Finally, there is an emulator!

Using the Emulator

How to install on Ubuntu 14.04:

sudo apt-get install android-emulator
cp -r /usr/share/android/emulator/ ~/
cd ~/emulator/
./build-emulator-sdcard.sh

To run the emulator:

./run-emulator.sh

For Ubuntu 13.10 and older, you should just be able to install the deb from https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/android.

To update your emulator, run these commands:

cd ~/emulator/
rm -f ./out/target/product/generic/ubuntu-rootfs.tar.xz
./build-emulator-sdcard.sh

WARNING: Do not uninstall and then use apt-get autoremove on amd64. If you do, you will be left in an unbeatable state. Follow the instructions on the wiki to fix you system.

For more details or how to build from source, see the wiki page.

Other Methods

However, using the emulator can be to complex if you just want to run a an app or test the unity8 shell. So, there are two other methods:

1. Running Ubuntu Touch Apps

You can now install the core touch applications directly on an computer running Ubuntu 12.10 or later (or one of the derivatives, such as Kubuntu) using a PPA.

First, add the Core Apps Daily PPA by running these commands in a terminal:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntu-touch-coreapps-drivers/daily
sudo apt-get update

Then install the apps you want by running:

sudo apt-get install <app-name>

Or you can install all of them using

sudo apt-get install touch-coreapps

Here is a list of the core apps available:

• ubuntu-calculator-app
• calendar-app
• ubuntu-clock-app
• ubuntu-weather-app
• ubuntu-docviewer-app
• ubuntu-emailclient-app (not working yet)
• ubuntu-filemanager-app
• ubuntu-rssreader-app
• ubuntu-terminal-app
• stock-ticker-mobile-app
• dropping-letters
• sudoku-app
• music-app

For more information, see this article on http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/.

2. Running the Unity 8 Shell

It is possible to run the mobile interface for Unity 8 on the desktop if you're running Ubuntu 13.10. To do this, install the unity8 package, either by clicking on the link or by typing the following command:

sudo apt-get install unity8

To run it, use this command:

unity8 -mousetouch

Unfortunately, there is no way to run apps in the shell. Clicking on a desktop app will open it in its own window and clicking on a Ubuntu Touch app will do nothing.

The answer is Yes (for both questions), but before testing your code on the Nexus 7 (2013), you'll need to run Utopic (14.10) on your laptop/desktop to get access to the latest development tools.

1. Follow the installation steps (using the development channel to get a 14.10 image).

2. Install the required packages to manage your device:

   sudo apt-get install ubuntu-device-flash phablet-tools
   

3. Install the SDK

   sudo apt-get install ubuntu-sdk
   

4. Connect your device and enable read-write mode (using the SDK):

   

5. Push a sample code to your device (hello.c):

   $ adb push hello.c /home/phablet
   1 KB/s (82 bytes in 0.041s)
   

6. Start a phablet shell connection, install gcc and libc6-dev (root password is phablet) and compile your code on the target:

   sylvain@sylvain-ThinkPad-T430s:~$ phablet-shell 
   start: Job is already running: ssh
   /home/sylvain/.ssh/known_hosts updated.
   Original contents retained as /home/sylvain/.ssh/known_hosts.old
   4 KB/s (200 bytes in 0.040s)
   Warning: Permanently added '[localhost]:2222' (RSA) to the list of known hosts.
   Welcome to Ubuntu Utopic Unicorn (development branch) (GNU/Linux 3.4.0-3-flo armv7l)
   
    * Documentation:  https://help.ubuntu.com/
   Last login: Wed Jul  9 21:29:20 2014 from localhost.localdomain
   phablet@ubuntu-phablet:~$ sudo apt-get update
   [sudo] password for phablet: 
   
   [...]
   
   phablet@ubuntu-phablet:~$ sudo apt-get install gcc libc6-dev
   
   [...]
   
   phablet@ubuntu-phablet:~$ gcc -Wall hello.c -o hello
   phablet@ubuntu-phablet:~$ ls
   Documents  Downloads  hello  hello.c  Music  Pictures  Videos
   phablet@ubuntu-phablet:~$ ./hello
   Hello, world!
   phablet@ubuntu-phablet:~$