What are some solutions for remotely connecting to an Android phone?

I sit at a desk for most of the day, and having my phone (Sprint HTC Hero) sitting next to me is very useful, but it can be distracting to move my focus away from my PC to control my phone when notifications come in.

What are some good solutions for connecting to my phone and controlling it over WiFi or USB?

I understand that I would need my phone to be rooted for most of the solutions out there, and that multi-touch functionality would probably have to go out the window.

Note: I am on a Mac, but solutions that require any platform should be considered when answering.

Topic remote-control android

Category Android


Yes, rooting is usually (but not always) required. The following are some options:

  • Android Screencast: Probably one of the more easier and popular sol'n
  • Google Code Project "Android VNC". Have to search for it, I can only post 1 link at a time right now...
  • Droid Explorer: App from Marketplace
  • Android VNC Server: A guide that uses a different APK from either sol'n above

Try them out and see which one gives you the best options.


PicMe works surprisingly well as an alternative to VNC.

I recommend using it over Wifi, though. (as opposed to 3g)

http://www.appbrain.com/app/com.bw.picme


Never even considered this until your question, but here's what I've got working pretty well -- droid VNC server from the market. Fairly quick refresh (as fast as I'm used to on VNC), better than the SDK screencast or Droid Explorer. Even has http server support built in -- in fact, I haven't tested yet with a desktop client, but the http/java client works well enough.


Maybe you should give the Android-Notifier over at GoogleCode a try when using a Mac or Linux. The Android-Desktop-Notifier works fine when using Windows.

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