How to use HTC EVO as keyboard and multitouch trackpad for computer

The HTC EVO 4G can't connect to a Bluetooth keyboard or mouse, but did you know that you can use the phone as a wireless keyboard and multitouch-enabled trackpad for your computer (PC, Mac, or Linux)?

Whether your tablet/slate is propped up on a table, you've got a computer hooked up to an HDTV, you want to lean back in your chair instead of sit up to use your desktop keyboard and mouse, or you just want to impress your non-techie friends with something cool, using your EVO as a keyboard and trackpad is incredibly easy.

This isn't unique to Android and there are other ways to do the same thing but what follows is my preferred method, chosen because it's straightforward, easy, and free. I also like the implementation of multitouch, which lets you use two fingers to scroll and also supports click-and-drag (press one finger on the left mouse button to select the item on screen while dragging another finger across the trackpad to move it).

Here's how you do it:

You need Java and a WiFi connection.

1. Download and install RemoteDroid from Android Market on your EVO.
2. Download the companion application and unzip it onto your computer. Double-click the .jar file to run it.
3. Launch RemoteDroid on your EVO, enter the IP address assigned to you when you double-clicked the .jar in the previous step, and press the Connect button.
4. Now use the EVO as your computer's trackpad and keyboard!

Landscape and portrait mode are both supported, so you can use whichever is most comfortable to you.

The app is self-explanatory, but just in case:

• Press the green keyboard icon to bring up the EVO's keyboard (note: Swype isn't recognized unless you tap the keys like a regular keyboard).
• The smaller green squares are the left and right mouse buttons.
• The large red square is the trackpad, which supports multitouch (as described above) and click-to-tap.

I use RemoteDroid to interact with my Sony Vaio Z notebook (my primary PC) every so often but have also used it with some of my UMPCs/MIDs running XP, Vista, and Windows 7.

Here it is with my Viliv N5, which is barely larger than the EVO:

Pretty cool, huh?

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