We’ve taken the time to list out the 7 best remote desktop apps for Android since various reasons may arise you for needing to wirelessly access your computer from a portable device. With these applications, you can control your PC from almost anywhere around the world through the internet. If you’re really unaware of how you can benefit from these tools then picture this – you’ve got an important meeting at work, but forgot the PowerPoint presentation at home. What would you do now? It’s not the time to run home and grab the document. But you could still remotely connect to your computer and access the file straight from your smartphone. The applications we’re about to mention will also let you wirelessly troubleshoot issues, access content stored on the HDD or even play a few PC games on your Android device. Beats carrying around a laptop, you’ll agree.
1. TeamViewer –
We’re sure you’ve heard of TeamViewer. Well if you haven’t, the app has been available on computers for quite some time now and with its Android counterpart, you can remotely access a friend’s PC or even your own. The application supports multi-touch gestures and other operations such as left-click, right-click, scroll abilities, zoom as well as the drag and drop functions. It also gives you control over the keyboard through which you can access special keys and navigate around more conveniently. The TeamViewer app is stated to meet certain security standards such as 256-bit AES Session Encoding and 1024-bit RSA Key Exchange. The requirements read at Android 1.6 OS and the TeamViewer software installed on your PC.
Remember when we said you could remotely play PC games? So here’s the app that claims to hold the capability to enable this and hence is on our remote desktop apps for Android roundup. And that isn’t all – Splashtop should allow you to stream HD video, Flash-based content from your PC’s browser and listen to high-quality audio tracks.
Through a Wi-Fi or a high-speed mobile internet connection, you can view as well as edit MS Office documents including PowerPoint, Word, Excel, Outlook and many other applications. The Splashtop requires the Splashtop Streamer software which can be downloaded for free from the company’s website to your PC or Mac.
3. Android VNC Viewer –
Developed as an open source remote desktop app for Android devices, Android VNC Viewer lets you control your desktop from practically anywhere. The application supports the pinch-to-zoom function on certain devices in gesture mode and multiple VNC (Virtual Network Computing) servers including the ones created through TightVNC and RealVNC on Windows and Linux as well as x11vnc and Apple Remote Desktop for the Mac OS. What’s more, it allows you to import or export settings to a file on your SD card for conveniently accessing your PC through another device and there’s a dedicated button within the zoom controls to bring up the keyboard.
4. PocketCloud –
The next on our list of remote desktop apps for Android is unlike most applications we’ve mentioned today. PocketCloud comes with three different options to get connected such as RDP (Remote Desktop Protocol), VNC (Virtual Network Computing), or your Google account. Furthermore, it holds an intuitive UI, accurate screen control and custom keyboards with the ability to add shortcuts.
You can operate this application over a Wi-Fi network only. So make sure there’s a hotspot located close by. And if you desire some enhanced features, there’s always a professional version in the bag.
When it comes to the Remote Desktop Client app, there seems to be a handful on its capabilities list. The application not only allows you to wirelessly access your computer, but also to set custom screen resolutions for an appropriate fit on any device display. Whether you’ve got a smartphone with a physical keypad or not, the tool provides you with an on-screen keyboard and a few extra buttons that you’re most likely to find on your device. What’s more, you can access features such as the pinch-to-zoom function, the ability to set a master password, copy and paste text as well as transfer files from the SD card to the PC. But this software on our remote desktop apps for Android lineup has limited Windows support, which means some versions of the OS aren’t compatible.
6. Remote RDP –
Stated to be the first Android phone RDP application to support bidirectional audio, Remote RDP is another convenient tool to wirelessly access your computer or laptop from almost anywhere. It comes with various functions such as the ability to copy-paste text, auto-reconnect if a session gets dropped, stream audio encoded in Alaw, Mulaw (ULaw), Adpcm, or GSM6.10 to the smartphone and download or upload files from the SD card to the remote PC. It also allows you to set customizable shortcut keys and conveniently navigate through a website with detection sensors.
7. PhoneMyPC –
Last on our list, PhoneMyPC is yet another simple tool that lets you get connected to your PC via Wi-Fi or a 3G/4G network. You can also hook up your smartphone or tablet on Android 2.3 to any USB and BT mouse as well as a keyboard for better interaction with the remote computer. Currently, the application is in its final beta stage and should launch as a full release sometime soon. You’ll also require the PhoneMyPC computer software before you can get started.
So with these best remote desktop apps for Android, there should be no need to fret if you’ve forgotten some important documents at home. Also, you may need to download additional PC software from the respective company’s website to get connected. So give them a run and do let us know which of these applications offered you the best desktop experience on your Android phone.
