Product

PPC Tablet 4.0f

RDP-based: TSC in PPC2k2...WM5

RDM in WM6

H/PC TSC

Mocha Remote Client 1.2 by MochaSoft

Web-based: LogMeIn

GotoMyPC

I’m InTouch

RemotelyAnywhere

VNC-based: VNC clients by Parys Technografx Ltd (most importantly Pocket Office 1.2)

Mocha VNC 1.1 by MochaSoft

.NET VNC Viewer by Rocky Lo; 1.0.1.16

The rest (Allware /Mark Midgley (alternate source)

Proprietary protocols: BitWeen (alternate source)

RemoteControl by CrossTec Corporation; 10.0

NetOp Remote Control 9.0 by Danware (mobile); (PPC guest version 8.00)

pcAnywhere 12.0 by Symantec (PPC version 2.0.0 build 121; note that the 2.0.1 update refuses to run)

z2 Remote2PC 1.2 build 1205 by z2 Software

Soft Agency Remote Desktop 2.0

Price

$16 (from the developer directly; $19 otherwise)

Free and / or built-in

Built-in

Free (additional Nyditot isn’t!)

$20

Free: $FREE; Pro: $44 / year

monthly rate of $19.95; with annual subscription, $14.95 / month

$49.95 a year for simple Outlook (Express) access; $99.95 a year for full access (including remote control / in the desktop client, file transfer)

$99 for a year; there’s a 25% rebate if you sign up for two years at once

$21.99

$20

Free

free

$49.95

Only for enterprises; 100 hosts: $1794; 500: $7475; 1000: $11960; 3000: $29900; >3001 - 5000: $8 / unit

$200

$36.95

$14.95

Generic compatibility issues:OS compatibility: PPC

PPC2k2+ (Compact Framework 1 required!)

PPC2k2+ officially; also PPC2k with the H/PC hack

WM6

Hackable to pre-WM5 devices

PPC2k2+

WM2003+

PPC2k2+

WM2003+

PTvncGPRS: PPC2002+; PTvncWM5: PPC2003SE+ ; PT Pocket Office (not yet available): WM5 PPC

PPC2k2+

PPC2k2+ (while it is also CF1-compliant, it didn’t work on my PPC2k MIPS E125)

all

WM2003+

All PPC versions except for WM5 clients (!)

WM2003+ (interestingly, it has a Symantec pcAnywhere Mobile.PPC202_StrongARM.CAB and a Symantec pcAnywhere Mobile.PPC300_StrongARM.CAB too, but they are not PPC2k2-compliant either)

All PPC

all

Other OS’es

Win98 SE+, Linux etc - almost all OS'es

see on the left

See on the left; Mocha also provides a Palm OS version

Desktop Windows

A lot of OS'es (there are a lot of access / control options, the most widely compatible being simple HTML-based)

There are VNC clients for all platforms (even the Commodore 64!); natively "only" supports MS Smartphone: PTvncS: SP2002+; PTvncSWM5: SP2003SE+; PT Pocket Office: WM5 SP

Natively: Palm OS; also see on the left

All CF-compliant OS’es

See PT

- (PPC only)

Desktop Windows, Mac, Linux

Desktop Windows, WinCE (H/PC), Linux, Solaris etc

Linux, Mac OS, desktop Windows

Handheld PC Pro & 2000; desktop Windows

- (PPC only)

VGA support?

- (pixel doubling by default); + in forced mode; the dialogs, however, become corrupted (but this can be lived with)

Exe hackable

Program Files\Communication\Remote Client\rd.exe hackable

+; Program Files\Communication\VNC\mvnc.exe doesn’t need to be hacked

n/t

Program Files\ RemoteControl\Remote Control Strongarm.exe must be explicitly forced to VGA

Pixel doubling in non-scaled mode; forcing \Program Files\CrossTec Remote Control\ pcictlce.exe fixes this

Doubles by default; forcing \Program Files\ NetOp Guest\ NetOpGuest.exe works

Uses pixel doubling in 1:1 zoom; hacking \Symantec\pcAnywhere Mobile\pcAMobile.exe into VGA helps this problem

\Windows\ Start Menu\ Programs\ RemoteDesktop\ remotedesktop.exe must be forced to VGA

Bandwidth usage: Generally: 8 bit (with Tight VNC, 16 bit), 640*480 (with RDP) / 800*600 (with everything else), no smooth scroll

16M in 8 minutes (comparing this to the nothing-happens figures, it seems the traffic doesn’t depend on what happens on the screen but is constantly, blindly polled)

1.13M --- Good; about the same as VNC4, RemotelyAnywhere and LogMeIn

See TSC

It uses RDP4; therefore, it uses about 20% more bandwidth while scrolling and far more in other cases

1.11M, 500ms --- Good; about the same as VNC4, RemotelyAnywhere and RDP 5 (TSC)

346k in 4 min (600 ms delay) ---------- Incredibly good: about a fourth of VNC4, RemotelyAnywhere, LogMeIn and RDP 5 (TSC)!

Direct connection: 1700k; HTTPS: ~1250k (2000 ms delay) --------- Pretty good: Only a bit worse than VNC4 / RDP.

Good; about the same as VNC4, LogMeIn and RDP 5 (TSC)

Multiply factor: 1.33 ! --- Very good: About the same as RemotelyAnywhere, LogMeIn and RDP 5 (TSC) – but in high color mode, while the latter may be needed / must be operated in 8-bit modes. In no way so good as GotoMyPC though.

Better than the 3.x-only, free clients (it uses ZRLE with Real and Ultra and Zlib with Tight; note that with PTeSVNC it’s incompatible (bugs)). With ZRLE, about 40% worse than Tight VNC / RDP5 etc; with Zlib, about twice the bandwidth usage of them. Still, much better than Hextile VNC (the old free clients).

About 3 times more than VNC4 Tight, RDP5 etc.

Very bad: even Hextile encoding consumes at least 4-5 times more bandwidth than VNC4, RemotelyAnywhere, LogMeIn and RDP 5 (TSC)

Clearly worse than most titles: about 2 times more bandwidth usage than with VNC4, RemotelyAnywhere, LogMeIn and RDP 5 (TSC)

Slightly worse than VNC4 Tight, RDP or the Web-based apps. It’s still definitely better than, say, pcAnywhere (1260k)

Pretty bad – around VNC Hextile (3.5M), almost an order of magnitude worse than VC Tight / LogMeIn / RDP, not to mention GoToMyPC

8b: ~1.79M; that is, not very good

Not very good: more than an order of magnitude more than GotoMyPC and about four times more than VNC4 / RDP / RemotelyAnywhere & LogMeIn

n/t

File transfer benchmark

n/t (pretty slow though)

n/a

(web-based) 24.6M; 6:45

n/a

Always try to use direct connections in these cases! With HTTPS: Internal server error; direct: 5 minutes, 24.8M

Direct web-based

24.9M (incl. login (about 100k)); 5:40

n/a

25.3M; 3:48

n/a

Based on which protocol?

Proprietary

MS RDP 5

MS RDP 4 (!)

Proprietary

Proprietary (NOT Citrix ICA!)

Proprietary

VNC 4 (Tight, Tight JPG, ZRLE / Zlib / Hextile / CopyRect)

VNC ZRLE / Zlib / Hextile / CopyRect

VNC Hextile??

