Thread: Set up your mobile set as Remote Control for PC.

In this era, we have remote controls for everything. Televisions, music systems, DVD players, air conditioners. No reason then, why you shouldn't have one for your PC. With a couple of tricks, you can convert your mobile phone into one. Here’s how.

When I said mobile phone, I did not mean just about "any". You need a smartphone. Quite common now, are smartphones that run on Symbian Series 60-2.x with Bluetooth. Well, these would be Nokia 5320 XpressMusic, N73, E51, 5610 XpressMusic, E65, E66, E71, N95.

Here's the other things you need:

1. A Bluetooth dongle for your PC (latest laptops already have a Bluetooth port). This is a small USB thingy (easily available for Rs 300-500 at your local PC hardware vendor) that allows your PC to communicate with Bluetooth-based devices.

2. An application called ControlFreak available as a free download on this site

3. Winamp V2 or V5 or above. Simply, if you don't have it, download and install it.

Installing ControlFreak is really quite simple. Just double-click the .EXE file to install the application after download. You don't need to make any special configuration settings or complex registry entries. The installer will place a file called controlFreak.sis on your desktop. You need to install this file on your mobile phone. Use Bluetooth or PC Suite (for Nokia phones) to do this. Read your phone's manual to learn how to install files on it. Once installed, a new item called CtrlFreak will appear in your applications menu on your phone. Your phone is ready.

Next, you need to setup your PC (or laptop). The ControlFreak PC application will start Winamp on its own and try to configure port settings. This is where your Bluetooth dongle comes in. If Windows detects your dongle then you have nothing to do, ControlFreak will auto-configure.

If your Windows asks for software on an accompanying CD and you had to use external drivers to set it up, then you need to manually make changes. In Winamp, hit "Ctrl+F". This opens the advanced ControlFreak configurations window. Set Bluetooth driver to “Installed Other” and select the COM port you selected when installing your Bluetooth dongle. Select the Startup with Winamp checkbox if you want Winamp to activate ControlFreak every time you start Winamp.

That's it! Start the CtrlFreak application on your phone, choose "Options" and select "Connect". This will create a remote connection between your phone and PC. Here you need to enter a code to pair your phone with the PC. This is exactly like pairing two phones with Bluetooth. The default code is generally "0000". After connecting, your phone display will show Winamp. Choose Options > Computer > Desktop control (8) from the application menu. Voila! Your mobile will display exactly what you see on your PC.

Note: Currrently S60 3rd Edition phones are not suppported by controlfreak

After installing read the guide of ControlFreak to know the basics of controlling the desktop from your phone.

yep thats correct it works great i have been using control freak from past 2 yrs when they had the first version released .

Good Info

Good one

Originally Posted by itsmemad

Note: Currrently S60 3rd Edition phones are not suppported by controlfreak

Don't worry Jee... Controlfreak will be soon releasing a new version which can support S60-3rd edition phones... Keep checking their site time to time for latest updates!

Nice info bro...I'm gonna try soon...

Rep+

Nice info

Seems really good.
But, I won't be able to try this out now.
Currently using Reliance Classic Handset.

Rep++++

Thanks all for the appreciation...

Even I'm using basic Reliance Handset at present...

But there is also many applications on the net through which you can use you java enabled phone(need not be a smart phone) as a remote control. Some are free , some are not.

In one of the tools you can actually see the desktop in real time, but the frame rate solely depends upon your screen clarity.

I will post the names and more details after office.

Yeah... I remember... Long back you mentioned about java enabled phone working alike, at this forum...

BTW, through ControlFreak you can see the desktop in real time too... Infact you can watch movies on your smart phone... Scroll down screenshots page.

There are two tools

• bluetooth PC remote control :
  
  • PC remote control can be used as a visual remote, you can practically see your desktop in your j2me mobile phone, but the tricky part is to configure the com ports to connect the phone to your PC through bluetooth.

• mobile witch:
  
  • This tool is of a little bit lower capability, it can be used to control mouse and keyboard but does not provide any GUI based support.

using control freak you can do a lot more things
1) take control of whole PC
2) use direct controls for winamp, the best part is when you are connected if you get any calls the volume of winamp will automatically reduced (can be configured) once the call is over it returns back to normal...

ill post the total detail & configuration if somebody wants it...!

hi this is a good work in java

Well im learning something new everyday........thanks Mad!

Originally Posted by jack_eng

hi this is a good work in java

Yes

Thanks for the info Maddy. Reps+