Okay, now I’ve drawn you in with a click-bait headline I need to clarify a little! For some time now Windows 10 has had a tightly integrated app called Your Phone which allows you to interact with your phone from the desktop. However, it doesn’t cater for the 50-odd percent of users who have fruit based phones. I’ve been working on closing this gap by creating an app for Windows which is now available in the Microsoft Store called Thy Phone.
The name came about because thy is an archaic version of your and the name also happens to rhyme with a popular phone type.
It uses functionality available in Windows 10 2004 and above to setup a phone device to use Windows as a handsfree device. This allows you to conduct calls through your PC microphone and speakers (or headset) and see call progress and incoming call alerts on your desktop. It also allows you to activate the Bluetooth Audio support so that you can play music, podcasts etc from your phone through your PC.
Finally when using an iPhone it supports toast notifications and mirrors those notifications directly in the Windows notification center. Notifications which uses actions can also be triggered directly from the desktop Toast.
I’ll be adding more functionality over time including Messaging support. I completed a proof of concept but I’m working on a new version of InTheHand.Net.Obex to make it easier to do this. That will also open up other functionality such as file transfers. Because these features all use standard Bluetooth profiles the app is not limited to just iPhones, you can even pair and use your Windows Phone or Nokia 3310 – whatever floats your boat!