VNC 3.3 (no Tight / Zlib / ZRLE)

Proprietary

Sensitive to smooth scrolling and other animations? (Doesn’t support CopyRect and the like?)

n/t

See TSC

Very sensitive (this was a generic problem with RDP4 – see the Jason Nieh articles!)! Never ever try to run smooth animations!

About 20-30% (see the UXGA results)

Pretty bad: +100% (in HTTPS connection: 2.05M; had to use 20 sec scrolling delay)

+ (about 50% more bandwidth usage)

See on the left

n/t

+ in screen scraping and – in GDI mode: In 8b default screen scraper mode, it consumed almost two times more bandwidth (2.27M) than in the normal mode. In hi-color GDI mode, smooth scrolling didn’t increase the bandwidth usage much (2100k from 1990k).

Very bad: 30Mbytes and took and a lot of time: I had to to raise the script delay to 5 seconds so the rendering can finish

n/t

… that is, does it send over all the changed screen contents or combines them? (The latter approach is much better)

n/t

Combined

All (!)

Combined

n/t

All

Sends over everything

Combined, albeit it lags a bit while, say, playing videos and trying to keep up with the speed

Combined

n/t

Bandwidth increase along with true/high color modes?

n/a (only 256-color mode)

About 25% in high and 70% in true color mode (this applies to the desktop version!)

About +25% in high color mode

See TSC

n/a

About 20%

About 36% in true (on the Pocket PC, high) color mode

n/a (only 8-bit mode)

No measurable increase with the test mode.

- (Tight encoding should always be used in 16 bit mode)

n/a

n/t

n/a (clients refused to work in high/true color modes)

n/t

66% more (2.1M); pretty slow to render in this mode (must use at least 2-2.5s). In GDI mode, it consumes slightly less bandwidth (about 1990k) and is far faster.

n/a (8b mode only)

2.6M in 6 minutes

Minimal: about 50% (in true) and 25% (in high)

n/t

Under-8 bit modes, if any?

n/a (no 4-bit mode in current versions – only in the H/PC version)

n/t

n/a

4bit mode: 1.17M (that is, in no way better than better modes); note that it will switch to VGA remote desktop resolution; all in all, it should be avoided

n/a

n/t

n/a

n/t

1bit: pretty good – about the same league as VNC4 Tight, LogMeIn etc (790k)

2b: 2.55M – 23 minutes’ additional traffic

4bit mode: about 7% less bandwidth

n/t

Bandwidth usage when nothing happens (absolutely no changes on the desktop and no client-side input)?

1.9M / min !!

Between 10 and 25 kbyte up- / 9…15 kbyte downlink a minute

Nothing; note that with blinking cursor, there can be pretty bad bandwith requirements: I've measured some 34k/400k / minute in UXGA (cursor blinking in IE address bar)

Very bad: 50k / 120k (!!!) / minute

n/t

Support for server-side scaling (as opposed to client-side scaling down of full-resolution images)?

n/a (there’s no scaling in the RDP protocol, only 1:1 pixels)

See on the left

It seems it doesn't do scaling on the server (see the UXGA vs SVGA results)

Yes, the excellent results clearly show this: in UXGA, the bandwidth usage is clearly lower than in SVGA

Not yet; developers promise for server-side scaling in future versions

n/t

Ultra, PTe: + and works just great. Real, Tight: -

Not configurable on the client side; with the two server-side scaling-capable servers, it’s possible: (PTeSVNC: Misc / Initial screen scale; Ultra: Misc / Default Server Screen Scale)

Ultra, PTe: + ; Real, Tight: - ; Note that you will still need to enable client-side auto rescaling so that the contents are displayed full-screen. With the other clients, auto-full screen is the default.

Not configurable on the client side; see Mocha remakrs

n/t

Image fetch model in panned (scrollable) mode: full image download, including currently not visible regions?

Only visible regions

Full

n/t

Full

Only the visible area

Caching of overlapping windows?

+ (not so effective as the best ones though)

- (no such functionality in the RFB protocol itself)

n/a (no such support in VNC)

n/a

- (no such functionality in the RFB protocol)

+ (with maximum cache setting; haven’t tested with smaller cache sizes)

Bandwidth usage of maintaining the persistent connection with HTTPS-capable services

n/a

Other bandwidth benchmarks of interest?

1600*1200 smooth scroll: 1.02M, 1400 ms; 1600*1200 16 bit non-smooth: 1.29M; 1600*1200 8bit non-smooth: 1.02M, 1400ms

1600*1200 smooth scroll: 358k in 4.5 min; 1600*1200 16 bit non-smooth: 400k in 4 minutes; Note that you must enable 16-bit mode in both the server's Preferences dialog (Quality / Color Quality) and on the Pocket PC (Menu / Tools / Pocketview Preferences / Force 256 Colors); 1600*1200 8bit non-smooth: 293k in 3.5 minutes; (with a rotating icon on the tray: 319k); 800*600 smooth scroll: 522k in 4 min (600 ms)

1600*1200 smooth scroll: 2.05M (20s delay!); 1600*1200 8bit non-smooth: Direct: 1.5M; HTTPS: 1.1M (had to raise the delay to ~12 seconds between page changes in both direct and HTTPS mode!)

Initial bandwidth usage: Loading all non-visible windows upon connection?

+ (even hundreds of kilobytes at logging in!)

Auto-overriding System / Advanced / Performance / Settings / Visual Effects settings for speed: Disables wallpaper?

- (only disables some features; some other bandwidth-intensive stuff (most notably window dragging) is still enabled)

see on the left

The wallpaper can be disabled (enabled by default) and the clipboard auto-transfer size reduced

n/t

+ (automatically switches the entire system to "optimize for speed" mode)

n/t

Disables font smoothing (see an example here) / Cleartype (IE7: Tools / Internet Options / Advanced/ Multimedia / Always use Cleartype for HTML)?

+ / +

n/t

- / -

+ / -

- / -

n/t

- / -

n/t

-/-

+/-

n/t

Disables "Show window contents while dragging"?

- (dragging consumes a LOT of bandwidth even with TSC!)

n/t

- (only possible to "really" drag windows when you use the touchscreen as the left button; otherwise, you must point to the final destination, where there won’t be any kind of bandwidth-intensive dragging)

n/t

Nothing is shown while windows are dragged, not even the outline of the window

n/t

Disables smooth IE scrolling?

- (but the effects aren’t visible on the bandwidth)

See on the left

- and it has disastrous effects (RDP 4!)

Product

PPC Tablet 4.0f

RDP-based: TSC in PPC2k2...WM5

RDM in WM6

H/PC TSC

Mocha Remote Client 1.2

Web-based: LogMeIn

GotoMyPC

I’m InTouch

RemotelyAnywhere

VNC-based: VNC clients by Parys Technografx Ltd (most importantly Pocket Office)

Mocha VNC 1.1

.NET VNC Viewer 1.0.1.16

The rest (Allware /Mark Midgley (alternate source)

Proprietary protocols: BitWeen (alternate source)

CrossTec Remote Control 10.0

Danware’s NetOp Remote Control 9.0 (mobile); (PPC guest version 8.00)

pcAnywhere 12.0 (PPC version 2.0.0 build 121; note that the 2.0.1 update refuses to run

z2 Remote2PC 1.2 build 1205

Soft Agency Remote Desktop 2.0

Connection model?

