How to get Droid Explorer to work with the Backflip

Droid Explorer is a cool utility that you can use to install "apk" (installables) files on your android device, take screenshots, browse through directories, move around stuff etc. I faced a lot of problems trying to install this Droid Explorer on my computer and get it to connect to my backflip, so I am going to document the steps I took over here in case you are facing the same problem.

1. Install the Motorola Media link. Well, this step is not really necessary but I found out installing this automatically installs the Motorola's compatible USB driver on your machine. When I started off, I downloaded and installed Motorola USB Driver 4.6.0 whereas my backflip is compatible with the 4.5.0 version. So when I installed Motorola Media link, it automatically installed the compatible USB driver.

2. Enable USB debugging on your device. This can be done through the Settings->Applications->Development->USB Debugging menu on your backflip. While you are in the menu, it might be a good idea to also check the "Stay awake" option which basically keeps your phone awake while you are charging it. Useful when you are continuously debugging and deploying applications to your cellphone.

3. Now go ahead and install the Droid Explorer. A quick google search should get you the exe.

4. Now, before you start the droid explorer, make sure that your phone is NOT connected to the PC. Start the Droid Explorer, a window pops up saying 0 devices found.

5. Now connect your phone, turn it into a USB drive from the notifications area on your phone.

6. On the Droid Explorer screen, click refresh, it will now display a device. Click on Connect and there you are connected to your Android phone.

As I mentioned, you can do all sorts of cool things with the Droid Explorer. I am yet to fully explore the possibilities. For now, here's a screenshot of my Android phone.


Apart from a screenshot, you can also take a "screencast" a running video of what happens on your phone screen. This is done using the screncast plugin of the droid. I tried it and it worked like a charm...created a nice little ".mov" file with pretty good clarity.

Oh yeah, as you can see from the screenshot, I installed both the NESoid and the SNESoid emulators from the market. These are both amazing applications as they let you play the good old console games like Mario, Battle City, Bomberman from yesteryears right on your Android phone. If you need to know how to get these games running on your Android phone, I'll be glad to assist. Enjoy!