Earlier this year Wyse launched a mobile line of remote desktop apps called PocketCloud earlier this year, allowing users to remotely control a desktop computer using an iPhone or Android device. Now the company has given its Android app a major overhaul, with improved security features and a new UI for tablets with high resolution displays.

PocketCloud 1.1 for Android supports multitasking, can be installed on the SD card on Android 2.2 and up, and includes support for internetaional keyboards. It also supports OS-dependent keyboard layouts, with support for Mac and PC keyboards.

Wyse doesn’t really spell out what, if any changes have been made to optimize the new version of the app for tablets such as the Samsung Galaxy Tab, but the company does say it’s working with Cisco on remote desktop software for the company’s upcoming Cius tablet. I can also say, having used Wyse on my Nexus One smartphone and on the 7 inch Galaxy Tab, the experience of using the remote desktop software on an Android tablet is much better than on a 3.7 inch phone screen.

PocketCloud is available in free and paid versions. The free app includes advertising, limits you to a single connection at a time, and lacks pinch-to-zoom, auto-fit and other features. The full version of the software runs $14.99. PocketCloud 1.1 Free and Pro are both available for download from the Android Market.

You can check out a few more photos as well as a demo video after the break.

via Android And Me

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TeamViewer provides remote desktop software that lets you quickly and easily login to a Windows, Mac, or Linux computer from another computer. Earlier this year TeamViewer released an iPhone app that lets you control a computer from an iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad. Now there’s an Android app as well.

Scan to download

TeamViewer for Android v6.0.1 is still technically a public beta, but it works quite well on my Nexus One. You just have to download it from the TeamViewer website, because it’s not available from the Android Market yet.

The controls are well suited for the small screen: You move from left to right across a screen by dragging left and right. Tap to click, and tap with two-fingers to double-click. Because it’s hard to hit a precise point with your fingertip, you don’t actually tap on the screen where you want to click. Instead you move the screen around so that the mouse cursor is pointing where you want to click, and then tap anywhere.

You can also pull up the tools menu to reboot your computer, hit Ctrl+Alt+Del, or block remote user input.

The thing that surprised me most about the mobile app is that it’s almost fast enough to stream video from your PC to your phone in realtime. Sure, it won’t do 30 frames per second, but it certainly does more than 5. Unfortunately it doesn’t stream audio, so you’ll want to watch subtitled videos… or none at all.

Aside from using TeamViewer to login to a computer remotely to email yourself some files, help a friend diagnose a PC problem, or you know, do anything really useful, you could just use TeamViewer as a way to surf the web using a desktop browser… from your phone. It’s a pretty neat trick, although not something I’d want to do every day.

The TeamViewer Android app is available as a free download for now, although the company tends to offer free and Pro versions of its software, so a Pro version may be on the way.

You can check out some more screenshots as well as my hands-on video after the break.

thanks Lee!

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CrossLoop Remote Access for Android

I’ve never really found the ability to login to my desktop computer and control it from a phone with a 4 inch or smaller screen to be all that exciting. I mean, sure it’s cool… but not all that useful most of the time, unless you really need to find a file that you left on your desktop computer while you’re out and about. But theoretically you could also use a remote desktop client to surf the web using a full web browser, view your photo collection, or move the cursor randomly and freak out whoever was using the PC before you logged in.

Anyway, if that’s the sort of thing that floats your boat, it looks like there are two new options for connecting to your PC from a mobile device.

Splashtop Remote for iOS

The folks at Splashtop are probably best known for developing quick-boot software that lets you surf the web, send email, make Skype calls, and do a few other things a few seconds after pushing your computer’s power button, without waiting for Windows to fully load. Now the company has released an iOS app that lets you remotely login to a computer running Windows 7, Vista, or XP from an iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad.

Splashtop Remote is a bit more impressive than some other remote desktop apps I’ve tried, since it has full support for audio and video content and will even let you stream Flash video and Flash games from your desktop to a mobile device. It actually looks pretty good on an iPad, as you can see in the demo video after the break.

The app only works over WiFi, and you need to be on the same network as the computer you’re connecting to, which severely limits the utility of Splashtop Remote since you could, you know, also just walk over to your PC.

Splashtop Remote for the iPhone and iPod touch will cost you $0.99, while the iPad app is available for $1.99 from the App Store.

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Sometimes you need to access files or programs on your computer, but you don’t want to leave your cozy spot on the couch. That’s where remote desktop apps such as RemotePC Lite come in. RemotePC Lite is a free iPad app that allows you to control your computer and access files over a local network connection.

In order to use the app, you will have to sign up for a free account with RemotePC, run the server software on your Windows or OS X computer, and install the iPad app which will let you remote control your desktop computer.

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We’ve seen several apps that let you use an Android device to remotely control a computer. Droid VNC server does the exact opposite — letting you control your phone from a PC or Mac using a VNC client.

Scan to download

You can use Droid VNC server to remotely login to your phone and control media playback, look up a phone number, or just impress your friends. There’s a catch though: you’ll need to have root access to your phone in order for the VNC server to run properly. The app has also been reported to be incompatible with the Motorola Droid.

The app works over a USB or WiFi connection. Of course, you’ll need a VNC client for your desktop computer as well.

You can check out a video of VNC Server in action after the break. The app is available as a free download from the Android Market.

via PocketHacks

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We’ve already seen that it’s possible to install Windows 3.1 on an Android phone by using aDOSBox. But if you’re looking for a slightly more modern alternative to Google’s Android operating system, Nexus One Hacks has a tutorial for installing Ubuntu Linux on a Google Nexus One Android smartphone.

Installing Ubuntu doesn’t require wiping Android off of your device. Instead, Ubuntu runs as a sub-system and you use a VNC client to access the operating system. This way you can still use your phone to make calls… and to run Ubuntu apps.

You’ll need a rooted Android phone to get Ubuntu up and running — and a bit of patience and Linux know-how (or at leas the ability to follow a very long and somewhat complicated set of instructions).

The 13 minute video below shows the entire install process, which really doesn’t take very long at all once you’ve downloaded all the necessary files.

via Android Community

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Wyse PocketCloud is a remote desktop application for smartphones that lets you login to a computer and control it remotely using a mobile phone. the company offers an iPhone app for $14.99, and this week Wyse launched a public beta version of PocketCloud for Android. You can download it for free from the Android Market.

Scan to download

PocketCloud for Android is designed to work with Windows computers. In order to login to your desktop you’ll need to download and install the Wyse PocketCloud Windows Companion, but you’ll also need to have RDP Remote Desktop Protocol, VMware View, or VNC enabled on your computer.

That means if you have Windows XP, Vista, or 7 Professional, Business, or Enterprise, you should be all set since each comes with RDP. If not, you might want to try installing a free VNC client such as UltraVNC.

PocketCloud runs on any Android device with Android 1.5 and up. You can either view your whole desktop at once or zoom out and drag up, down, right and left to navigate through your PC desktop. From the settings menu you can bring up the on-screen keyboard, or a custom keyboard filled with Fn keys, which normally aren’t available on the Android keyboard.

There’s also a Touch Pointer option that lets you right and left click or quickly open and close the keyboard.

As you’d expect, the screen refresh rate is far too slow to do things like play video over a remote connection, and the app doesn’t stream audio. But if you’re looking for an easy way to login to a remote computer to access files or documents, or even if you want to show a presentation or slideshow on your phone, PocketCloud can do the trick.

PocketCloud isn’t the only game in town. LogMeIn also offers a remote desktop app for Android, which to be honest, I find a little easier to use.

via Phandroid

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