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Remote Desktop access app

M

markwelch

Lurker
I'm still trying to identify a Remote Desktop app that will work for me (on an Acer Iconia Tab A200 10.1-inch tablet).

I tried using TeamViewer, although the $749 price tag certainly is absurd, and discovered a bug which their tech support acknowledged (their taskbar, which can't be hidden, obscures the bottom of the remote desktop screen, thus preventing access to the Windows taskbar on the desktop).

I just bought Splashtop Remote Desktop, but after purchase I learned that it requires that the desktop PC have a static IP address. Surprise!

I'm really not looking forward to buying a dozen apps before I find one that actually works.

Any suggestions? Please be specific, and don't just say, "I like XYZ, try that!" since that's what the app-store already tells me. (Why does Google allow companies to include "#1 app for ..." in their product titles, when it's not true?)
 
i've used logmein and its pretty flawless. You can setup a free account online but the android app is a paid version. Works really well, though.

I tried using TeamViewer and I dont like it at all. The other option you have it to use Join.Me. Its a free app but you need a user at the PC to share the screen with you.
 
markwelch said:
I'm still trying to identify a Remote Desktop app that will work for me (on an Acer Iconia Tab A200 10.1-inch tablet).

I tried using TeamViewer, although the $749 price tag certainly is absurd, and discovered a bug which their tech support acknowledged (their taskbar, which can't be hidden, obscures the bottom of the remote desktop screen, thus preventing access to the Windows taskbar on the desktop).

I just bought Splashtop Remote Desktop, but after purchase I learned that it requires that the desktop PC have a static IP address. Surprise!

I'm really not looking forward to buying a dozen apps before I find one that actually works.

Any suggestions? Please be specific, and don't just say, "I like XYZ, try that!" since that's what the app-store already tells me. (Why does Google allow companies to include "#1 app for ..." in their product titles, when it's not true?)
Click to expand...

There are a couple I could suggest. My normal one is 2X Client. It's free, supports RDP and works pretty well on both my phone and tablets. The caveat is that you have to have port 3389 (or if you're a savvy Win sys admin, you could change that) open on your home router and *usually* a firewall rule to route traffic there. Depends on your router. You'll also want to get yourself a DDNS host name (Most routers now a days have built in DDNS clients that support dyndns and maybe a couple of others).

The other one is Wyse PocketCloud. It uses your gMail address to locate running RDP instances. I've found that it works about 95% of the time AND you need to have the app running on your desktop also. I have mixed feelings about running apps like that on my home servers (considering that I actually have Win 2008 R2 servers running). So, I just use 2X and it works flawlessly for me (even over 3G/4G).

HTH.
 
The easiest one I found is called PhoneMyPC. It has an onslaught of features and is very easy to setup. I prefer it over RDP even though I use RDP all the time.
 
NY, Thanks for the reply. LogMeIn might be an option, but there are lots of complaints about the product not working after being upgraded for use with 3.0, and my device has Android 4.0; I can't find any mention of the product working with Android 4.0.

It's also clear that the company charges additional fees to be able to use certain features (they mention remote audio as one). It turns out that they have the same $10/month cost as GoToMyPC (which doesn't charge $30 for its Android app).

Their web site also imposes "forced audio" when I visit it -- quite unprofessional and annoying.
 
Iowa, thanks for suggesting PhoneMyPC. I'm wary that it's still in beta, but I've emailed them some questions.

coderaz, thanks also, but you've made it clear that 2X requires some extra technical activity -- and what happens when my router is wiped and reset remotely by Comcast?

I also looked at PocketCloud, and had the very, very clear impression that it's an afterthought and is primarily aimed at enterprise customers.

I'm willing to pay for something that works for me (though TeamViewer's $749 price tag would certainly place it at the bottom of the list, if it didn't contain a fatal bug).
 
coderaz -- following up on your 2X suggestion, I decided to experiment, but after downloading their app server and trying to launch it, I realized that it required pretty advanced knowledge of management of multi-user Windows environments. When I couldn't answer the very first question about publishing a "virtual desktop" versus publishing a "desktop," I knew I was in way over my head.
 
After learning that I could avoid the need for an IP address if I logged in to a Google account, I went ahead and bought Splashtop Remote Desktop, and installed their companion "Streamer" software on my desktop.

Surprise! The Streamer software will ONLY log in using a google (gmail, etc) email address. OK, I thought; I'll go ahead and create a new gmail account just for this.

Surprise! Now Streamer can log in, but I can't connect because the Splashtop Android App just grabs the email address from the tablet (I can't find any way to change this), and Google won't let me link the new gmail address to an existing Google account. (Google is offering to let me create a new gmail address that uses a silly "handle" I used many years ago, but if I do so, it won't let me log in with my regular email address any more, and presumably I'd then be required to check gmail for any communications from Google.)

And Streamer says that my desktop PC's IP address is 192.168.x.x which means that I can only access my desktop while logged in to the local network at my home, not from anywhere else.

What a colossal waste of time!
 
I like Jump. Does both RDP & VNC via a Google login which goes through the Google servers.
 
markwelch said:
I'm still trying to identify a Remote Desktop app that will work for me
Click to expand...
What are your remote access requirements?

If it's just remote file access to your PC, or basic remote control of it (like changing settings or viewing screenshots of the desktop), then you may like to check out my app for Windows called ControlByMail (www.vic2pc.com).

It's not free, but it's very affordable (once-only payment for lifetime use), and it'll work with your Android without installing anything on it, and from any other computer or email-enabled device, which is an added bonus.
 
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