Tag: PocketCloud »

It's pretty much inevitable that technology is moving towards the cloud. How it gets there however is still anyone's guess. Services like Apple's upcoming iCloud have users rent out third-party servers to share their content. The latest update to Wyse Technology's PocketCloud app, version 2.2, takes a different approach: instead of buying someone else's space users just create their own.

Free for the first month and $1 a month afterwards, the new PocketCloud allows users to turn existing storage on their hard drives, computers, tablets and smartphones into personal cloud space. This frees users from third-party control and privacy issues. A professional version is also available For $14.99 a month that includes enhanced security features and support for additional computer connections.

PocketCloud has already been downloaded over 1.5 million times since debuting on the App Store and Android Market back in December. This update still contains the virtual desktop features that sold people on the app in the first place as well as new in app purchases and support for iPad 2 video mirroring among other new features. However, the biggest thing about this latest update is that what began as a mere virtual desktop has become a potentially viable alternative to big cloud storage providers.

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Wyse is a company name that might be familiar to many. Around for the past 30 years, Wyse has been responsible for numerous personal computers back in the 1980s and now it's most well known for its desktop virtualization and cloud computing.

Cloud computing is something we've discussed before and for a very good reason - it's not only hugely useful but also potentially the future of a lot of technology. In the case of Wyse PocketCloud, it enables users to have access to their Windows or Mac based computer through their iPhone or iPad. Users can then access any file they wish, browse the web (including all important Flash sites) and run any applications they wish on their desktop. We already covered much of what PocketCloud is capable of previously but this potential has been extended further.

Having just reached the all important 1 millionth download of the app, PocketCloud has had further enhancements added to it. Version 2.1 now offers optional Premium subscription services which give the user the ability to download, print and email files. There's also the capability of streaming videos and music from a home desktop to PocketCloud and a file browser to make searching for the ever useful files that bit easier. Priced at a mere $1 per month, that's some pretty extensive functionality for the price.

For both the personal and business user, PocketCloud offers a great way of always being near to the home PC. Easily set up either via a Gmail account or manually, it takes seconds to set the system up and then professional users could securely access files for a presentation or business transaction. Personal users could use it to access their music collection or videos that they haven't previously stored on their iOS device.

Wyse PocketCloud is out now in two varieties. There's a free version and a professional version priced at $14.99 and offering extended functionality. Plus of course in-app purchases to carry on the subscription.

Wyse Technology recently launched the free edition of their popular app PocketCloud for the iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch. Now users can access their home or work computers for free, regardless of what kind of operating system they are on.

“We first released PocketCloud a year ago based on demanding enterprise and IT Professional requirements.” says Daniel Barreto, general manager of the Mobile Cloud Business Unit at Wyse. “With the launch of this new free version we are extending the benefits and capabilities of PocketCloud to any iOS user, while creating a simple and polished user experience tailored to the consumer market.”

As expected, the free version of Pocket Cloud does miss out on some features that the 'Pro' and 'Premium' versions have, such as Retina Display support, contextual auto zoom, 3G video streaming, and VGA video out, as well as the ever so pesky ads, but at the price of nothing it's hard to complain.

Even with the drawbacks, the feature list is quite nice. The free version of PocketCloud has:

Remote PC access

Remote Mac access

Auto Discovery: Secure and simple setup

VNC Support

RDP 7 Support

RDP Encryption

Keyboard Auto-Activation

Custom keyboard with short-cuts

Touch Pointer: Intuitive user interface

International Keyboard support

Localized for English, French, German, Japanese and Chinese

Knowledge Base and Forum Technical Support

“I have tried to use several other remote desktop access apps on my smartphone and found them all to suffer from some combination of several different drawbacks. They cost a lot, they are hard to install and configure, they are clumsy to use, or they are lacking essential functions.” says Tim Negris of Cloud Computing Journal. “With Wyse PocketCloud I had none of these problems. The free version does everything I need it to do. I was able to download, install and configure it in four minutes. And, the Touch Pointer is positively addictive. I only wish I could use it with many other apps on my phone, like web browsing, map navigation and picture manipulation. I would pay money for that alone.”

If accessing your critical documents from your mobile device is in order, be sure to download the free version of PocketCloud today.