Being out of the office these days isn't an excuse for not doing all your work. More enterprises are deploying mobilized versions of their applications to run on smartphones and PDAs.

There are several ways to do this. You can work with application middleware providers such as Antenna Software and Sybase. You can roll your own code from the ground up using languages like Java or .Net. You also can try to Web-enable your applications and use mobile browsers to access back-end corporate data.

Perhaps a more appealing option is to simply provide access to Windows applications with Citrix's Presentation Server. Rove (formerly Idokorro Mobile) lets you do that with its Mobile Citrix Client. While Citrix Systems offers a client for Windows Mobile, Rove extends Citrix-enabled apps to the BlackBerry, that ubiquitous executive accessory and the dominant handheld platform.

The mobile client renders applications quickly and stays true to the look of a desktop Citrix client, but there are a couple of problems. Latency on older 2.5G EDGE networks can introduce irritating delays.

How It Works

We tested Rove's Mobile Citrix Client on a BlackBerry 8800 with service from AT&T. Rove hosted a Citrix server to use during testing. Mobile Citrix Client supports color BlackBerry devices running BlackBerry OS 4.0 or greater. Older devices such as the 8700 and 7100 series are supported, but newer ones like the 8800, Curve, and Pearl are preferred. That's because while users can navigate through a Citrix environment using a combination of the keyboard and Research In Motion's click-wheel interface, the trackball on newer BlackBerrys greatly improves the experience.

When the client is loaded, users are presented with the applications available on the Citrix server. Once an application is selected, the client automatically authenticates the user to the Citrix server and loads the application. From that point, the user experience resembles a desktop Citrix client. We were impressed with how quickly the client rendered applications, even on a 2.5G connection like EDGE.

However, latency does become a problem on EDGE networks. High latency slows the responsiveness of the client. For instance, as we typed a sentence in Microsoft Word, we noticed a delay between typing and words appearing on the screen. Likewise, there was a slight delay when we tried to interact with menus in applications. It wasn't unmanageable, but it may prove frustrating for users who want to operate at a PC's pace. We expect mobile applications will be much smoother over faster technologies such as EV-DO and HSDPA.

Our presentation environment was set to 640 by 480 pixels, and the client supports higher settings. Our BlackBerry 8800's native resolution was 320 by 240, which required some scrolling to move around an application window. This is where the scroll wheel on newer BlackBerrys is more useful. A small blue window box with a smaller yellow box pops up when a user moves around the window, indicating where the Mobile Citrix client is focused relative to the overall presentation environment. Users also can zoom in and out to see more of the presentation window. We found both navigational options adequate, although higher screen resolutions may dampen the experience.

As is the case with traditional mobile applications, the desktop experience doesn't entirely translate to mobile devices. While Rove makes it easy to navigate a higher-resolution environment, businesses that anticipate extensive use of Citrix clients on their mobile devices may want to ensure that their applications work at lower resolutions, including VGA.

Many administrators are concerned about security, and Rove has that covered. Data can be secured through RIM's Mobile Data Services connection; through Citrix Application Server connections with HTTPS, SSL, or RC5; or via Citrix Presentation Server Authentication.