xtralogic remote desktop vs phonemypc?

[oceanlight]

i'm thinking about getting one of these. i haven't actually had a chance to try either one yet, but was wondering if ppl had opinions about which one is better, how well they work, etc.

phonemypc: SoftwareForMe.com - PhoneMyPC

xtralogic: Remote Desktop Client for Android

 

[Kamilli0n]

The Xtralogic app has been flawless for me

 

[oceanlight]

ok i found some great info on another forum, posted by the phonemypc dev. i'm posting it here in case anyone else is interested.

Here are some points of contrast. These are based upon my technical understanding of both apps, however I have not used Xtralogic's app. These are just facts, and their evaluation is subjective (up to you).

Connectivity
* RDP will require that you open holes in your firewall and forward ports.
* RDP will require that you know your PC's IP address, and change it when/if your DHCP lease changes.
* PhoneMyPC will perform best if you can configure your network, but it is not required for the app to work.
* PhoneMyPC is a hosted solution, so you don't need to know your IP--it just works.

Performance
* RDP uses a vector-based graphics protocol that often requires less bandwidth, but more CPU on the phone. You are likely to get better performance when network bandwidth is low.
* PhoneMyPC uses bitmap-based graphics data that can consume more bandwidth, but is very light-weight on the phone in terms of CPU workload.

Quality
* Most RDP clients remove things like desktop wallpaper because they do not handle bitmap data well.
* PhoneMyPC shows you your desktop as it is, with no changes or compromises.

Features
* RDP supports remote login.
* PhoneMyPC does not, but will in the next few weeks.
* RDP supports sound.
* PhoneMyPC does not, but will very soon.
* PhoneMyPC has many features that RDP does not, such as:
- Passive live viewing
- Snapshot on the phone
- Direct Process and Window management (handy for uber geeks, particularly when fighting viruses)
- Control-pad: ideal for using the phone as a simpler remote while giving presentations, changing channels on your Media PC, etc.
- Action list: easy way to perform common, pre-programmed actions on the PC.

Those are the facts.

As for opinions, I'd say that RDP is Microsoft's long-standing, mature remote-access technology; it's reliable and simple, and a great choice for geeks.

PhoneMyPC is a new approach, more fully featured (though temporarily missing a couple important ones) but also less mature and constantly evolving (improving).

My best suggestion would be to download both and give them a try. You can return either or both within 24 hours through the market.

Good luck!

SoftwareForMe.com
Makers of PhoneMyPC

original post is here.

 

[GDroid]

The Xtralogic app has been flawless for me

Hi, I created a post about this today. Do you use Xtralogic to connect to Windows Servers?

Also, do you know of any application that will allow "pinging" of a computer/server?

 

[oceanlight]

well i got phonemypc, and so far it's pretty sweet. it's great having access to all my desktops from anywhere at anytime.

the deciding factor for me was that i don't have a static IP, and RDP requires you know your IP.

two things i wish they would add:

1.) multimonitor support.
2.) ability to drag windows (on moto-droid). maybe this can be done and i just haven't figured it out yet.

also, it's a bit laggy at times. it would be great if they could add a vector-based option that we could switch to for these times. but that's probably a ton of work.


.

 

[oceanlight]

FYI, my questions were answered by phonemypc support.

1) multimonitor:
* Press the Search button (magnifying glass) to enter full cursor mode
* Position the cursor over the draggable object (such as window title)
* Press and hold DPAD-Center
* Use your finger to move the mouse

2) drag windows:
* Press the Menu button
* Select the Monitor option (n tells you which monitor you are currently viewing)

their support is great.



.

 

[Teibidh]

You can take a look at Dynamic DNS providers, some of which are free, to resolve that issue. One such is at www.dyndns.org. They offer an installable service that will keep your virtual dns entry up to date when your IP adrdress changes. This would allow you to use these applications by hostname (which works fine) and not numerical IP address, so you don't have to knwo when it changes or what it is.

 

[oceanlight]

thanks Teibidh

 

[deancan44]

Hi every1, i just have a question xtralogic remote desktop for droid,i finally got it working and connected to my desktop,but i seem to be haveing a problem connectiong from anywhere,my phone connects when i am within range but as soon as i go out of range i seem to lose the connections, now i know that with remote desktop should allow me to connect from everywhere, cause i would like to connect to my desktop from work and other locations, so i was just wondering do i have a setting set wrong or something?If theres any1 out there who can please assist me or give me a solution to my problem it would be greatly appreciated, thank you very much.

 

[deancan44]

Hi every1, i just have a question xtralogic remote desktop for droid,i finally got it working and connected to my desktop,but i seem to be haveing a problem connectiong from anywhere,my phone connects when i am within range but as soon as i go out of range i seem to lose the connections, now i know that with remote desktop should allow me to connect from everywhere, cause i would like to connect to my desktop from work and other locations, so i was just wondering do i have a setting set wrong or something?If theres any1 out there who can please assist me or give me a solution to my problem it would be greatly appreciated, thank you very much.

 

[SoftwareForMe.com]

Hi deancann44,

I don't use xTralogic, but I might have some suggestions.

From your post it sounds like it's working while on WIFI, but not elsewhere? You say "...i go out of range i seem to lose the connection..."

If my guess is right, this means it works on WIFI but drops as soon as you go away from your WIFI and back onto 3G.

First, I would expect this. As one radio drops and another becomes active, the program will get an error from the network stack and unless he handles it very patiently, it will misbehave.

However, you should then be able to re-connect once you see that 3G icon in your status bar.

If you cannot, this means you most likely have not forwarded the proper port on your router, as you are accessing it from "out on the internet" now.

Forward port 3389 to your PC through your router (or another port, if the program's instructions say to use that).

