SOTI Pocket Controller for Android is a powerful free suite which enables you to access and control Android devices from a PC.

The system includes both PC and Android components, so you'll need to download and install each one. This worked easily enough for us, and although the Android client asked us to register with a phone number, we were able to click a "skip" button to avoid this.

Once everything is installed and your systems are connected (via wifi, USB or Bluetooth), the PC should detect your Android device automatically, but if you have problems there's an option to manually connect via a specified IP address.

Pocket Controller displays your device screen on launch, and you can use this immediately as a controller, clicking with the mouse to simulate a tap, or typing at your keyboard to enter data.

A freehand drawing tool helps you highlight items of interest, and there are tools to capture, save or print static screenshots, or record a video of what's happening on your Android screen.

The package also includes an Explorer-type module for manually exploring and managing the file systems of your PC and Android device.

A Sync Manager allows you to set up custom rules to automatically synchronise your chosen files or folders between the two systems.

Task Manager-type tools list the running processes and applications on your device, their properties, and enable you to pause or close them.

There's also a simple system information tool, and experts will appreciate the Shell which provides command line access to their device.