Control your PC from your Android tablet: App roundup

Controlling your PC remotely from your smartphone sounds useful in theory, looks cool as an experiment, and generally proves impractical in everyday use. By contrast, controlling your PC remotely from a tablet can actually come in handy. So I took three of the leading Android VNC (virtual network computing) utilities for a spin on my Acer Iconia A500 tablet to see which one offers the best balance of usability and value.

I've been hooked on remote desktop software for years--ever since I left some time-sensitive business files on my home PC and exited the country for a week. Over the years, I've tried my share of free and paid apps that let me control my home or work PC from my laptop. Remote desktop control, while not something I use every day, has become an important part of my work life.

In the past year or so, I've tried a few smartphone VNC apps, but all of them did a woefully inadequate job of controlling my desktop computer. The problem is clear: Smartphone screens are too small to be useful for navigating around and controlling a desktop screen. Most of the apps I've used do work as promised; but the small convenience that these apps offer hardly justifies all of the swiping back and forth, zooming in and out, and repeated screen tapping required to get a desired action to take effect on the remote system. Ultimately the smartphone is just a bad device for controlling bigger devices (or at least, for controlling their desktop interfaces).

Now that I have an Android Honeycomb tablet in my go bag, however, I've decided to give smartphone remote-control apps another chance to prove themselves in daily use. Over the past few weeks, I've been testing three top-rated VNC remote desktop apps for Android: LogMeIn Ignition (US$30), PhoneMyPC ($10), and Wyse PocketCloud Pro ($15). I put each of these apps through its paces over both local Wi-Fi and mobile broadband connections, driving my home PC through browser sessions, editing in Microsoft Word, and IMing with colleagues. Here's what I found.

LogMeIn Ignition

The priciest app in my remote desktop roundup is LogMeIn Ignition , which you can buy from the Android Market for $30. Ignition lets you control Windows PCs and Macs using either the paid LogMeIn Pro app or LogMeIn Free on your desktop machine.

Of the apps in this roundup, LogMeIn Ignition offers the clearest interface for Android devices, with large, obvious buttons across the bottom of the screen that permit simple, trouble-free control. It's also one of the easier apps to configure on the host side of the relationship: You simply sign up, download the app, and log in with your LogMeIn account credentials to get going. As long as the PC is running, LogMeIn Ignition can find it over an Internet or LAN connection, wake it from sleep if needed, and drive it remotely.

Update: Rowmote Pro: Remote Control for Mac and Apple TV ...

Rowmote Pro is the ultimate wireless remote, trackpad, and keyboard. A gorgeous universal app for iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad, with everything from a multitouch trackpad to full extended keyboard support, and with no-configuration control of dozens of the best Mac applications, it is a must-have for any home media center or presentation! Please read the full description and requirements below :)You love the remote control which came with your Mac - so simple yet elegant, with easy control of Front Row, iTunes, Quicktime, DVD Player, Keynote, and more.Or, your Mac didn’t come with a remote control or doesn’t even have an infrared port. The Apple Remote or a 3rd party infrared receiver would cost a significant amount. Add ANOTHER hit to your wallet for a wireless control like a keyboard, mouse, or the Apple Magic Trackpad!You carry your iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad wherever you go... so why should you carry a second device just to control your computer? Furthermore, why should you need line-of-sight to do so?Enter Rowmote Pro! Rowmote Pro is like your Mac or Apple TV’s remote control, but over the wireless network and even better! Trackpad and keyboard give you complete control over your computer, and you can control, launch, and quit apps, toggle the iTunes Visualizer, and more without ever having to squint at your screen. Rowmote is Mac-like from the ground up.FEATURES- Control your Mac or Apple TV completely over a wireless network. No line of sight necessary.- Works like the hardware Apple Remote Control in:• Front Row• Adobe Lightroom 2• Airfoil Video• Amarra• Apple TV (after unlock)• Boxee• DVD Player• eyeTV 3.x• Firefox• Hulu Desktop• iPhoto• iTunes• Keynote ‘08 & ‘09• kJams Pro• Last.fm• Logic• Microsoft Powerpoint 2004 and later• mPlayer• Movist• OpenOffice Impress• Quicktime• PandoraBoy• PandoraJam• Plex• Safari• Skim• Songbird• Spotify• The Tube• VLC• xbmc- Click-and-hold works just like on the physical remote in applicationsPRO CONTROL: A single tap switches to the keyboard & trackpad mode.

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