How To Install Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich On Your PC

Android 4.0 is not yet available for most of the phones easily, but if you want to taste some sweet Ice Cream Sandwich, you can easily do that in your own computer. You can then use it as an emulator for testing applications if you’re a developer or exploring Android 4.0 if you plan to buy a phone or just for some plain fun.

This Tutorial will guide you to install Android 4.0 on PC in a matter of minutes using VirtualBox, an amazing software by Oracle to run an Operating System inside an Operating System (Inception?) as a virtual machine.

I ran it in Windows 7, but it will easily run in Mac OS and Linux the same way.

Before we Start

First of all, grab these two download links and store them somewhere deep inside your computer:

Download: VirtualBox (89 MB) | Pre-configured Android 4.0 ICS Image (88 MB)

VirtualBox will run not only ICS but various other Operating systems too, like Windows 8 inside your Windows 7 as a virtual machine, and is a very handy tool. The preconfigured set up for ICS file is in 7z format which you can easily decompress using WinRAR (trial, paid) or 7zip (free).

Steps to Install Android on PC

Follow the following steps to install Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich on PC:
Step 1. Install VirtualBox and run the file “Android-v4.vbox” from the “Android-v4 “folder.

Step 2. Press the Settings button. Go to System and increase the RAM in Motherboard tab and Processors in Processor tab upto a level that you think should be sufficient to run Android 4.0 smoothly.
Step 3. Then navigate to Display and increase Video memory. Then, Enable 3D Acceleration.

Try out other settings, play with them and see if it results in a smoother build of Android on your virtual machine.

Step 4. Select the lower option “Android Startup from /dev/sda” when the OS selection screen comes up.

Step 5. The Virtual Machine will now boot Android, some codes will show up but in a few seconds The Android logo will be displayed followed by the lock-screen. Use the mouse as you would have used your fingers on a touch-screen.
That is all you will need to run the latest version of android on your system. This version comes packed with all the stock apps built in like the new Browser, ‘Holo’ User Interface, Camera, Contacts, Gmail and several more applications.

The Native Android browser is fast,easy to use and easy on the eye.

The browser is fully functional and will use your computer’s Internet Connection to access the web. The bowser is a really helpful feature for developers because it helps them check the compatibility of sites and web apps on Ice Cream Sandwich.

The Standard android apps and widgets with the home, back and menu buttons on the bottom left side of the screen.

Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich on PC as a virtual platform is a fantastic way for developers to work on the platform even if they don’t have ICS phones yet. You can enjoy all of ICS’s sweet features without any smartphone.

Stuck with a Problem?

Feel free to leave a comment below with your problem and I’ll be more than happy to help you out.