While mobile devices are becoming more and more like a computer, they’re still currently missing quite a few features which restrict us from completely replacing ours with a tablet: full quality word processors, Java integration in the browser, among various other things. Although we are getting closer thanks to quality applications, we’re still not seeing the full desktop replacement that a tablet in theory could provide. However, if you’ve spent lots of money in the past on a computer and want to be able to use it wherever you go, here’s your chance. Splashtop has made quality applications in the past for nearly every device, with a specific version optimized for each, and now has joined them all together in Splashtop 2 – a fast and much more user friendly remote desktop client.
Remote control made easy
While we’re not always right next to our computer, we can always have access to it thanks to applications like LogMeIn, Splashtop, TeamViewer, and more. While these all provide remote access capabilities, some provide a better experience for users more so than others. Splashtop goes the extra mile to let you choose a resolution to resize to upon connecting which improves speed and usability thanks to the larger UI. If you’re set on having the computer’s native resolution though, you’re still able to use it in this version (unlike the THD version).
Speed
One of the largest downfalls of remote accessing a computer is the lack of speed – usually you’re stuck with a laggy interface, slow response time, and just an adequate experience. With the new ‘Anywhere Access Pack’ available for a low $.99 per month, or $$9.99 a year, you can access all computers from Wi-Fi or 3G/4G thanks to the self-optimizing connection and increased overall speed over the original. Although the pack costs a monthly fee, the main application is free and you’re allowed to use the pack on any computer, any device, and you will recieve all updates for the main application for free; in the long run you’d be saving money over purchasing a new application when they are built.
When using the device on the same wifi network as the computer, you get a full 30 FPS when streaming movies, games, or other media compared to the lag that others show; this makes gaming or watching HD movies simple and responsive instead of receiving lagged video stream. While this isn’t as important for video watching, the Pack makes gaming through your tablet a much better experience (when using mouse driven games – if using ones with many keyboard commands and hardware controls you’ll be SOL anyway).
Interface
The new Splashtop 2 interface adds some of the positives from the past while also removing some of the best features of the THD version. The UI includes a small carrot icon which opens the quick menu within the application. Inside the quick menu you can access: the quick help, monitor switching, on screen scrollbar, mouse – pointer mode, streaming quality change, and open your Android Keyboard. While the interface makes it easy to access the many features included in previous versions, they removed on of the best features in Splashtop THD – the gamepad overlay. Without the overlay, playing hardcore games can be rather difficult if not impossible. If you’re going to be playing a simple point and click game, or dungeon Crawler like Diablo or Torchlight, you can get away with it without much trouble. Hopefully we’ll see some more optimization for this included in the future.
One of my favorite features of the HD version that was removed in the THD version was being able to use the native resolution of the computer, and being able to zoom to use smaller sized icons and menus on your computer. With the native settings brought back, Splashtop also included the ability to zoom in and out making using any feature of your computer easy and convenient. While I prefer using the resolution of the tablet while controlling the PC for the best experience, having the native resolution so you can control a movie or music without resizing the window is a nice touch.
(As as hint and seen above – if you’re using Google Chrome on your PC while remoting, then you can enable the “Touch Interface” which makes all the icons and menus larger for incredibly easy access. To do this type in “about:flags” into the browser, scroll down to the bottom where it says “Touch Optimized UI” , click the dropdown and click enable. To remove this, simply follow the directions again and click disable. Both times you’ll need to restart the browser for the changes to take effect.)
Overall
While every application has its downsides, this on does a great job of keeping them to a bare minimum for my standards. The application is re-created to be much faster on all devices and they did a great job of accomplishing just that. Many of the old features that I desired on my tablet and phone were brought back and done better. Like we said before, the application is available for free on Google Play with a monthly fee of $.99 or $9.99 a year for the Anywhere Access pack which allows for increased security and faster network optimization. If you’re interested in using it on your tablet (you’ll have to buy it on a tablet and back it up to your phone to use it on there) then you can head on over to the Google Play Store below to grab the app.
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