Direct connection (port: 333)

Direct conn. only; port forwarding (3389) allowed

See TSC

Through logmein.com. With other licenses, direct connection (to port 2002 – as with RemotelyAnywhere) might work (it doesn’t with the trial)

Central server only

Central Web server by default; connections, however, may also be semi-direct. In the latter case, once I'm InTouch is configured under the "Advanced Configuration" dialogue (with the Port Forwarding / Firewall config info), log in to your remote PC the normal way (by going to http://locator.01com.com, entering computer name, password, etc.) It is the locator server that determines that there is a direct connection specified, and routes the user that way. If your host PC and PPC are on the same LAN, I'm InTouch will sense this and switch to a direct connection automatically, even if you have not configured the Advanced Configuration dialogue. Please also see the file transfer / bandwidth usage issues in the two modes.

Direct; port fwd (2000)

Direct; port fwd (5900; with the Java viewer, 5800); see for example this for more info

See on the left

n/t

Direct

Direct; note that it’s able to connect to servers via not only TCP/IP connections, but also any non-standard (physical) one

Direct conn. only; port forwarding (5631, 5632) allowed

Both full callback mode for non-port-forwarded firewalled / NAT’ed case and directly accessible

n/t

LAN (internet-less)?

Usable through ActiveSync'ed PDA's to access the same desktop the PDA is connected to? (With direct connections using local IP’s (192.168.55.100 with pre-WM5 and 169.254.2.2 with WM5 - see this for more info on the latter)

+ (both pre-WM5 and WM5)

+ (see TSC)

Yes (albeit it needs to connect to the central server)

n/t

Able to log in when the user is not / no user is logged in (can you register the server as a Windows service?)?

All: + (RealVNC: Start / Programs / RealVNC / VNC Server 4 (Service-Mode) / Register VNC Service; Ultra: either the Start or Restart UltraVNC service checkbox during installation or Start / Programs / UltraVNC / UltraVNC Server / Install WinVNC Service; PTe: Start / Programs / PTeSVNC / Server / Install WinVNC Service; Tight: Start / Programs / TightVNC / Administration / Install VNC Service). Note that, at first, PTeSVNC 1.0.0 will not remember the password. This problem, however, has gone away after some restarts; this means PTeSVNC should the server of your choice if you can choose one. Also note that, currently, PT PO isn’t compatible with RealVNC 4 – neither in 4 nor in 3.3 mode.

See on left; it’s also compatible with RealVNC

See on left

n/t

+ (by default, enabling hosting defaults to service mode)

n/t

Dynamic IP announcement support?

n/a (no need: impossible to connect directly; the LogMeIn server internally manages the desktop address)

n/a (no need: impossible to connect directly; the GoToMyPC server internally manages the desktop address)

n/a (no need for this if you connect via the central server as usual)

- ?

Callback support through firewalls (HTTP(S) gateway)? If there is a central one, speed?

Only with third-party tools like the free Barracuda HTTPS tunnel

See on the left

+ (over HTTPS slightly slower than GoToMyPC, but the speed difference is only visible with heavily graphics-packed apps and definitely faster than, say, Laplink Everywhere)

+ (excellent speed and responsiveness)

+, in low resolutions (but NOT in XGA and above!) about the same speed as LogMeIn in fully gatewayed mode and definitely slower than GoToMyPC in both modes; still definitely better than Laplink Everywhere

Only with third-party tools like the free Barracuda HTTPS tunnel

See on the left

Only with third-party tools like the free Barracuda HTTPS tunnel

+; gateway must be manually and locally deployed (there’s no central gateway)

+ if you explicitly run a copy in Gateway mode (see for example this for more info). However, there’s no cerntally managed gateway, unlike with LogMeIn, GoToMyPC or Laplink Everywhere – you must deploy and configure the Gateway server yourself. (This, of course, has its own advantages; for example, speed, when compared particularly to the speed problems of the Laplink Everywhere gateway)

To a certain degree: it requires the client being directly reachable (that is, not NAT’ed) and only lets for the remote desktop to be firewalled in this case; see the "How to setup server callback for my Pocket PC Phone with GPRS/CDMA connections? " section in the manual for more info

n/t

In HTTP(S) gateway mode, if it uses the provider’s central server, does it try to use direct connections when there can be also direct, non-HTTPS connections between the client and the server for speed and to make users confident the server can’t eavesdrop into the conversation?

n/a

+, definitely faster than the central server-based, HTTPS gateway communication

- (there can be no direct connection between the two devices. Note that the speed of even the HTTPS gateway’ed connection is about the same as the direct connection speed of the I’m InTouch and LogMeIn!)

+, a bit faster than the central server-based, HTTPS gateway communication but uses more bandwidth; also see the bandwidth and file transfer issues.

n/a

Product

PPC Tablet 4.0f

RDP-based: TSC in PPC2k2...WM5

RDM in WM6

H/PC TSC

Mocha Remote Client 1.2

Web-based: LogMeIn

GotoMyPC

I’m InTouch

RemotelyAnywhere

VNC-based: VNC clients by Parys Technografx Ltd (most importantly Pocket Office)

Mocha VNC 1.1

.NET VNC Viewer 1.0.1.16

The rest (Allware /Mark Midgley (alternate source)

Proprietary protocols: BitWeen (alternate source)

CrossTec Remote Control 10.0

Danware’s NetOp Remote Control 9.0 (mobile); (PPC guest version 8.00)

pcAnywhere 12.0 (PPC version 2.0.0 build 121; note that the 2.0.1 update refuses to run

z2 Remote2PC 1.2 build 1205

Soft Agency Remote Desktop 2.0

Service: Memory usage

MFCServer.exe; 1.1 M. 0% CPU usage.

Built into Windows

See on the left

LogMeInSystray.exe in both dis- and enabled state: 5M; LogMeIn.exe in enabled state only: 9.4M

Four g2*.exe processes, taking up 14M in all

IIT.exe (systray app) in both dis- and enabled state: ~12M; in enabled state: rdesktop.exe: ~5M. In addition, two Apache.exe instances (7.6 and 8.7M) and ApacheMonitor.exe (2…5M) will also run, independent of whether you have enabled direct connections (in which case, behind the scenes, the client will directly connect to Apache) or not. That is, in enabled case, 35-36Mbyte total.

Systray controller ragui.exe in both dis- and enabled state: ~5M; RemotelyAnywhere.exe in enabled state only: 12M

PTe: 3.4M; Real: 3.1M; Tight, Ultra: 3.5M;

See on the left

n/t

client32.exe: 2M

Nhstw32.exe: 12M

awhost32.exe: 7.4M

R2PCSH.exe and R2PCServ.exe taking up 8M together

n/t

Easy to stop/ restart?

+ (from GUI)

No traditional (Start menu or process manager-based) ways of enabling/disabling it; you will always need to use the standard en/disable checkbox at Settings / Control Panel / System / Remote to do this.

See on the left

+ (dedicated en/disable in the context menu of the system tray icon); + (Programs / LogMeIn); LogMeInSystray.exe safely killable to completely get rid of the systray icon

No items in Start Menu: \Program Files\Citrix\ GoToMyPC\ gopcsrv.exe must be manually started. The systray context menu only supports quitting, not just disabling with keeping the icon in place – pretty awkward solution compared to most of the alternatives.

