In the coming days I will be counting down my top 5 favorite Android apps. I currently have a Verizon Motorola Droid and cannot sing the praises of this device enough.
#5 – Remote Desktop
I’ll start this little review by explaining how I discovered this app. My wife and I adopted a son in Florida and had a very long drive back to our home. An hour or so into our trip I received an email from a hosting client saying their website appeared to be down. Using another great app called Ping, I was able to determine the server itself was up and responding via a ping, but it was not serving web pages powered by ColdFusion. It was fairly obvious the ColdFusion service needed a restart, but how would I do that from the car with no access to a computer? After a quick search on the market I came across the Remote Desktop app. I purchased the app and within minutes I was logged onto my server via the Droid. I was able to restart the service and return everything back to normal. How cool is that? Amazing what technology can do these days.
The app itself actually has a nice interface given the real estate of the Droid screen dimensions. You can easily scroll and within minutes you will get used to the tap, double tap and delayed tap that allows you to perform the actions on the remote machine. It also allows you to store different connections so you can easily remote into a machine with a single tap of the screen. An optional (but highly recommended) setting also allows you to set up a master password, which must be typed in every time the app is opened.
I would highly recommended this app if you are tasked with keeping servers online. It gives you peace of mind knowing you can access a server from your phone. It’s also handy just logging into your own workstation from time to time as well.
I second that. Its a great App.
I’ve used it more for internal networking than external remoting, but either way its a fantastic ability to have on a mobile device.
Posted by shaun | July 5, 2010, 4:36 PMWow! That might just be the app that puts me over the edge in my debate on buying an Android phone. Just the other day I was thinking that if Android had a remote desktop app that it would be worth having.
I’m really curious to see what apps you have ranked higher than this one.
Posted by Steve Brya | July 5, 2010, 5:23 PMSteve,
I would have this ranked a little higher if I used it every single. I only use it a couple of times a week, but it comes through every time.
Posted by Mike Fleming | July 5, 2010, 5:53 PMWow! Great application. I just purchased it and it works greart with my EVO.
Posted by Gary Funk | July 6, 2010, 9:04 AMGlad you liked it. I have been curious how it works on other devices outside of the Droid I have.
Posted by Mike Fleming | July 6, 2010, 10:26 AMWhilst I love a physical keyboard, after managing the Samsung Captivate for approximately 15 minutes, it is arduous to go back. Right now I’m debating whether to go to Verizon for the Droid X, move to Sprint for the EVO, or stay with AT&T for the Captivate…selections, decisions.
Posted by Linwood Shelhorse | August 14, 2010, 8:35 PMIn 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.
Posted by RyanP | February 2, 2011, 8:56 PM