 

[deancan44]

softwareforme.com, thank you for responding to my post, i didnt expect any1 to respond. Now,i connected to my desktop useing xtralogic through my router, i walked out of range,then attemped to connect useing the 3g network,but no luck.If ur saying i have to adjust my ports, i have no idea how to do that,if you can please guide my through it would be a great help if thats the problem.I hope that adjusting my ports doesnt mess with my regular internet connections.Ive been racking my brains trying to figure this out, so any help would be great, much thanks,Deancan44

 

[SoftwareForMe.com]

Hi Deacan44,

This is part of the reason we wrote PhoneMyPC, and also why LogMeIn is so popular: you don't "have" to do these port adjustments. It just works.

I can give you some help.

Step 1: Get your IP address
Press and hold the Windows key on your PC
Type the letter R
A run box opens. Type "cmd" (without quotes) and press Enter
Type "ipconfig" without quotes and press enter

You should see a bunch of data printed out. One of the items says "IPv4 Address," and probably has a value that begins with '192.168.' This number string is your IP address.

Step 2: Forward your port
Open a browser
Navigate to your router's configuration page. Typically this will be the first three parts of your PC's IP address (usually 192.168.0 or 192.168.1), followed by ".1" For example, mine is 192.168.1.1

After this, it gets fuzzy. YOu might need to log-in to your router. Once you are in, you need to locate "Port Forwarding," then add a forwarding rule that forwards port 3389 to the IP address we located in step 1.

I hope this helps some.

 

[deancan44]

softwareforme.com, thank u for all the help, not there yet but i feel like im so close,i logged into my netgear router, located port forwarding,but was not able to locate the forwarding rule that forwards port 3389 to the IP address, there is no port 3389. I attemped to setup a Port Forwarding with the phone opp. to my ip address but no luck.Also it seems the ip address the droid app. gives me and my actual address r different. Any ides? im getting fed up but i refuse to give up.once again thanks for the help

 

[SoftwareForMe.com]

Hello,

Sometimes the router manufacturers try to "help" by giving you a pre-made list of things to forward. This way you don't necessarily need to know the protocol. You should see things like FTP, etc. You would be looking for RDP or "Windows Remote Desktop" or something similar.

If there is no such item, there is generally a "Custom" button somewhere.

As for your IP, navigate a browser here to find out your public IP:
What Is My IP Address? - Lookup IP, Hide IP, Change IP, Trace IP and more...

 

[Smoghog]

Hey, I had two questions about Xtralogic and remote desktop access.

1. Will Xtralogic allow transfer of files between host and remote? Such as, from my pc to my phone sd?
2. How secure is this software?

 

[zhonya]

any estimates on when sound will work with phonemypc?

 

[Crodley]

any estimates on when sound will work with phonemypc?

Isn't that a good question? It's been nearly a year since they said it's coming "soon" there was no update at all for a very long time, then I gave up on it's slowness and switched to Teamviewer instead.

TeamViewer - Free Remote Access and Remote Desktop Sharing over the Internet

 

[kwest12]

Isn't that a good question? It's been nearly a year since they said it's coming "soon" there was no update at all for a very long time, then I gave up on it's slowness and switched to Teamviewer instead.

TeamViewer - Free Remote Access and Remote Desktop Sharing over the Internet

Thanks for the info, but do you have any idea why this isn't available on the android market? It's kinda concerning tbh....

I know it's not just my phone not finding it either b/c I searched on a computer and also went to the website and found that they instruct you to download it via mobile browser, enable installing of apps from Unknown Source and then install it after downloading that way....

Concernicus say "app not on market, w/o explanation is highly suspect"

 

[SoftwareForMe.com]

any estimates on when sound will work with phonemypc?

I'm very sorry for our delay, and for not being more available on the forums. We've had our heads buried in code for many months now.

But, the new release is out!

It includes the first release of audio support (not only can you hear the PCs audio, but you can listen to an attached mic), better Webcam support, toolbars for easy option use and a whole lot more.

For a full list of updates, see here:
Beta News SoftwareForMe.com

If you are a current customer and have updated your PC software to 2.0.2.2 (released late last year), then your PC will have been auto-updated to the latest, 2.0.2.4. If not, it is available on our site:
Quick Start SoftwareForMe.com

The Android app is 2.0.2.8 and is available on the Android Market and SlideMe.org.

 

[razenhell]

Have to throw in my own personal opinions/comments. As an IT Admin, I have used PhoneMyPC a few times (V2.0....) and have been a long time user of LogMeIn, and a new user of Xtralogic. Logmein drives me nuts on the android, but gets the job done and is excellent on the desktop. PhoneMyPC (previous version, not v3) desktop client can sometimes cause your PC to be a sluggish for some reason almost as if it did not disconnect a remote session, but can be a decent RDC. As far as Xtralogic goes, yes, you have to do some 1 to1 Nat routing, but is well worth it. It has been flawless for me. Yes, I will continue to use my LogMeIn account, but I am amazed as the quality I receive from Xtralogic's app. If you are not familiar with routing, I believe Xtralogic offers a desktop companion for connection through Google Talk. Completely your choice.

 

[TheyCallMeBT]

I've been using Splashtop for a month or two. Mostly from an Android (client) to an iMac, and occasionally a Mac laptop, and 2 PC laptops. I've also used the iMac (client) to connect to the PCs. I like it, they make it easy to find and connect to your computers. Any that are on your wifi network and have the software installed show up. Or if you're on data or another wifi network, you sign in to your Google account on the computers and then they show up.

 

[Samuel Silcon]

Both xtralogic remote desktop and phonemypc are good. But if you are looking for a better alternative, I would recommend using on premise R-HUB remote support servers. It is easy to use and works from behind the firewall, hence better security. Plus works on all platforms viz Windows, Android, iOS etc.