Enable / disable in the context menu and in Programs too

+ (dedicated en/disable in the context menu of the system tray icon); + (Programs / RemotelyAnywhere); ragui.exe safely killable to completely get rid of the systray icon

Very easy to en/disable (kill): from the start menu and using the systray icon context menu

See on the left

n/t

-: no GUI / menu-based help; client32.exe must be manually killed in the process manager. Restarting is easy: just start Programs / Crosstec / Crosstec Remote Control

The systray context menu only has an Exit option; fortunately, the server can easily be restarted by executing Programs / NetOp Remote Control / Host

The systray context menu has a "Cancel host" item; starting the host is equally easy via Programs / Symantec pcAnywhere / Actions / Start Host

Systray menu supports both completely exiting (also itself) and just disabling / re-enabling. Server can be started at Programs / z2 Remote PC / Start z2 Server

n/t

Misc: Built-in landscape switching support? (They’re all compatible with OS-level Landscape modes; here, I only list explicit ability to switch to there under pre-WM2003SE OS’es)

n/a (WM6+)

Built-in, non-OS-level. Note that if you have a WM2003SE+device, use the OS-level Landscape mode instead of the built-in one because the latter is considerably slower and consumes around 80-90% CPU time because of the manual pixel moving operations.

Built-in, OS-level

+ Built-in, non-OS-level and a bit buggy

+ (system-level)

Built-in

Built-in, non-OS-level. See remarks with Mocha Remote Client 1.2

+, non-OS-level; not visibly slower on my PPC2k2 iPAQ 3660 than in Portrait mode.

Built-in quick switch, non-OS-level, works great on pre-WM2003SE devices

Dedicated chat support, using a simple textual protocol to communicate to greatly simplify chatting between the remote user and the local terminal user?

n/t

- (the underlying RFB protocol doesn't support anythink like this)

+ (PPC and desktop client); it’s also able to send messages (the same received)

- (unlike on the desktop, where it’s even capable of formatted messages )

- (unlike the desktop version, which supports (multicast-only – no real Internet connections) conferencing)

Server / Client install method

Client must be manually installed

Server is already installed on XP Pro; so is the client on most PPC2k2+ Pocket PC devices

See on the left

Client must be manually installed

Fully automatic (both server and client)

Server: Only a stub, iit34w01.exe, needs to be downloaded and started by hand; everything else is done automatically. Client: automatic

Fully automatic (both server and client)

Both client and server need to be installed manually

See on left

Both client and server need to be installed manually

Fully manual

Both client and server need to be installed manually

Where to navigate to to log in?

directly to the target desktop

https://secure.logmein.com/home.asp

http://www.gotomypc.com

http://locator.01com.com

http://desktop:2000

directly to the target desktop

Overall rendering speed

Good (over fast connections)

Excellent

Good

Excellent

The best (under 2 second full refreshes even in UXGA!)

Excellent in resolutions under XGA, passable in XGA, poor in SXGA and very poor (7-9 sec screen refresh times) in UXGA

Excellent

Good

VERY poor - .NET CF is VERY slow!

VERY poor - the 3.3 protocol is VERY slow!

Poor

Average

Slow

Average

Good

Poor

Double monitors (extended desktops)?

n/t

PPC: + in View/ Monitors (1 2 3); Desktop: +

PPC: +; Desktop: + (you must draw the window you want to work on into the primary screen though – zooming in / scaling only works with the primary desktop)

PPC: - ; Desktop: -

PPC: - Desktop: + (you can easily switch between the monitors in the "Monitors" drop-down list)

With UltraVNC only; not with other 4-series VNC servers

With RealVNC and UltraVNC only

n/t

PPC: +, albeit it has screen refresh problems on the secondary desktop as can also be seen in the screenshot. You can also zoom into the areas on the second desktop. Desktop Windows client: partial - the contents aren't shown

PPC: + Desktop: +

PPC: - ; Desktop: +

Yes; must be manually enabled on the remote desktop

n/t

Full screen support?

- (!)

Very bad: taskbar isn’t used by the app and can’t be hidden; the same stands for the icon bar, which only has 5 quick-positioning icons and is, therefore, barely usable. Finally, you can’t hide the scrollbars either – they’re only hidden in the "Limit size of server desktop to fit on this screen?" mode. Needs third party tools (VJFullscreenTSC) for enabling flawless full screen support. Then, it’s excellent.

Excellent: app can be started (selectably) with in screen and/or, during the remote session, you can also dynamically change to/from full screen with the right softkey

Average: no menu bar

Average (icon bar will always be visible and can not be hidden)

Excellent (albeit the draggable utility window can not be minimized, unlike with GoToMyPC)

Excellent (even the draggable utility window can be minimized)

Good (while scrollbars can’t be hidden, there’re no other bars)

Excellent (even the draggable utility window can be minimized)

Excellent: menu comes up with hotkey

Average (icon bar will always be visible and can not be hidden)

+ (in effect: screenshot)

Poor: task bar with one of them; command bar with both

Poor (both task and command bar visible)

Excellent: all the three toolbars can be easily hidden with either the arrow or the scrollbar icon

Very bad: the taskbar isn’t used at all and the command bar can’t be hidden

- (useless task bar always visible; command bar can’t be hidden either; so are scrollbars in non-scaled mode)

Very bad: the taskbar isn’t used at all and the command bar can’t be hidden either

Poor (both task and command bar visible)

Copy-paste between client and remote desktop (clipboard synchronization)

+ (automatic)

- (only in the desktop PC version; there, even in the free one)

- (only in the desktop PC version)

Only from remote desktop to local PDA, not in the opposite direction; auto-synchronization

Not yet; author promises to implement it some time

+ (automatic; text only, unlike on the desktop, where it transfers rich contents)

- (unlike the desktop client)

+; text only

+, even rich content (for example, tables and formatted text to Word Mobile)!

In-program disconnect (except for manual disconnect from inside Start menu – that is, the session)?

-, but Start/Disconnect is easily accessible on the desktop

See on the left

+ (File / Disconnect…), in addition to the server-side Start/Disconnect

n/t

+ (Commands / Disconnect)

n/t

Server-side configuration capabilities

Not very extensive

n/a (no parameters can be set on the server-side)

n/a

Configurable via HTTP (port 2002). Free version: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. Pro version: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11

Configurable via HTTP (port 2000); Preferences: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11; it also allows for running an FTP server

Uses standard VNC servers. PTeSVNC: 1, 2, 3; Ultra: 1, 2; Tight: 1, 2, 3; Real non-free 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8; Real free 1, 2, 3 (only the three dialogs shown where it’s different from the non-free version)

See on left

See on the left

Uses standard 3.3 (!) VNC servers

- (must be configured from client)

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

+ quite a lot (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)

1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Product

PPC Tablet 4.0f

RDP-based: TSC in PPC2k2...WM5

RDM in WM6

H/PC TSC

Mocha Remote Client 1.2

Web-based: LogMeIn

GotoMyPC

I’m InTouch

RemotelyAnywhere

VNC-based: VNC clients by Parys Technografx Ltd (most importantly Pocket Office)

Mocha VNC 1.1

.NET VNC Viewer 1.0.1.16

The rest (Allware /Mark Midgley (alternate source)

Proprietary protocols: BitWeen (alternate source)

