What Ripple was for
Ripple provided a browser-based environment for emulating aspects of the PhoneGap JavaScript environment. It helped developers inspect web interfaces and simulate selected device interactions without repeatedly installing an application on a phone.
Emulation did not make the desktop browser identical to a native device. Native plugins, platform WebViews, permissions, performance and signing still required platform-specific testing.
The guys over at Tiny Hippos have been kicking ass on their mobile dev emulator Ripple. It's a Chrome Extension that helps develop PhoneGap apps by simulating data from PhoneGap APIs.
Check out this PhoneGap Geo demo in Ripple:
Can't wait to see what this crew does next! Check out their blog post on it here.
Source and historical context
The official emulate.phonegap.com repository identifies its purpose as Ripple emulation for PhoneGap’s JavaScript environment. It is an archive, not a newly supported browser extension. This page does not operate an emulator or prompt you to install an old extension.
A practical testing sequence
Use browser tools for layout and web logic, then build the application for its target platform. Check native integrations and permissions on actual devices, and use the debugging guide to distinguish web-layer issues from native-code issues.
Sources & archive notes
Recovered repository material is attributed to its original authors and distributed with its source license. Changes: FreeSoft layout, archive context, navigation, link and image locations. Apache License 2.0 · Notices and provenance. Editorial material is labeled separately.