PocketCloud Remote RDP/VNC (for Android)

PocketCloud is a free Android app that allows users to connect their Android devices to Mac and Windows desktops remotely. This app serves one main purpose, and it achieves that purpose well, even when the remote computer is part of a corporate network.

Download and Install

Wyse Technology's PocketCloud is a free, 4.41MB download from the Android Market. As with many remote access solutions that connect mobile devices to remote desktops, the install process is two-fold: once on the mobile device, and once on the remote desktop.

The remote install on the desktop is called PocketCloud Companion, and it's available as a free download from Wyse's site with versions for both Mac and PC.?To create a connection, you enter your Google username and password into the software on both the Android device and the PocketCloud Companion, which creates a connection between the two machines via the Google App Engine. This means no additional configuration is necessary.

Those leery of automatic connections done through Google App Engine can opt to manually create connections via RDP or using VNC, which requires some advanced knowledge. For instance, for an RDP or VNC connection, you have to know the IP address of the host machine, as well as make sure RDP and VNC traffic are allowed on the host's network.

Establishing a connection using Google is the simplest way for most users to use PocketCloud.

The install on my Droid was simple enough. Install and log in. That's it. The Pocket Companion install on my Windows 7 laptop that I wanted to remotely connect to was also simple, but a bit more involved. PocketCloud Companion has to do a number of tasks to prep the machine to make a remote connection. These include automatically configuring Remote Desktop, firewall settings, NLA (Network Level Authentication), user privilege, Windows password , and Auto-Discovery.

The Windows password that's configured is a local password used to remotely access the Windows desktop. There are other remote access solutions that will prompt you to just enter the already created local Windows password. However, PocketCloud's solution is clever. Why? Because many corporate desktop users often do not know the local Windows account. They can only log into their machines using a network or domain account. PocketCloud's setup process gets around this restriction.

Of course, your IT department may restrict you from installing PocketCloud Companion, or may restrict PocketCloud traffic?if so, you would need to speak to your network administrator to use this solution for accessing your business machines.

Once a Google username and password is entered into PocketCloud Companion on the remote machine, the app on the phone (which otherwise simply awaits a remote sign-on from the host machine) finds the now-installed software on the client machine through Google App Engine and gives the message, "Setup is complete." All in all, it's a very smooth and surprisingly speedy setup process, and simple way to create a remote access session.

Features

PocketCloud's app allows you to remotely connect to a machine?and that's pretty much it. You can't transfer files between the Android device and remote machine. However, it allows for some smooth navigating of a remote client, at least as far as I could tell when connected remotely to my computer running Windows 7.

The app displays a mouse wheel image, providing a visual guide of where your fingers should go to execute clicks: left-click, right-click, zoom, etc. Using the mouse functions takes some getting used to, especially on a relatively small smartphone screen, but the functionality is consistent. Working with the mouse as well as getting around on the remote client's screen is smooth?a user can quickly become adept. I found using PocketCloud to access a remote Windows machine overall easier than other free solutions like Jump Desktop (290188).

While connected to a remote client, you can pull up a keyboard to type in an application on the remote desktop. It was easy to type a Word doc from my Android into Microsoft Word on my computer (not that I would want to write up most reviews that way). There's also a handy function key shortcut for executing various shortcut commands on the remote machine.

You can tweak your remote session a bit with the various settings options PocketCloud provides. For instance, you can control sound detection, windows dragging, and menu animation on the remote machine. Users can opt to have the PocketCloud app's keyboard automatically appear when connected to remote machines that have the PocketCloud companion installed, and there are some more fine tuning options.

Good, Quick and Free Remote Access

Sure, PocketCloud isn't as robust a remote access solution as some paid solutions like TeamViewer 5, an Editors' Choice remote access product that allows you to do tasks like collaborate and transfer files.

However, for a free lightweight app that gives you quick and easy remote access, it's a very good four-star option.

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