CrossTec Remote Control 10.0

Danware’s NetOp Remote Control 9.0 (mobile); (PPC guest version 8.00)

pcAnywhere 12.0 (PPC version 2.0.0 build 121; note that the 2.0.1 update refuses to run

z2 Remote2PC 1.2 build 1205

Soft Agency Remote Desktop 2.0

Accessing other resources on the remote desktop: File transfer between client and remote desktop

+ (download only). Note that if you have a dual-slot Pocket PC (or your storage card’s path isn’t called "Storage Card"), the app won’t be able to download straight to your storage card, only into the main memory as it has the card path "Storage Card" wired-in as can be seen in here

+ (download only)

-: only in the desktop client; also see this

+: 1, 2, 3; no upload! Note that you can also run file searches from here – no other client is capable of this. The desktop client has two file transfer clients: the built into the remote controller client (you'll want to prefer this) and the Web-browser based, which is a Java applet-based and is, therefore, a bit more awkward than the file transfer interface of for example LogMeIn Pro. Screenshots from the desktop browser-based version (again, use the one in the remote controller instead!): 1 2. Uploading from a desktop browser is done this way: 1 2 3. Note that you should prefer using direct connections when downloading from your desktop. With HTTPS tunneled connections, larger files (see my 22.5 Mbyte test) aren't necessarily transferred at all (you may encounter server errors as can be seen in here) and if they are transferred, with a comparatively slow speed (I've benchmarked around 60 kbyte/s on my desktop). Note that the developers state the maximal download size is 5 Mbyte through HTTPS tunneled connections; you are unlikely to have problems with smaller files.

+ (download only)

+ (new in 1.3!). Note that of Ultra, you’ll need RC11; simple 1.2 won’t work; PTeSVNC

- (unlike on the desktop)

- (unlike the desktop client)

+; shots: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. Unfortunately, there's no way to select a directory (other than My Documents / Desktop) T4on the server without manually entering the path to it - it's very awkward!

Client-side remote / monitoring tools?

-; Access Configuration only sets passwords

+; a lot of features: processes, services, drivers, registry editor etc. See this and this screenshots. Desktop-side screenshots of such dialogs: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11; the same on the Pocket PC, for example, the remote Registry editor: 1, 2, 3, 4

n/t

- (unlike in the desktop version, where there’s an "Inventory" (showing the hardware configuration, the installed software products; the running services, processes and apps) and a quick (!) Remote Command Prompt

- , unlike on desktop, where it’s excellent

n/t

Access to other PIM resources?

+, just great! Inbox (1, 2, 3, 4 ; you even have search for mail on from / subject fields (1 2 ; here’s the sent mail in the target mailbox) ; note that you can only add attachments from the host, not from the local PDA); Calendar; Calendar; Contacts (1 2; you can even add new contacts); Composing e-mails; Webcam access

Product

PPC Tablet 4.0f

RDP-based: TSC in PPC2k2...WM5

RDM in WM6

H/PC TSC

Mocha Remote Client 1.2

Web-based: LogMeIn

GotoMyPC

I’m InTouch

RemotelyAnywhere

VNC-based: VNC clients by Parys Technografx Ltd (most importantly Pocket Office)

Mocha VNC 1.1

.NET VNC Viewer 1.0.1.16

The rest (Allware /Mark Midgley (alternate source)

Proprietary protocols: BitWeen (alternate source)

CrossTec Remote Control 10.0

Danware’s NetOp Remote Control 9.0 (mobile); (PPC guest version 8.00)

pcAnywhere 12.0 (PPC version 2.0.0 build 121; note that the 2.0.1 update refuses to run

z2 Remote2PC 1.2 build 1205

Soft Agency Remote Desktop 2.0

User interaction: Co-editing with local (server) desktop user

More than one concurrent remote users using the same remote protocol accessing the same desktop?

n/t

- (while, on the desktop, + in Pro (Guest Invite), - in free version)

Excellent: At a time, up to 10 remote users can access the desktop, assuming all of them use a separate account (with, possibly, separate rights). The latter can be created / managed (along with all the rights) in the server config dialog (User Information / Add new user). If you don't do this and try to use the same account, when you log in from another client, the old connection will be terminated.

No (the pevious Remote user will be disconnected)

+ (if Shared access is enabled in the VNC server)

n/t

+ (!)

- , server reports being busy in these cases. Unfortunately, also in this case the inferior error handling of the Pocket PC version is certainly visible: it only displays a "Connection lost!" error message, unlike the much more elaborate desktop PC version

- (the second concurrent client to log in doesn’t display any error message, just refuses to connect)

n/t

Product

PPC Tablet 4.0f

RDP-based: TSC in PPC2k2...WM5

RDM in WM6

H/PC TSC

Mocha Remote Client 1.2

Web-based: LogMeIn

GotoMyPC

I’m InTouch

RemotelyAnywhere

VNC-based: VNC clients by Parys Technografx Ltd (most importantly Pocket Office)

Mocha VNC 1.1

.NET VNC Viewer 1.0.1.16

The rest (Allware /Mark Midgley (alternate source)

Proprietary protocols: BitWeen (alternate source)

CrossTec Remote Control 10.0

Danware’s NetOp Remote Control 9.0 (mobile); (PPC guest version 8.00)

pcAnywhere 12.0 (PPC version 2.0.0 build 121; note that the 2.0.1 update refuses to run

z2 Remote2PC 1.2 build 1205

Soft Agency Remote Desktop 2.0

Login: l/p credentials definable, used (with RDP clients) and remembered? – an advantage particularly with RDP-based clients

+ (last-used username remembered)

+ (last-used username and, now, also password remembered)

+ (last-used username remembered)

+ (both remembered)

By default, you have to reenter the l/p every time you log in to both your online Web account and the remote desktop). If you don't like this, you can make the process very easy if you create a PIE favorite the following way: click the Settings link next to the computer you’d like to create a shortcut to; on the new, non-PDA-optimized page, click "Create a Desktop Shortcut"; then, tap-and-hold the computer icon in the center of the page and select Add to favorites. The favorite will be added and will be selectable. After this, only the password will be needd on subsequent logins.

By default, you have to reenter the l/p every time you log in to both your online Web account and the remote desktop. However, as with LogMeIn, you can create a quick-access favorite in PIE. Click the computer link, click the Shortcut button next to "Create a web shortcut to "your computer name"". The new shortcut will be, then, printed just under the above text; just select it entirely and copy it to the clipboard. Now, paste this to the address bar of PIE and you’re set – now, you can add the page to the Favorites. Also, there is an even more direct way of adding the favourite from inside the GUI: 1, 2, 3. Finally, you must manually enable remembering your account info in the "My Account" menu - it's only after this that you won't need to enter your login info (email / pwd).

See this for a description

+ (both remembered)

n/t

- (password not remembered, unlike in desktop version)

+ (last-used username remembered)

n/t

Server IP’s remembered?

+ (on the LogMeIn Web server, after logging in into your account)

+ (on the GotoMyPC Web server, after logging in into your account)

+ (upon the login, on the I’m InTouch server)

In the local PIE history / favorites

n/t

- (unlike in the desktop version) on the login screen; + inside the program itself (see the "Recent" menu)

n/t

If the answer is yes to both the above question, does it remember site-specific l/p info?

