On this team, we all carry Android devices, lots of them, including phones. Even Noel (@noelportugal) has finally been converted.
Everyone on the team, minus me, is an Android developer, and as they build for new devices like Google Glass and the upcoming Android Wear watches, the ability to project screen images becomes more essential.
Case in point, at a recent sales event, I was showing a Glass app and companion tablet app that Anthony (@anthonyslai) and Raymond built as a concept demo for Taleo interview evaluations.
Using Glass for the first time requires training, so I typically use the screencast option of the MyGlass app to see what the wearer sees. In this case, I was also showing an app on the tablet, so I couldn’t keep the screencast running.
Similarly, when I’m showing Glass or any Android apps to a room of people, projecting the screen images is a bit of an adventure.
Necessity being the mother of invention, Anthony decided to address our collective need for better Android projecting by modifying Android Projector, an open source Java project to support projecting from multiple Android devices.
You can find his code on GitHub.
Android Projector requires adb, part of the Android SDK. If you have adb, run:
adb devices
And copy the device ID you want to project. Then from the directory where you downloaded Anthony’s version of Android Projector, run:
./android-projector <device ID>
Want to show two devices? Open another terminal session, copy the other device ID, rinse, repeat.
And voila, you can see both device’s screens. If you’re giving a demo, you can now project your laptop’s screen to show all the screens.
Google Glass and Nexus 7 screencasts on the same machine.
Pretty cool, eh? Find the comments.
Reminder to self to ask Anthony about this.
@Joyce: Turns out Android Screen Monitor also does this. Anthony recently fixed a memory leak w his code that was killing me. Now that the Chromecast does mirroring, that’s my new favorite way to go. Obviously not dual screen projecting, but easy.
I have a Chromecast in my drawer that came from somewhere. I have literally never plugged it in. I suppose i should try, although it sounds like my best bet may be to do it at home vs attempting on a work network.
@Joyce: Yes, if you want to try it, do so at home, unless you have tethering on your phone. If the latter, chat w Noel or me before you start.