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.
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
In my opinion, Android’s future is especially secure with the use of the devices as business tools, such as with the 2X Client for Android (http://www.2x.com/virtualdesktop/android)…it’s a free download and lets you use Windows apps from your device, giving you application publishing and RDP Remote Desktop capabilities for free, in contrast to the Citrix Receiver and Wyse PocketCloud. Other features include virtual desktop connectivity, SSL security, native RDP connectivity, and it’s Windows 2008 ready as well. Definitely worth a look.