- (!)

n/a

- (not on the client)

n/a

in PTvncWM5 and PT Pocket Office when connected you can save the connection details (optionally including the password encrypted) for ease of future reconnection - you can access the list of saved connections from the hostname entry screen when there are some saved for future connection. In PTvncWM5, the list is restricted to simply the most recent 10, in PT Pocket Office you can save up to around 80 connections and can also sort the list order.

- (!)

n/a

n/t

n/a

n/t

Windows accounts? That is, can you log in using any existing Windows user login / password pair (you don't need to come up with a new username and/or password but can use your familiar Windows one)?

+ (you can't define other l/p pairs)

See on the left

Depends on the VNC server; you shouldn’t use UltraVNC’s "Require MS Logon"; it’ll result in an unknown auth scheme error

See on left

n/t

+ (supports a LOT of credential database sources! Excellent!)

n/t

Multimedia: Sound redirection from the desktop to the client (and, possibly, vica versa)

+ (from desktop to client)

- (unlike with the desktop Windows client, where it’s possible – in both directions and very well configurable (you can even set the audio quality)!)

- (unlike on desktop client)

Possible to start sound apps on desktop?

Video playback?

- (can’t even start because of the sound error)

See TSC

See on left

n/t

See on left

n/t

Product

PPC Tablet 4.0f

RDP-based: TSC in PPC2k2...WM5

RDM in WM6

H/PC TSC

Mocha Remote Client 1.2

Web-based: LogMeIn

GotoMyPC

I’m InTouch

RemotelyAnywhere

VNC-based: VNC clients by Parys Technografx Ltd (most importantly Pocket Office)

Mocha VNC 1.1

.NET VNC Viewer 1.0.1.16

The rest (Allware /Mark Midgley (alternate source)

Proprietary protocols: BitWeen (alternate source)

CrossTec Remote Control 10.0

Danware’s NetOp Remote Control 9.0 (mobile); (PPC guest version 8.00)

pcAnywhere 12.0 (PPC version 2.0.0 build 121; note that the 2.0.1 update refuses to run

z2 Remote2PC 1.2 build 1205

Soft Agency Remote Desktop 2.0

Special client-side input: Right clicks

- (!!!)

+ (By tap-and-holding)

+ (a single right click is sent when "Mouse right click" is selected from the Keys menu)

+ (simply toggle the mouse icon)

+ (tap-and-hold)

+ (simply toggle the mouse icon)

+ (either a button assigned to it or a screen tap)

+ (a single right click is sent when "Mouse right click" is selected from the Keys menu)

+ (By tap-and-holding)

n/t

+ (By tap-and-holding)

+ (after toggling the state with the specific icon on the taskbar)

+ (By tap-and-holding)

+ (stylus taps easily changeable between left and right mouse clicks – just clicking an icon); also easy double left-clicks

n/t

Double left clicks

n/t

Tap-and-hold (like text moving in Word)

n/t

- (unlike in desktop version)

n/t

Special keys

- (!!!)

All function keys; Alt+F4; Alt-Tab; Windows; Insert; Escape; Ctrl-Alt-Del

Alt-Tab; Ctrl-Alt-Del

Ctrl-Alt-Del only

Alt-Tab; Ctrl-Alt-Del

Just everything accessible on the standard desktop keyboard as can be seen in this this and this (note that with all VNC clients you will need to run the server in service mode in order to be able to send Ctrl-Alt-Del as is also explained here)

All function keys; Alt+F4; Alt-Tab; Windows; Insert; Escape; Ctrl-Alt-Del

Shift down/up; Ctrl-; Alt-; Ctrl+Alt-; Ctrl+Alt-Del; Ctrl-Esc

n/t

Ctrl-Alt-Del only (Command / Client / Send Ctrl-Alt-Del …)

All function keys (also with Control); Esc, Ctrl-Esc, Alt-Tab, all page / cursor movement keys (also with Control); Ctrl-Alt-Del. Alt can be used with any other key (with this icon)

Ctrl-Alt-Del only

Ctrl, Alt, Esc; no Ctrl-Alt-Del!

n/t

National characters entered on SIP

- (works in desktop version)

Works with all the PT PO-compatible VNC servers (Ultra, PTe, Tight but, as of the pre-release version of PT PO, not Real). The accented letters can be accessed in the following way: 1. Select Q+ or Stylus Keys as the default input method from the main menu; 2. click the arrow in the bottom left corner of the SIP (the cursor is hovering over it in this screenshot) until you get to the keyboard layout containing the function keys; 3. now, click the arrow in the bottom right corner (the cursor hovers over it in the above screenshot) to switch between the different layouts; see for example this.

Yes with UltraVNC server, - with all the other servers

n/t

- (not even on desktop)

n/t

Is it possible to "hover" the cursor from the client without USB / external mouse / hx4700 touchpad? (The latter works with everything)

n/t

+ (if you assign a hardware key for left/right clicks)

Server-side tooltips displayed?

+ (only usable when you do have a client-side pointing device as the remote desktop can’t be controlled by others)

n/t

PTeSVNC: - ; UltraVNC: +

n/t

Worked on my notebook out-of-the-box but it didn’t on my desktop. On the latter, Capture Layered Windows is supposed to do the trick but it didn’t work (and 1. makes the cursor blink very annoyingly on the terminal, which is very annoying for a desktop user, if any 2. greatly increases the latency / used bandwidth because, then, it transfers everything).

n/t

Hardware button shortcuts

n/t

- (predefined OS-level functions accessible)

Left/ right clicks (if not done with the stylus), options, exit. In specific functions (for example, magnify), D-pad.

n/t

Very good: the first button brings up a quick access menu; the second switches between full screen and non-full screen (with the toolbars) mode and the two other buttons zoom in/out

n/t

Cursor tracking?

- (it, however, tracks the mouse cursor on the desktop; this can’t be disabled)

n/t

By default, the zoom follows the mouse cursor but not the text caret. Same stands for the ezScroll mode.

The Track Cursor icon is not real text caret auto-tracking – you must click the icon every time you lose track of the cursor so that it is shown again

n/t

Resolution, zoom, color: Remote desktop resolution?

Original

640*480 only

800*600 only

original

Original

original

Original

original

Original

Forcing the remote desktop size to the available view – on the server? ("Limit size of server desktop to fit on this screen?") (1:1 pixels and no client-size rescaling)

+ (can only be used on VGA devices)

As with TSC: +

In the server preferences, Host / Desktop options while connected / Automatically adjust host screen area for best full-screen viewing

Rescaling on the client side so that the desktop image is visible (and editable) on the client w/o scrolling?

+ (from 800*600 to the available screen estate)

View / Scale to fit

+ (make sure you allow for it by setting client-side rescaling to "Auto")

n/t

Client-side zooming?

- (only 1:1)

3 steps with always-accessible quick icons: 1/1 pixels; rescale to show full screen and one between. The zoom factor of the latter can be freely (and dynamically) set by File/Zoom factor.

20/50/75/100/ 125/150/200 %

100/75/50/25%

20/50/75/100/ 125/150/200 %

Multi-stage, excellent zoom in/out with the D-pad in Magnify mode (Options / Magnify)

3 steps with always-accessible quick icons: 1/1 pixels; rescale to show full screen and one between. The zoom factor of the latter can be freely (and dynamically) set by File/Zoom factor.

n/t

Two steps (1:1 mode or scaled mode)

Original 1:1 and fully scaled

Two steps (1:1 mode or scaled mode)

n/t

Remote desktop resolution settable?

