Microsoft Device Emulator is a great tool for testing your mobile web applications without utilizing any real mobile device.  Because it can use the same network that your computer is on, you can use it to test your mobile web applications hosted on development computers or test servers before the applications are published to the internet.  It is part of the Visual Studio 2008, so you can set it up with very minimal work, if you already have VS2008 installed.  It can also be installed separately.  In the rest of this post, I will demonstrate how to set it up, to use your local network and access your mobile web applications.

Here are a few things you will need to have on your computer to continue.

1. Windows Virtual PC 2007.  This is required, if you would like to connect the Device Emulator to your local network.  The software can be downloaded from Microsoft website.
2. Microsoft Visual Studio 2008.
3. Microsoft Device Emulator (which comes with VS2008).

With all the above requirements available on your computer, you can follow the steps below to configure your Device Emulator.

1. Start VS 2008 IDE.
2. On the menu, go to Tools >> Device Emulator Manager
   

   Start Device Emulator Manager

3. Right-click on a device you would like to use, and choose Connect option.
   

   Connect to A Mobile Device

4. After the device is connected, right-click on the connected device again, and choose Cradle.
   

   Cradle the Connected Device

5. Go to the device window.  On the menu, choose File >> Configure
   

   Configure Device

6. Go to the Network tab, and select the options as shown in the screen shot below.  And then click OK to close the window.
   

   Choose Network Card

7. In the device window, on the menu, choose File >> Reset >> Soft.  And wait until the device is restarted.
8. Now you need to configure the internet connection in the mobile device.  (The process could be different depending on what device you have picked.)  Normally, you would find the Settings option in the main menu, and then go to the Connections section to choose/define an internet connection.  Here below I use the device I chose as an example.
9. Choose Settings >> Connections >> Advanced >> Select Networks, and then choose My ISP for both Internet and Private Network connections.
   

   Choose Settings

   

   Choose Connections

   

   Choose Advanced Settings

   

   Choose My ISP

10. After confirming all these changes, you can now visit your mobile web application or internet using this Device Emulator.  Task accomplished!
    

    Your Mobile Website

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