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I'd like to use an Android phone for controlling presentations. I know there's some wifi approaches, but often times the computer running the slideshow isn't owned by me and is not comfortable installing and running other software, especially stuff designed for remote control.

So I'm specifically looking for some way to do this using the Bluetooth HID profile, as it requires very little set-up on the PC side. Basically, I'm looking for the Android equivalent to BlueMaemo. Is there a way to do this?

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    Are you trying to find a way to use your phone as a bluetooth keyboard for another device (maybe a PC) or the other way around? – TREE Jan 27 '11 at 19:13
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    The former -- phone as bluetooth keyboard. – jldugger Jan 27 '11 at 20:01
  • "An app that does X" is generally frowned upon and likely to be closed as "too localized". If you can rephrase your question into something like "is there a way to do X" it will fit in better with the purpose of the site. – ale Feb 28 '11 at 20:52
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    Too localized? Are applications banned in Australia or something? – jldugger Feb 28 '11 at 21:39
  • No, but they tend to end up shopping recommendations that really only help the asker. There are a couple discussions about it on meta. – ale Mar 1 '11 at 2:06
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Just saw this today...
AndroidSpin: Turn your Android Into a Keyboard and Mouse for Your Playstation 3 or PC

Another reason we all love technology, thanks to some clever development by XDA member berserker_devel, you can now use your rooted Android device as a keyboard or mouse on your Playstation 3. The app, BlueputDroid, has been released in beta form and allows your phone’s screen to be used as a cursor and virtual or physical keyboard to input text. This app could also be used for your PC, for those that really want the most from there device(s). Either way it could save you quite a bit of money on buying wireless input devices for your toys (provided they have bluetooth and are supported).

A limited number of devices supported at present but it's being actively developed so something to keep an eye on even if it doesn't cover your device right now.

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  • Promising, but the reviews are not looking good. market.android.com/… – jldugger Mar 2 '11 at 14:55
  • A good comment on there today ;) Current lack of Windows support will be a problem for most, but this is the one to watch. – FoleyIsGood Mar 7 '11 at 17:56
3

There's an app project on Google code that does this: AndroHID

It doesn't offer you a full keyboard, it's meant more as a remote for wireless presenting or audio/video controls, etc. (much like older SonyEricsson feature phones, e.g. the K- vor W-series did). You need root.

It seems inactive at the moment (last release from 2010) and it is not in the play store.

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I've not tried it myself but PRemoteDroid states it works over bluetooth.

From the market:

Use your phone as a remote control device (like GMote) for your computer over Wifi and Bluetooth ! Main features : - Mouse and keyboard control - File explorer - Screen capture

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  • As a note, this appears to require the controlled PC side run a server application. – jldugger Mar 1 '11 at 15:09
  • Yep, looks that way :/ My other answer appears to be the best chance of getting this working - will try and give it a go tonight. – FoleyIsGood Mar 1 '11 at 17:05
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You could download TeamViewer for Android and then download TeamViewer Portable (scroll down some). This way you could run TeamViewer from your USB drive without having to install it and then connect with TeamViewer for Android. I have used it to connect to my home computer and download some files - it works great on my EVO.

Hope this helps

Edit - I couldn't wait to try it so I gave it a shot. It works pretty well but you can only access the main display (can't point things out with the mouse on a secondary display). Also I needed to enable the "Presenter View" so that I could click the "Next" arrow since the presentation was on the secondary display. The computer I tried it on was on Wifi and my EVO was on 3G.

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  • Works very well, and has impressive support for Linux (Fedora 19 + Android 4) - it was used to type this comment :-) - including this link to the best Android on-screen jeybaord, which was also used for this. i now just need to work out how to scroll... – Wilf Dec 24 '13 at 22:28
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Native support for BT HID is going to appear in Android P.

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I can confidently refer you to my own app, AndroidRC. It works for all Android devices with all Windows PC OS versions (tried and tested, stable, minor bugs not included..).

It does require a server app, but for that you get some extra Windows program native support apart from the mouse and keyboard:

  • VLC Player
  • BS Player
  • Winamp Player
  • Powerpoint
  • iTunes
  • Windows power controls
  • Windows media keys control
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    The questioner expressly said that he didn't want to install any software on the PC. Promoting your own app is fine on this site, but only when it's relevant to the question. – Dan Hulme Apr 17 '14 at 10:48

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