Can you control your smartphone using only your computer? The answer is a resounding YES. The real question is:
how much
of your smartphone can you control? As I sat down to write this
article, I had no clue what the answer to that question was, and to my
surprise, the answer is
quite a lot.
From texts and call logs to full blown mouse-and-keyboard input, we can actually do much more than you might expect.
The first Android remote control app I used is MightyText and I must say…
wow.
This app can be summarized rather succinctly: send and read SMS
messages through your Android phone by using a computer or tablet. Seems
simple enough, right? Yet for something so easy, I’m blown away by how
practical it is AND how polished the final product looks.
MightyText is a web app that stays in sync with your phone through a
wireless connection. In order for it to work, you need to install the
MightyText app on your phone and sign in using a Google account. As the
app runs silently in your phone’s background, the web app (which you
access using a simple URL) updates on the fly when you receive new
texts.
With MightyText, you can browse your texts in two modes: Classic
(selecting one conversation at a time) or Power (viewing all of your
conversations at once in a grid). As you receive new texts, you’ll see
popup notifications.
Sending a message is easy as well; all you need to do is type away and
press Send. You can even add attachments for those messages that
transcend text.
The web app is beautiful and very responsive, so much so that I just feel
cozy
using it. The remote control portion of MightyText (the web app,
basically) is available as a Chrome extension, Firefox addon, and an
Android Tablet app. The regular web app works on IE, Safari, iPads, and
Kindle Fires. Opera support is on its way.
LazyDroid is named for those of you who are apparently
so lazy
that you can’t be bothered to go and physically grab your phone. I’m
okay with that though; it describes me rather well. But on a more
serious note, LazyDroid is really cool. All you have to do is install
the app onto your Android phone and run it in the background while your
phone has Internet access.
The app will tell you the “server IP” of LazyDroid on your phone, but
don’t worry. It’s not as scary as it sounds. Just type that IP and port
(it should be in a form similar to
xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx:xxxxx)
into your browser and you will be presented with something that looks
like a full-blown desktop. This is where all of the magic happens.
From this desktop, you can control many different aspects of your
phone: SMS, contacts, call logs, camera, sensors, file manager, or even
direct remote control of the device. Just be sure to note that remote
control requires your
Android to be rooted. By default, the web app connects to your phone through a wireless connect, but LazyDroid has a
USB client that you can use if you want a direct connection (less lag).
The LazyDroid app isn’t exactly free. You can use it without limit
for 24 hours, but once the trial is over you’re stuck between using the
limited version OR upgrading to premium which costs $4.00 USD.
Android Screencast is a small hobby project that lets you remote
control your Android phone through the Android SDK. We have an article
that will help you
set up the Android SDK; just scroll down to the section called
Setting Up Your PC… and you’ll be good to go. The Android SDK is what grants your PC control of your Android device when the USB is plugged in.
With Android Screencast, you can: control your device completely
using mouse and keyboard (rooted devices only); record the screen to
video while you use your phone; browse your phone’s file system
effortlessly. What are the downsides? Well, since it’s a small hobby
side project, it isn’t very optimized or polished and you’ll experience
some hiccups.
All in all, it shows some promise but needs a bit of work done before
I’d consider switching to it. Just know that it’s out there and it may
turn into a real project sooner or later. Requires Java Runtime
Environment 5 or higher to operate correctly.
