Gmote: Control Your Computer Desktop Wirelessly from Your T-Mobile G1

For many of us, our computers are an integral part of our multimedia experience. We watch TV via Hulu, find viral videos on YouTube, and manage music and movie collections on our hard drives. Imagine being able to scoot back from that monitor, chill on the couch, and control your playlist or streaming video from a distance. With the Gmote application for Android enabled phones (like the T-Mobile G1) you can easily control your movies, music, and other multimedia playing on your computer all from your phone.

To install Gmote, all you need to do is grab the application for your T-Mobile G1 from the Android market, and then download the server for your desktop from http://www.gmote.org. Gmote works on Windows XP/Vista, Mac OS X 10.4+, and virtually any version of Linux with the VLC media player installed. I tested Gmote under Ubuntu Linux, and it worked like a charm!

I was able to easily browse my multimedia folders straight from my T-Mobile G1 and select a movie, playlist, or song to play. I loved how it was so easy to stop, play, fast forward, or rewind all from the my phone's touch screen. There's also a handy "power" button on the display that instantly shuts down whatever you're watching or listening to on screen.

Gmote's functionality doesn't end there though...no, no...it gets even cooler. By pressing selecting "Gmote Touch" from the Gmote menu on your T-Mobile G1, the touch screen becomes a touch pad for your mouse on your computer monitor. The trackball becomes a great way to scroll through webpages, etc, and yes, the onboard G1 keyboard allows you to easily type on your computer from a distance. This makes Gmote a great tool for sharing full screen YouTube videos with friends or controlling media center software like MythTV, Boxee, or Elisa.

Another benefit is that it works over your home wifi network or with your standard cell signal, so it's possible to control your media not only from anywhere in the house, but from anywhere you have service. So let's say you have your computer hooked up to your home media system, and you're coming home with a date from a restaurant. You can select music and start it playing from your car, and have the mood all set when you walk in the door. Slick, huh? This opens all kind of possiblities for future home-automation applications as well...I really can't wait to see what comes next.

Gmote is by far one of the most interesting and useful applications that has been released for the Android platform. If you own a T-Moble G1 and would a like a simple and easy way to control your computer remotely, you can't go wrong with Gmote.