How to manage your Android phone from your Chromebook (or Windows, Mac or Linux) for free

I wrote this as an aid for Chromebook users, but the exact same principles are applied to any machine as this runs in your browser.

Assuming that like me, you've opened your shiny new Chromebook, and after playing around for a few hours, you've undoubtedly connected your Android handset to your Chromebook expecting some sort of fanfare and realised that it's not happening.

Fear not though, there is help in the form of +AirDroid.  This free app (AirDroid on the Google Play Store) is simply installed on your handset and allows you to do a whole bunch of cool stuff, right from your browser!

Browser view

As you can see, there's a whole bunch of features in +AirDroid (web.airdroid.com to connect) ranging from drag & drop file transfer, device data, sending & receiving SMS messages and a whole bunch more.

A few reasons why +AirDroid is a great option -

• Connects to your phone with no wires (wires are so 'yesterday').
• You don't have to be a programmer to figure it out, just connect and go.
• It's free.

  

Android app view: Connection

Android app view: Tools

The Android app meanwhile appears to just sit there, but there's a whole host of goodies just waiting in the 'Tools' menu.

The +AirDroid option really is a viable option for anyone as it runs in the browser (I use it with Chrome - 'other browsers are available'), so whether you're a Windows, Mac or Linux user, or you have yourself a cool new Chromebook, you can now manage your Android device from your desktop/laptop.

Do you use +AirDroid or do you have an alternative option?