Alternatives to the android avd emulator
android, android-virtual-device
Solution
http://androvm.org/ is promising, it seems to work as well as the emulator does if not better but you have to do a little bit more configuration.
Androvm has now turned into http://www.genymotion.com/ which is even easier to use than every other alternative. I expect that this is what you will want to use.
The other option is adb over wifi, which will let you use your phone without doing the dropbox step http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1685736. For this to work you will need root though.
Problem
So for me the emulator never works. And I don't want to USB debug. So my development cycle involves packaging a new apk for edits I make in Eclipse, and sending it to my phone through dropbox and installing and running the apk from there, noting the errors, and repeating the cycle. I want to know if there are any other emulators or easier ways for testing an apk. Thanks.