Review: Remote Access Options For iPhone Users

A new review takes a look at two of the most popular applications designed to give iPhone users remote access to their desktop PCs.WirelessWeek contributor Andrew Berg focuses on two prominent remote access products for iPhone users: Shape Services' RDM+ and LogMeIn Ignition. Berg's bottom-line assessment is that both products are useful, but which one you pick depends largely upon how you expect to use them: There's a big difference in the two services, and that difference highlights one very important aspect of remote desktop technologies. RDM+ is simply an app that allows you to access your computer(s) via your mobile phone. LogMeIn, on the other hand, is a full-service cloud-based application that allows you to connect all of your devices (home, work, netbook, smartphone) while also offering complete backup and syncing services on the cloud.

As I fiddled with both RDM+ and LogMeIn Ignition, it became apparent that they were operating on two completely different concepts. RDM+ is a quick fix for snagging that occasional document off your desktop while on the go. LogMeIn is more expansive in its thinking. LogMeIn is a way of centralizing your data and creating a Web of connected devices not unlike some of the forward-looking visions presented in keynotes at this year's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

On one hand, he concludes that both applications "worked flawlessly and might definitely prove useful at particular times." On the other hand, Berg admits that he didn't think either one qualified as a must-have tool, based on his own remote access needs.

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Berg also notes that pricing can play a big role in picking the right iPhone remote access app. While RDM+ charges a one-time fee, for example, LogMeIn Ignition charges a monthly subscription fee (with steep discounts available for annual subscribers) and may charge additional fees for some optional add-on services.

Obviously, those monthly subscription fees can really add up over time. Fortunately, LogMeIn allows users to try the service before they buy -- an option that does not appear to be available for RDM+ users who want to kick the tires before they pay for the software.