'Parallels Access' Brings Remote Desktop Access to iPhone

It is pretty nice on iPad glad to see they finally are bringing it to iphone.

This is where the iPhone 6's bigger screen would come in handy. I've tried using these VNC apps and it's always a pain on the iPhone screen to properly press something unless you're zoomed in quite a bit.

Kind of a bold claim since I've been using TeamViewer for two years.

MacRumors said:

While the apps are free, users must subscribe to the service, which costs $19.99 a year for up to five remote desktops. Parallels also offers a two-week free trial.

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When did they lower the price? I remember it at launch being $79.99 per computer. $19.99 is much more reasonable.

I just hope the upbuttons are blown up so I don't press 10 buttons at once as the screen is so small

It would have been crazy to buy the launch price of $79. Even the subscription price makes no sense since you can BUY very good remote desktop apps for 10-$20 with no subscription.

Funny to see osx on an iPhone. I recently pulled out my old iPod Touch running iOS 2.2 and there was an app on there that used to allow me to connect to my computer. It was a lot of fun back then

cryingrobot said:

It would have been crazy to buy the launch price of $79. Even the subscription price makes no sense since you can BUY very good remote desktop apps for 10-$20 with no subscription.

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Please tell me which ones ?

Why is reinventing the wheel such big news?

I miss when you pay one price for software and don't have recurring billing...

I have tried a few different iPhone/iPad remote desktop apps, mostly so I could run my computer while being lazy on the couch. How you use the mouse and keyboard layout seems to be the key differences between these apps. I was ok with touching the screen to act as a click but more often I'd get false clicks when I just wanted to move the screen, or the click would hit the wrong area. The keyboard is a big deal too. When you don't have simple access to non-standard ios keys that you may use all the time with a desktop (ie. arrow keys) it's frustrating and time consuming when not set up properly (PocketCloud is a, good example of this).

I have been a big fan of RealVNC ever since I discovered it. It has the best mouse/keyboard cross integration I've had a chance to play with. It's also quite a bit faster than others. It's also FREE for regular use.

The video above seems like there might be some new tricks, but the mouse functionality looks like it would be insanely slow and frustrating as your clicks are 'loaded'. I don't understand that. RealVNC has fantastic mouse control, and works really well on small screens like the iPhone, giving you the whole screen to move the curser around, and the screen following even while zoomed in. Also a great and full featured keyboard on one screen. They even did a great job with gesture integration, translating interaction well onto a desktop n' mouse OS.

Has anyone tried other remote apps? Have better recommendations? This just looks silly and overly flashy for no reason at all. I have never tried this with Windows because I luckily live and work in a Windows-Free environment.

Brilliant idea! Ideal for the iWatch.

cowbellallen said:

I miss when you pay one price for software and don't have recurring billing...

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Me too. I also won't pay for a subscription service like this and the fewer who do, the less likely they are to persist with the billing strategy.

Microsoft Have free remote desktop APP.. therefore my server is windows not mac. I wish apple also have remote desktop app for ipad

MacRumors said:

[url=http://cdn.macrumors.com/im/macrumorsthreadlogodarkd.png]Image[/url]


Parallels has updated its Parallels Access app, which allows iPad users access their Mac or Windows desktops on their tablets, with iPhone support, allowing iPhone users to also access their desktops on the go.

Image​

The update also includes the ability to use an iPhone or iPad's microphone remotely for desktop apps that may require them, the ability to change the screen resolution, the ability to wake a sleeping remote computer, Facebook login integration and a new file browser. The browser allows users to browse and open files on their iPad or iPhone.

YouTube: video​

Users must download the free Parallels Access app on both their desktop of choice and iPad or iPhone. They can then launch their desktop apps in "full-screen mode" via a SpringBoard-like App Launcher. While the apps are free, users must subscribe to the service, which costs $19.99 a year for up to five remote desktops. Parallels also offers a two-week free trial.

Parallels Access is a universal app that's available for free in the App Store. [Direct Link]

Article Link: 'Parallels Access' Brings Remote Desktop Access to iPhone

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I doubt there'll be more than a handful of people ever using this :-/

This was the type of functionality that I wrongly assumed was available from my ipad with back to my MacBook, and Time Capsule NAS storage, when I bought the three back in 2011. Thought this would offer something like secure VPN remote access to my files and save me from having to store everything locally on my ipad or mac book air.

It wouldn't have stopped me making the purchase because I was just so fed up with Win on HP hassles, but I was surprised and disappointed nonetheless that all that hyped iOS built from OSX didn't include such BtMM or Remote Desktop because then, it would have been "something Only Apple Can Do" (now it is nearly "something that Apple won't do."

cowbellallen said:

I miss when you pay one price for software and don't have recurring billing...

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Especially when the they aren't really doing anything. Remote access doesn't need to be "managed" by an outside company. At worst you need a DDNS service running on your target machine so you can find it easily over the Internet, and you can get something like that for free with many consumer routers (ones not made by Apple, that is).

silvetti said:

Please tell me which ones ?

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I'm not sure of its price (since I own it, and it won't show me the current price), but I find iTeleport works great. It does both VNC & RDP for one price.

kis said:

I doubt there'll be more than a handful of people ever using this :-/

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I use Parallels Access on a regular basis and am quite happy with it. I'm currently writing my master thesis and use my iPad for literature research. I use a literature management software called Citavi, which runs only on Windows. With Parallels Access I can use Citavi on my iPad, which runs in a Windows VM on my Mac. This is very convenient because I don't have to carry my Macbook plus charger every time I want to do some notes.

With this new release Parallels Access can also wake up my Macbook, which I had to do manually before. And with the iPhone release, I can even play some Mac games like Hearthstone on my phone.

Does anyone know if the wakeup function works over the internet too? I tried it a few hours ago but had no success. Maybe it requires some router configuration?

Who would need Parallels Access subscription?!!!!

SPUY767 said:

Kind of a bold claim since I've been using TeamViewer for two years.

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Who would need Parallels Access subscription when so many software of that kind you just pay less and pay only once. Example: Jump Desktop -excellent software, more features, awesome speed, etc -exceeds Parallels Access by many points !
I wish Parallels team : get real,Guys, use common sense !

Prodo123 said:

Why is reinventing the wheel such big news?

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Gosh you reminded me I was doing this in 2002 with a windows mobile PDA- but windows mobile wasn't called that yet. I can't remember what WinCE was even called then. Wow that was 12 years ago, seems like yesterday.

I think the Parallels is not the best choice for using as a regular VNC access. BUT - I still use it on my iMAC as a virtual machine to start a Windows XP. And, I should use the Parallels APP on iPhone to access DIRECTLY the virtual Windows XP. The regular VNC client do not have this advantage

google's chrome remote desktop does fantastically good job for free - at least on android (mbp - android), unsure if there is a ios app?

figaro331 said:

Who would need Parallels Access subscription when so many software of that kind you just pay less and pay only once. Example: Jump Desktop -excellent software, more features, awesome speed, etc -exceeds Parallels Access by many points !
I wish Parallels team : get real,Guys, use common sense !

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Another vote for Jump Desktop!. I jumped ship from LogMeIn when they ditched the free service.