The BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet simulator v2.1 beta includes a new tool to help you work with the simulator: the Simulator Controller. You can run the Controller by executing the controller file located in the controllers sub directory, which can be found within the simulator installation directory. Once you have it up and running alongside the simulator, click on the Connection menu, choose Connect and enter the IP address of the simulator.

The Simulator Controller allows you to simulate rotating and tilting the simulator as well as simulate GPS locations. You can configure a single GPS coordinate or a route using a GPS NMEA data file. We’ve also included some sample NMEA sample data files located in the controllers\nmea directory.

The Simulator Controller coming in the upcoming update for the BlackBerry® 10 Dev Alpha simulator adds some additional features, including the much-requested ability to control the zoom level of the simulator to allow its entire window to fit on your screen. Here is a rundown of all the elements you can control:

• Control Device Orientation – Set Roll, Pitch and Yaw, Tilt on Z Axis and rotate about the X, Y or Z axis
• Control Illuminance and Proximity Sensors
• Set battery charge level, health, temperature and toggle charging on or off
• Set the device PIN
• Simulate GPS Location – Simulate either a fixed location or movement using NMEA data files
• Simulate NFC Tags
• Control Device Zoom level

For more information, refer to the BlackBerry Simulator documentation.