+ (dynamically; even Portrait resolutions! LS: 320*200, 640*480, 800*600, 1024*768, 1280*1024, 1600*1200)

- (unlike with LogMeIn – you can only use the originally set desktop resolution) (View menu; Tools menu )

+ (dynamically; even Portrait resolutions! See LogMeIn)

n/t

Scrolling on page

Dragging the viewport with the stylus

Scrollbar and five quick icons; these are only hidden when "Limit size of server desktop to fit on this screen?" is active

When operated in full screen mode, no scrolling necessary

n/t

Dragging the screen with the stylus; switchable with the always-visible scrolling icon. No scrollbars or quick positioning.

No scrollbar; scrollable with tapping and holding one of the areas next to the edges

See on the left

Scrollbars only

Same control as with LogMeIn and GoToMyPC (tapping on edges)

No scrollbars; tapping the four edges of the screen (pretty slow), as with LogMeIn, GoToMyPC and RemotelyAnywhere; also offers minimap (may be en/disabled: Options / Toggle Smallview)

Dragging the screen with the stylus; switchable with the always-visible scrolling icon. No scrollbars or quick positioning.

Scrollbars only

n/t

with the scrollbars only

Scrollbars only

Either with the scrollbars or with the drag icon (always available on the task bar)

Scrollbars only

n/t

Color depth

8/16b

4/8b

4/8/16/24, settable in the client

8 vs 16/24 bit, settable only on the server, not in the client

4/8/16/24, settable in the client

8/16, settable in client

8/16 bit

In practice, only 8 (incompatible with 16-bit modes)

1/4/8/16

2/8/16

1/2/4/6/8/10/13/16 bits

Product

PPC Tablet 4.0f

RDP-based: TSC in PPC2k2...WM5

RDM in WM6

H/PC TSC

Mocha Remote Client 1.2

Web-based: LogMeIn

GotoMyPC

I’m InTouch

RemotelyAnywhere

VNC-based: VNC clients by Parys Technografx Ltd (most importantly Pocket Office)

Mocha VNC 1.1

.NET VNC Viewer 1.0.1.16

The rest (Allware /Mark Midgley (alternate source)

Proprietary protocols: BitWeen (alternate source)

CrossTec Remote Control 10.0

Danware’s NetOp Remote Control 9.0 (mobile); (PPC guest version 8.00)

pcAnywhere 12.0 (PPC version 2.0.0 build 121; note that the 2.0.1 update refuses to run

z2 Remote2PC 1.2 build 1205

Soft Agency Remote Desktop 2.0

Verdict: Pros

very little server-side memory usage

file download

media remote control

tablet functionality remote control / input

Built-in

free

with third-party tools, fullscreen mode

bandwidth-friendly (not counting in the initial fetching of all windows contents)

cached windows

no separate server install needed on 2000 / XP Pro / Vista boxes

uses Windows usernames/passwords

able to log into non-active desktops/users

In addition to pre-WM6 TSC,

it supports full screen

high- color (not just 8-bit)

(selectable) remote desktop-to-client sound transfer

excellent two-way clipboard synchronization

local username / password input

No pros

In addition to the protocol-based advantages (except for being bandwidth-friendly),

built-in landscape support (for PPC2k2 / WM2003)

screen scaling

800*600 resolution on the remote desktop, as opposed to the more restrictive 640*480 used by the other clients

tap-and-hold support

special key support

free version has very good price / performance ratio

quick HTTPS gateway

excellent GUI

very low screen refresh times even in UXGA

excellent GUI

best badwidth usage of all

one of the few apps to support i18n

the fastest HTTPS gateway

excellent "favorite" mode (you really only need to enter one password and nothing else upon accessing your desktop)

Has really excellent PIM / mail access / SEARCH functions

File transfer (with searching)

pretty good bandwidth usage (unless use you smooth scrolling and the like)

very good pricing if you do plan to use the PIM access capabilities

best remote system monitoring (but, unlike with I'm InTouch, NO PIM access!!) tools, even from a PDA

support for Tight / JPG

support for server-side scaling

file transfer

seamless full screen

built-in landscape support for pre-WM2003SE devices

the best i18n support of all VNC clients

built-in landscape support for pre-WM2003SE devices

supports high color modes

FREE!

Nothing

doesn’t lock out the desktop user, unlike RDP-based solutions

makes use of the original resolution of the desktop

download progress bar

only fetches the currently visible viewport contents, unlike with all other solutions

clipboard synchronization

chat

able to log into non-active desktops/users

excellent, really capable desktop Windows PC client

ability to send over function / cursor movement keys

several NetOp users can be logged in in the same NetOp server, unlike with most other solutions

Remembers as many server settings as possible

clipboard synchronization

you can install it as a gateway; then, you won’t depend on an external gateway, unlike with LogMeIn / GoToMyPC

file transfer (albeit the source/target restrictions are pretty annoying)

rich clipboard transfer

the ability to zoom into any rectangular, hand-drawn area

unlike with RDP-based solutions, doesn't log out the desktop user

sticks with the original resolution of the desktop

Cons

It still has its share of initial (?) problems (no VGA support, no right-clicks, no clipboard, 8bit-only, problems with file downloads to storage cards, very high bandwidth usage with a very bad approach to polling the screen, no way to fine-tune etc.) Hope the developer significantly improves upon these issues.

no high/true color modes

only remembers server IP’s and the last username but not the l/p info for the servers separately

not possible to start sound apps

the current terminal user can’t use the terminal at the same time

real full screen mode needs hacking

no clipboard syncing

no file transfer

server-side 640*480 can’t be overridden and can be too restrictive for some apps

no tap-and-hold

no special keys

only remembers server IP’s and the last username but not the l/p info for the servers separately

the current terminal user can’t use the terminal at the same time

no file transfer

server-side 640*480 can’t be overridden and can be too restrictive for some apps

no tap-and-hold

no special keys

Best to forget it entirely, except for PPC2k devices

In addition to the cons listed with TSC (except for the full screen mode, the special keys and tap-and-holding),

RDP4 only, with all its problems and increased bandwidth needs

built-in landscape support is slow and CPU-intensive

no i18n support

higher bandwidth usage than with GoToMyPC

idle bandwidth usage

user is always forced to download the 50k launcher

no in-program resolution change

REALLY expensive

no file transfer capabilities

on Pocket PC clients (unlike with LogMeIn / GoToMyPC), it's VERY slow at rendering remote desktops using resolutions over 800*600 (SVGA) and, particularly, 1024*768 (XGA) (for example, in UXGA (1600*1200), rendering a new full screen is around 7-9 seconds, as opposed to the <2 second of GoToMyPC) and this can't be helped by using direct connections; you may want to prefer "low-resolution" (up to XGA) desktops to combat this

not all large(r) files can be retrieved if you can't use direct connections. If HTTPS-based transfer does work, transfer may be slower than with some other solutions

compared to the non-direct (HTTPS) access, 40% higher bandwidth usage over direct connections (which are preferable when you want to transfer files)

not the most reliable central lookup HTTP server - it sometimes introduces delays or just returns internal server errors or other error messages (see for example the Could not reach the target system error message) when you log in

no HTTPS gateway

still no clipboard synching

as of now, no automatic "decide the best encoding available" and "check for server-side scaling" - these both must be done manually, unlike in Mocha (the former) / .NET VNC Viewer (the latter)

no support for Tight / JPG, only for Zlib / ZRLE

no file transfer

not that good full screen – command bar is always visible

built-in landscape support is slow and CPU-intensive

VERY slow (.NET CF...)!

no support for bandwidth-friendly Tight / JPG encodings, not even, it seems, Zlib / ZRLE!

