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Back in 2011, Google Chrome released a beta Chrome Remote Desktop feature that was very useful for workers on the road. The feature allowed them to remotely access a home or work computer to access files when they were needed.
Now, three years later, the Chrome team has released a Chrome Remote Desktop app for Android to finally give Android device users the same capabilities when they are away from home or work without the files they need.
The new app was unveiled by Husain Bengali, a Chrome product manager, in an April 16 post on The Chrome Blog.
“Have you ever been out and about, and urgently needed to access a file that’s sitting on your home computer?” wrote Bengali. “Since 2011, Chrome Remote Desktop has let you remotely access your machine from another laptop or computer in a free, easy and secure way. And now, with the release of the Chrome Remote Desktop app for Android, we’re making it possible for you to do the same thing from your Android device.”
To use the service, participants must first enable their Windows or Mac machines for remote access through the Chrome Web Store app, wrote Bengali. “Next, simply launch the Android app on your phone or tablet, tap on the computer’s name and start using your remote machine as if you were sitting right in front of it.”
The new Android app can be downloaded from the Google Play store. A similar iOS app is expected to be available later this year, he wrote.
The desktop Chrome Remote Desktop app was included as one of the “10 Popular Chrome Apps to Run With the Google Browser” in an eWEEK report in January 2014.
“Chrome Remote Desktop is exactly what one might expect: an application that allows users to remotely access and control a desktop running Windows, OS X or Linux,” the review stated. “The application works like remote-desktop service TeamViewer, requiring access codes to get into a PC. The free app is a nice addition for anyone who wants quick access to their computer, regardless of where they are.”