Designing websites that take advantage of the iPhone web environment requires more than simply designing for a smaller screen size. The iPhone automatically scales websites when needed. iPhone readers use multi-touch gestures to zoom or move around the page. Flash isn’t supported, and neither are larger animated GIFs (a surprise to me).

Tucked away in Apple’s free iPhone Software Development Kit is a terrific iPhone Simulator you can use to test and preview your websites. In the full version of this tip we’ll show you where that iPhone Simulator application is hidden, and include a few tips on how to test various iPhone features.

Download Apple’s Free iPhone SDK

Note: You’ll have to register for a free developer account and agree to Apple’s terms. Read on and we’ll show you where the iPhone Simulator application is hidden, and include a few tips on how to test various iPhone features.

Where is the iPhone Simulator application installed?

As important as the iPhone Simulator is, the actual application is surprisingly hard to track down.

The application is tucked away many folders deep in the newly installer Developer directory:

Developer/Platforms/iPhoneSimulator.platform/Developer/Applications/iPhone Simulator

Launch the iPhone Simulator app and wait for it to load. The only applications installed on this simulated iPhone are Photos, Contacts, and Safari. Launch the iPhone Safari web browser and start checking out websites.

How to use the iPhone Simulator?

Here are some quick guides to use this simulator: