Manage your Android with Droid Explorer

Ever wish you had a good program to help you tweak your Android device to your heart’s content?  Or one to simply just help you manage and organize all of the precious pictures, contacts, songs, movies, and apps that you have on your phone?  Some HTC-Android owners find HTC Sync to be enough of a solution for them.  Others have jumped all over the Motorola Phone Portal we unleashed on you awhile back.

The new kid on the block – Droid Explorer from Codeplex- promises a more full-featured photo-organizing, package-managing, screenshot-taking, database exploring experience that should keep you and your Android happy for as long as you own it.  Droid Explorer bills itself as “a tool to manage your rooted android device with the simplicity of Windows Explorer.”  Sounds good right?  I thought so.  Now there are two catches:  1)  Droid Explorer is currently Windows-only and B)  You have to have root.  Pass those tests?  You may proceed

More Screenshots, and download link after the break.

Remember all of those features we were talking about?  Well how about:

• Multiple Device Support
• Copy local files to device
• Device command shell window
• Reboot device
• Reboot device in to recovery mode
• Open files for viewing / execution locally with the default file type executable
• Drag & Drop file copy from Explorer
• Flash Recovery Image
• Package Manager (Install & Uninstall)
• Open files on local machine
• Delete files from device
• Take a Screen Shot (landscape or portrait)
• Android Screencast Plugin – Control your android device with your mouse and keyboard
• Install/Uninstall APK files right from explorer
• Backup the “Google Experience” applications and creates an update.zip containing the application

…just to name a few.  But what about the UI you ask?  Well Droid explorer wins in two categories:  Familiarity, and Simplicity. Many of the functions work in a Windows Explorer-like environment, and it doesn’t hurt that it’s easy on the eyes either.

Droid explorer includes a handy Package Manager to help you Install and Uninstall apps from a single location, and fast.

The main Explorer window allows you to manage images, music, videos, or any other file you want to copy to/from your device.

Dive in deep with an integrated command line.

Open any file right on your computer.

Open and edit databases such as Contacts.

Take screenshots of your phone easily.

Quickly install apps straight from your desktop.

Droid Explorer looks to be a great tool for managing your Android, and the familiar UI should make tasks easier for a lot of folks.  Just remember, be careful if you decide to live-edit any of the system files or databases.  Make sure you’re comfortable with what you are doing, because neither we or Codeplex are responsible if you damage your phone.  But since you already have root, you probably don’t care about disclaimers and more than likely just skipped over that last part.

Many more features, screenshots, and download at Codeplex

Filed Under: Android Apps • Applications • Development

Tags: Android, app, Explorer, Manager, Phone, Windows