Android Pi

Using Android with VX ConnectBot

VX ConnectBot [6] is not designed specifically for Raspberry Pi, but this application can transform your Android devices into a useful extension of your Raspberry Pi. For example, using a simple trick, you can use the Android device as a screen and keyboard for Raspberry Pi. The only requirement is that the Android device must support USB tethering. You also need a USB cable to connect Raspberry Pi to the Android device. On Raspberry Pi, run the sudo nano /etc/network/interfaces command and add the following configuration to it:

iface usb0 inet static
address 192.168.42.42
netmask 255.255.255.0
network 192.168.42.0
broadcast 192.168.42.255

This effectively turns the first USB port on Raspberry Pi into a network interface. Reboot Raspberry Pi, connect your Android device to it via USB, and enable USB tethering. Launch VX ConnectBot and use the pi@192.168.42.42 address to establish an SSH connection to Raspberry Pi. That's all there is to it.

If your Android device supports wireless hotspot functionality, you can use it as a part of a fully functional portable Raspberry Pi station. In this scenario, the Android device is set to act as a wireless hotspot, and Raspberry Pi with a wireless USB adaptor is configured to connect automatically to the Android-based wireless network. You can do the latter using the graphical network configuration utility supplied with the Raspbian Linux distribution or by editing network configuration files by hand. Additionally, you need an external keyboard connected to the Android device (a Bluetooth keyboard is a good choice for Bluetooth-enabled Android devices).

To make the entire setup mobile, you can also use an external battery to power Raspberry Pi. To bring the created portable station to life, enable the wireless hotspot feature on the Android device. Power up Raspberry Pi and wait until it connects to the wireless network. On the Android device, find out Raspberry Pi's IP address, then use the SSH client app to establish an SSH connection to it.

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