blackberry Web Development Page — This page gives you access to the BlackBerry simulators and includes tips for designing for BlackBerry devices.

Symbian S60 SDKs — Nokia’s site has information on the S60 platform and available emulators.

Opera Mini Emulator — Opera has a desktop version of its mobile browser and lots of resources about designing for Opera Mobile across platforms.

Also using Virtual PC 2007 you can install a Windows Mobile Emulator.

Answer 2

The Android SDK comes with an emulator that you could use to test your websites.

Answer 3

You can also use the iPhone simulator (iOS Simulator) that comes with the iPhone developer kit.

Answer 4

There are some solutions that allow you to remotely test on real devices.

Free solutions

• Nokia Remote Device Access
• Samsung's Test lab.dev

Commercial solutions

• DeviceAnyWhere
• Perfecto Mobile