Develop Reference

Android Virtual Device - Can't access basic OS features / Internet

I'm new to the Android OS and I am having trouble interacting with a virtual device. I've installed the Android SDK + Java + Eclipse and I'm trying to get a virtual device running and debug an apk I have.
I create a AVD and start it up and get this basic screen below but none of the other Android OS options you'd see on a standard phone. I can't even really control this device as the buttons seem to have no effect. I can't get into settings or see default installed applications, etc..
What am I doing wrong? I'd expect to have a basic clean Android OS startup when I launch these virtual devices but I get this funky screen and can't do anything with it, controls don't seem to work.
Worth noting I am doing this from a VMWare Workstation running Windows 2012 R2, not sure if there are issues if I'm running this all in a VM.
UPDATE:
OK so it appears I was using the Android 4.4W which I think is for wearable devices and why the OS was basically empty. I changed it to Android 4.4.2 x86 by cloning a Nexus 5 and now I just get a blank screen when I try to start the emulator. Here is a screenshot, any ideas?

Update:
You are using Android Wear API target, please try with regular android API (L preview or API 19 or below). I was able to reproduce your issue if i used Android Wear Target, it works if i used non-wear target. Android wear target is for 'wear' device types.
When configuring the AVD, you can pick different "skins" , please see below highlighted in redbox
If you are using a custom (or vendor) defined device type, go into AVD Manager -> Device Definitions and double-click your device entry, it will open the below window, make sure Buttons tab says Software
You can also navigate the emulator UI with keyboard shortcuts, often quicker this way.**

A. Ashoke is right about using skins, you may choose a skin when you create or edit the emulator. Here is a screen-shot. Check the 'skin' dropdown. (It may not be available for some 'devices' you select here.
You are using VMWare, so you might be behind a proxy. You may need to provide proxy, using following steps -
Click on Menu
Click on Settings
Click on Wireless & Networks
Go to Mobile Networks
Go to Access Point Names
Here you will Telkila Internet, click on it.
In the Edit access point section, input the "proxy" and "port"
Also provide the Username and Password, rest of the fields leave them blank.
When you will load it for the first time, it may again ask for your credentials. So provide there as well.

Adding Existing Device Definitions To Android Studio AVD Manager

Sorry for the newbie question but I just downloaded and installed Android Studio in an effort to get into Android development. I've looked around and can't seem to find any information on how to add existing device definitions to the emulator/AVD Manager. Aren't there just a bunch of device definitions that the manufacturers provide that can be loaded into the IDE via the AVD Manager. It seems like that would be the logical way to do this. It seems like the only thing you can do is create a new device based on existing device definitions. Is it possible to add device definitions? How is this done?

You are free to add your own device definitions to the AVD - the definitions for Nexus devices (and some others) are already provided.
Launch the AVD, switch to the Device Definitions tab, and click the Create Device... button (see screenshot below).
Now fill in the values based on the device you are trying to simulate (lookup the device specs here if needed).
Once you've created a definition, select it from the list and then click the Create AVD... button. Here you can choose the Android version and CPU type (ARM/Intel), and various other emulator specific settings.

Android AVD features

I was reading the Android documentations, the AVD topic.
I have a question.. What's this means?
An AVD consists of:
You can choose a version of the standard Android platform or
the system image packaged with an SDK add-on.
Any thoughts?

This may refer to some of the manufacturer specific images. For example some devices are dual screen or have special hardware. This can be seen in the download/addon manager where there are references to LG and Samsung to name but a few.
Overall an avd is a simulation of an android device including the hardware configuration. You can have more than one, for example I have 3 to simulate different screen densities and android versions. They are great for testing and easy to setup via the avd manager, where you can also set other settings like the default avd.
To setup an avd instance go into eclipse or access via the android SDK folder (where ever you put it) both routes lead to the same GUI.

Android AVD For Specific Device

I created an Android application that I have published in the marketplace. It crashes on a specific device, the Motorola Cliq XT, so I would like to make an AVD of this device and test it in the emulator. I know that I can make a new AVD with the right API level, but what other considerations are there for this AVD so that I can closely mimic the actual device? Are there standard AVDs that someone has released for different phones, or do we not have that kind of flexibility? Thanks.

The Motorola Developer Network site provides instructions for downloading and installing the necessary add-ons to support the creation of a device-specific AVD. Sadly, I'm no longer able to find the actual download page.

Why not standard Android emulators?

I'm new to Android, but have published iphone and bberry apps. I see that I have to create an emulator using the SDK, before I can write and test an app. Why are there no default emulators? Why not at least a Nexus one, or HTC hero emulator shipped with the product?
Sure its supposed to be flexible, but why not make it easy to create hello world and play around with a virtual Android phone? Both blackberry and iphone come with default simulators when you download the sdk.
Thanks,
Gerry

Since you can create an emulator configuration - or Android Virtual Device (AVD) - with three mouse clicks and typing a name I don't see too much wrong with the Android Emulator that ships with the SDK.
The reason that there's no Nexus One or HTC Hero emulator is that these ship with proprietary code which can't be given away free with the emulator.
The Sense UI that comes with the Hero is written by HTC only for their handsets and some of the Google Apps, such as Google Maps, GMail and YouTube are owned by Google and are not part of the Android Open Source Project. I believe Google charge handset makers for these apps and if they included them in the SDK then anyone could have them for free.

The SDK includes emulators for all currently released devices, you just have to create and name them.
To create a "Nexus One" emulator, you would create an AVD that is using the 2.1 SDK, and has a screen size of WVGA800. It's as simple as that.

It used to be this way, but was changed to make developers think about what platform version / configuration they are developing against (and to allow multiple platform AVDs to be created).
Here is a quick way to launch an emulator running cupcake:
$ android create avd -n android1.5 -t
$ emulator -avd android1.5

What about other features.... i would love to make my app work on all android devices but, i dont own all of them, just 1. So i have to create an avd for each possible hardware configuration(phone). meaning i have to track down the exact specs for say 5-10 phones? resultion, density, aspect ratio, input types, multi touch? proccessor FPU? some do some dont. etc etc. something needs done.

I'm confused by your question. The SDK ships with an emulator. You just have to create and configure an instance of it first through the SDK and AVD manager.

You can create appropriate avd using android (android.bat) in folder /tools of sdk. Also you can choose resolution, sd card, API level. It's really easy:)
If you want to write for Nexus - why not? Choose appropriate sdk level and enjoy.