Smartphone seems to be the buzzword today. Cellular calling is just one of the innumerable functions of this phone. More than a phone, it is a mobile computer that lets us do internet browsing and gaming; it is a camera and navigator; an organizer and calculator; a music player and archive gallery and many more things. It in fact, means different things to different people.
Originally launched by Andy Rubin in 2003, Android was bought by Google in 2005
What then, makes it possible for a phone to function as a computer? Yes, you are right! It is its advanced mobile operating system that makes a cell phone a smart phone,
80% of devices worldwide are powered by Google’s smartphone operating system
The most popular mobile operating system for smartphones, tablets and laptops is Android. Android is a Linux based Operating system that comes in a wide range of models. It claims a major chunk of market share and consumer base. Besides its competitive price, another very important factor that adds to its popularity is its being an open source that enables third party manufacturers to introduce latest technological advancements for their customers.
Managing Your Android Smartphones – Android PC Suites
As we rely on our smartphones for everything, it becomes imperative to manage them well. This includes backing up the phone content and media, downloading from and uploading content to the PC and keeping the phone organized. This can be easily done with the help of extremely useful programs called Android PC Suites. This android software links your smartphone to your PC through a USB port and allows you to use and manage all the device functions. We can say that these are device manager apps or android software’s that enable users to access Android phone/tablet via PC.
Advantages of Android Software for PC Suites
PC suite can be downloaded as an app on Android device or as a PC software into the computer. It enhances the phone performance and helps you to manage the various applications on your phone. When installed as android software in your PC, it helps to upload and download files on your Android device.
Using Android on your Windows PC- Android Emulators
There are 1.4 million Android apps in Google Play store.
Another useful category of Android Software’s for PC are Android emulators. Emulators enable you to run Android on your computer even if you do not connect a smartphone or tab physically to it. In this way, you can download hundreds of android apps from Google Playstore and enjoy chatting, gaming and much more without needing an Android device. An emulator displays a virtual device wherein you can install mobile apps and use it just as you would use an Android device.. With the help of Android emulators, you can run Android on your PC simultaneously with Windows and have greater fun with bigger monitor and keyboard.
Advantages of Emulators
By installing Android emulator you can try out Android before making a decision to buy an Android device. It also allows you to design Android apps and run them on your computer. An emulator enables you to expand the number of downloaded apps on Windows and also sync the various apps and android software’s on your Android phone with your computer.
Thus we can say that there are two types of Android software’s for PC are Android software PC Suites and Android Emulators. In the following section, we are going to talk about the various PC suites and emulators programs available in the market.
Android Software
MobileGO
MobileGo by Wondershare is among the most compelling Android Software for PC Suite with distinctive features, exceptionally powerful tools and a user-friendly interface. You can get a glimpse of the total storage capacity and all the stored contents of your phone and that of the SD card on the home screen. It also displays the space used by various files and available working space. It is a cleaning master and enhancer having effective file manager characteristics. It can run both on Windows and Mac Operating Systems with equal ease.
MobileGo allows you to integrate your Android Device with your computer so that you can back up all your data including contacts list, messages, call logs and transfer media files such as music, pictures and videos.
Unique features of MobileGo
It can convert audio and video files to a well-suited format for your Android smartphone or tablet.
Delete unwanted files and cache memory to enhance the performance of the phone.
It has privacy check-up feature that helps you to protect your privacy,
EXAMPLE:If you are planning to move from Windows OS Smartphone to Android Phone, MobileGo enables you to transfer all the data including contacts, SMS, pictures, videos and emails to your Android phone.
Although, MobileGo is paid android software, you can also download a free demo version before deciding to buy it.
Airdroid
Another amazing Android Software for PC Suite, which is very popular is AirDroid. It is a free of cost and an efficient Android app that helps you manage your Android phone/tablet through a web browser on a computer. It is unique as it does not require a USB cable to connect with your computer and is linked through a wi-fi connection remotely. Thus, you can easily transfer data and files wirelessly in a completely secure environment.
Unique Features of Airdroid
You can organize and manage SMS, chats, files, contacts, pictures, videos and other applications on the computer screen.
An amazing feature is its ability to use the computer to send text messages to contexts using the computer keyboard.
You can even answer the calls from your PC, without even physically using the phone.
Transport files easily and speedily between phone and computer without a cable.
It can truly be ranked among the best Android apps and every android owner must install it.
MOBILedit
Another PC Suite that lets you sync your smartphone or tablet with your computer is Mobiledit by Compelson Labs. It supports a wide range of Android devices, right from the basic models to the most progressive smartphones. Just like Airdroid, you can use it to connect your mobile phone to your PC wirelessly using Wi-Fi, Infrared (IR) , Bluetooth or even a USB cable, if none of the three networks are available.
Just like other PC Suites, you can manage your Android device completely through your computer using Mobiledit. It enables you to save music and images, manage phonebook contacts, messages and much more within seconds.
Unique Features of Mobiledit
You can create backup of the important data on your phone on the computer as well as over your cloud storage account.
It has a built-in video editor.
It can also be connected with iPhone via Wi-Fi, by installing a mobile app called Mobiledit Lite, on your i-phone from i-tunes..
You can get complete SIM card reader support and extract SIM card information such as IMSI, ICCID, LAI, PIN, PUK, call costs with Mobiledit
A downside of Mobiledit is its cost, which is higher than other programs in the same category.