Almost everything

Way too overpriced – for the price, you can subscribe to the way better for example LogMeIn Pro for an entire year!

Often times out for no apparent reason

Not very bandwidth-friendly: about 20 kbyte a Web page (30k up/500k down for the first about 25 pages) at 800*600*4bit; after that, it just exit with a timeout error), which is considerably higher than with most other technologies

no full screen mode: both the traditional taskbar and the command bar is used

not any kind of caching

only 4 and 8-bit color depth modes

no sound and no <1s modes

no clipboard

no way to zoom out to operate on the entire desktop; Image / Show Desktop only shows a static desktop screenshot and can not be operated on (which would otherwise be possible on a VGA Pocket PC). Much as Image / Options / Image Zoom Percent can be used to zoom in, it’s pretty complicated to use

etc.

no full screen

no built-in landscape support (bad news for WM2003 users)

definitely slower screen redraws than in most other apps (except for .NET VNC Viewer, which is even worse)

not very good bandwidth utilization

very sensitive to smart scrolling and sends over all changed screen contents even if it’s no longer visible on the remote desktop

the much faster GDI mode can only be used in high-color mode

Very bad bandwidth usage (particularly with scrolling)

in cases, very slow rendering

No full screen

No advanced scrolling capabilities (unlike with LogMeIn and the other Web-based apps using the same GUI - that is, all of them except for I'm InTouch)

no file transfer in PPC version

no WM5 support as of now

slow to render changed screen contents (as opposed to, say, PT or the three Web-based solutions)

no full screen

not very good bandwidth usage

no built-in landscape support (bad news for WM2003 users)

it’s more geared towards enterprise users (and is accordingly priced); a lot of its architectural functionalities can’t really be utilized by individual home users

Not very bandwidth-friendly

file transfer source/target selection restrictions

scrolling capabilities aren't so sophisticated as with three of the four Web-based apps

The settings are very similar to that of Bitween Remote Control; this also means you can’t set much. In the server, there are not any settings, except for adding new users.

There are no scrollbars; the screen must be scrolled using Main / Move Screen or with the scroll arrow toolset. For example GoToMyPC’s, RemotelyAnywhere's, LogMeIn’s and PT PO's solution (tap-and-holding a screen area next to the border results in scrolling) is FAR superior.

No full-screen; the taskbar takes up a lot of screen estate. You can’t hide the command bar either.

You can’t have the three toolboxes (see the above screenshots for examples) on the screen at the same time (all the three has very useful functionality); this is a definite problem. In this respect, GoToMyPC’s, RemotelyAnywhere's and LogMeIn’s toolbars are far better – they can be relocated and they offer all the necessary functionality either at the top level or not too buried under it.

etc.

All in all,

If the severely lacking capabilities and the very bad bandwidth usage aren’t a problem and you already have this title on your desktop and Pocket PC, you may want to stick to it to remote control your desktop.

Pretty good. Use it in native VGA mode if you have a VGA device so that the two scrollbars take up as little screen estate as possible, OR, use vijay555’s excellent Full Screen hack

At last a decent TS client for the Windows Mobile platform. Highly recommended if you can live with the restrictions of the protocol

Forget it

I wouldn't really recommended this title because of the really outdated RDP4. If you really need to stick to RDP and really need the advantages (compared to TSC) of this client (for example, excellent scaling and scrolling capabilities and the (unfortunately, pretty slow) Landscape support on PPC2k2 / WM2003) and can guarantee you manually disable any kind of animations on the remote desktop, you may want to give it a try.

Excellent for a free (!) service. Highly recommended if you look for the cheapest possible solution.

Clearly the best, bandwidth usage-wise (not counting in the idle bandwidth usage and the 50 kbyte EXE download - the latter is slightly larger than with most other Web-based apps, which "only" download 38 (RA) -40k (I'm InTouch) startup executables, if at all: LogMeIn doesn't download anything). Too bad it’s also by far the most expensive and lacks for example clipboard syncing and file transfer.

If you need the easiest access to anything in your Outlook database, this should be the first remote controller application to test. For generic usage, it’s pretty recommended too.

Excellent remote monitoring, even from a PDA. Otherwise, if you don’t need these capabilities, I don’t recommend it because of the price and the lack of built-in central-server based lookup & HTTPS support.

Highly recommended if you prefer using VNC – the best VNC client. Also, its built-in, two-way (!!) file transfer is excellent.

It’s definitely better than the free, old VNC clients. It’s, however, isn’t so good as PT Pocket Office (no file transfer, no Tight / JPG support and it consumes at least 40% more bandwidth).

Not that bad if the inferior display rendering speed and the considerably higher bandwidth consumption aren’t a problem. Otherwise, go for something better.

Not recommended at all. They’re really bad and are only 3.3-compliant.

Not recommended at all. Highly outdated.

If you only need Pocket PC access to your computer (and won’t ever use the advanced capabilities of the desktop PC client), do not get it – there’re vastly superior products with far faster screen redraws and far lower bandwidth consumption. As far as the desktop PC client is concerned, the Pocket PC client is definitely inferior, capability- and speed-wise, to the desktop Windows one. However, if you frequently use the latter and need its capabilities, sticking to the Pocket PC client may be useful if the listed cons (for example, bandwidth usage problems) aren’t an issue with your particular setup / preferences

If your company already uses NetOp on your computing architecture, you may prefer going on using it from your Pocket PC if bandwidth usage (and the other problems like lack of file transfer or clipboard support) aren’t a problem. Otherwise, go for something else – there are technically much superior remote control clients on the market with far more sophisticated GUI and underlying protocol.

If you aren’t already a pcAnywhere customer or your company hasn’t gone for pcAnywhere, forget this title. (Better) alternate products are, in general, snappier, offer full screen modes and considerably less bandwidth usage. If you, however, already have a pcAnywhere license and the higher bandwidth usage & the other cons aren’t a problem, you may want to give a try to the mobile client.

Get it if the comparatively high bandwidth usage isn’t a problem and/or you immediately need clipboard syncing and two-way (!) file transfer capabilities (also taking into account the akwardness of the latter).

Not recommended at all. Highly outdated.

Product

PPC Tablet 4.0f

RDP-based: TSC in PPC2k2...WM5

RDM in WM6

H/PC TSC

Mocha Remote Client 1.2

Web-based: LogMeIn

GotoMyPC

I’m InTouch

RemotelyAnywhere

VNC-based: VNC clients by Parys Technografx Ltd (most importantly Pocket Office)

Mocha VNC 1.1

.NET VNC Viewer 1.0.1.16

The rest (Allware /Mark Midgley (alternate source)

Proprietary protocols: BitWeen (alternate source)

CrossTec Remote Control 10.0

Danware’s NetOp Remote Control 9.0 (mobile); (PPC guest version 8.00)

pcAnywhere 12.0 (PPC version 2.0.0 build 121; note that the 2.0.1 update refuses to run

z2 Remote2PC 1.2 build 1205

Soft Agency Remote Desktop 2.0