The Google Chrome Blog was updated on Wednesday with news of the company's Remote Desktop service extending out to smartphones and tablets. As the name implies, users can now install the Remote Desktop app in the Chrome browser, install the Chrome Remote Desktop app for Android, and then access the desktop from the mobile device.
1. To get this service up and running, first you need to open the Chrome desktop app and enable remote connections; your desktop or laptop should be listed under "My Computers."
2. To provide access to this particular computer, users must create a PIN of at least six digits. This PIN number will be required from the smartphone or tablet.
3. On your Android device's screen, your shared laptop or desktop should be visible. Tap on it, and the app will ask for the PIN number used on the host PC.
4. After that, you should see your desktop on the mobile Android device. Even more, a box stating that "your desktop is currently shared with blah@blah.com" should be positioned at the bottom of the computer's screen. There's also a button to halt the sharing.
That's it; setting up the connection is super easy and super fast.
Once the setup is completed, users can swipe their finger across the smartphone or tablet screen to move the mouse pointer. In this hands-on demo, all three screens were streamed, not just display #1, so maneuvering around on a 4.7-inch smartphone screen took some time, but that's OK. There's seemingly no delay between finger and remote mouse movement. Naturally, remotely accessing the PC was easier on a tablet thanks to the larger screen coverage.
This service would be ideal for those who ran out of the office without their report, for those who continuously go to Mom's house to fix her PC settings, and so on. Users can also remotely open an application, read documents, and even surf the Internet. What's great is that this Chrome service is absolutely free.
To stop sharing, simply hit the button on the bottom of the screen. Keeping this service on indefinitely isn't recommended; the whole blinking cursor thing seems to indicate that this service could interfere with games and applications that require a lot of the PC's resources. If anything, turn it on only when needed.
Although Chrome Remote Desktop has been around for a while now, adding mobile device support is a welcome addition to the Android family. For more information about this new service, head here.