Droid Explorer
Droid Explorer lets you manage files on your Android device using an interface which closely resembles Windows web browser ‘Windows Explorer’. This makes data management even easier than before. Just like other PC Suites, it can perform all basic functions such as managing and backing up important data such as messages, contacts, images, music and other important files on your phone through your computer and to completely explore various functions, options and applications on your phone.
Unique features of Droid Explorer
Free of cost
Windows explorer like interface displays all the available folders from their root node as well as the directory contents.
Command your Android device with the help of drag and drop features in the command shell window.
Easy to uninstall and install files. Install multiple APK files using batch mode and uninstall apps using the uninstaller provided in the tool.
Lets you take and save screenshots and videos of tasks being performed by you on your Android
91 PC suite:
91 PC Suite for Android by NetDragon is a free phone manager and backup app. It is credited to be the first such android software that supports various mobile Operating Systems namely Android, iOS, Windows, Wince and Symbian system via a USB cable
Unique Features of 91 PC Suite
You can personalize ringtones, wallpapers, pictures, videos and themes with its unique Media tab
91 PC Suite is not heavy on system and thus is ideal even for phones with a not-so-powerful system or memory.
Ideal to be used by novices as well as professional users.
MoboRobo Android Manager
Another popular and extremely powerful Android PC Suite which offers numerous features to manage and organize Android devices is MoboRobo. With a user-friendly interface, MoboRobo enables you to transfer contacts for backup purpose or if you are upgrading to another phone. It supports Android as well as iOS.
Unique Features of MoboRobo
Allows you to download free apps to your Android phone through computer.
Features a built-in app to help you download music.
Helps you to find, download and install apps from a library of suggested apps
Supports installing, uninstalling and updating of applications from smartphone on your PC.
Control the theme settings of your phone from PC while using Mobo Launcher as the theme on your phone.
Apowersoft Phone Manager:
Apowersoft Phone Manager is a powerful tool for Android which allows you to connect your Andoid mobile to computer to manage photos, videos, music, contacts and other apps and to diagnose and boost your phone. Apowersoft also supports iOS system.
AndroidPC
PC Suite software is also known as Synchronization software or Application Manager.
AndroidPC is also ranked among some of the favored Android PC Suites. This wireless android software lets you connect your phone to PC without USB cable and is available not only for Android but also for Windows, Linux and Mac Operating System.
Android Emulator software for Android.
Emulators are also known as simulators
Now we are going to talk about some of the popular Emulator emulators for Android. As discussed earlier, emulators are required if you wish to run Android apps and games on a windows computer. It is important to select an efficient emulator that does not hamper the speed of your system and also works efficiently.
Droid4X
Droid4X is the latest among the available Android emulators. It empowers the user in real sense by advantage of its unique features. With Droid 4x, you can play your favorite Android games and also download Android apps on your personal computer or notebook computer. It boasts of great performance and wonderful user experience.
Unique Features of Droid4x
It is Pre-rooted and Play Store is pre-installed.
It’s fast and efficient.
Lets the users synchronize computer keyboard as a game controller.
Amazing graphics offer improved and great gaming experience
Windroy
With Windroy you can easily run Android apps on computer and also use all other Android features. It offers great ease of use as you can smoothly switch from Windows to Android with a single click of the mouse.
Unique Features of Windroy
Can run with equal ease on Windows XP, 7, 8 and Vista
Occupies little space on system.
Launches in a full screen mode.
It completely runs using the Windows Kernel
GenyMotion
Another reliable Android Emulator for PC in our list is GenyMotion. It has advanced features to enable effective running of your apps. GenyMotion is compatible with Windows, Mac and Linux. It has a free version which works well with all basic features, however buying a premium license will give you access to more advanced features.
Unique Features of GenyMotion
It employs x86 architecture virtualization and OpenGL hardware acceleration.
Creates a virtual machine via VirtualBox to support hardware devices namely GPS, accelerometer and battery.
BlueStacks Android App Player
Bluestacks is the most extensively used Android emulator for Windows. It does not require VirtualBox as in some of the other emulators. It is easy to install and also lets you install 3rd party APK’s and android apps with ease.
However, it is challenging to install it properly on Windows 8 OS. Also, It used to be free but now is only in Specific regions This is why some of the latest emulators mentioned above are preferred over Bluestacks.
Some other Android Emulators worth checking out are: DuOS-M Android Emulator which offers GPS and application compatibility and also provides support for multi-touch feTures on PC; Xamarin Android Player; and Andyroid – Andy OS that lets you use your phone as remote control for gaming, provides ARM support and also enables you to install apps in your andy emulator directly through your desktop browser
Conclusion
There is no denying that Android apps are preferred over desktop apps as they are compact and lighter on system resources. Also, many service providers these days do not offer any desktop platform and can be approached only through mobile apps. The need to manage and organize yo ur phone through computer remains a priority. In such a scenario, it becomes important to adopt a way that enables you to run virtually any Android app on PC.
So now, you are not bound to the confines of limited memory, space and a small screen of your mobile phone. You can enjoy the luxury of hundreds of games and applications from your desktop. With PC Suite and emulators, there is no need to worry whether your favourite Andoid app comes with a desktop version or not or whether you own an Android device at all!
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