Filed under: Software, iPhone, App Store
First Look: Teleport, new VNC client for the iPhone
Jugaari's iPhone debut, Teleport (iTunes link), is a new VNC client for mobile remote control of a Mac or PC (not the super-awesome pseudo-KVM app). It's a $24.99 investment, and I don't know many people who are going to dish out twenty five clams for an iPhone utility, but I know plenty who are curious about it and frustrated about the App Store's lack of any "try before you buy" mechanism. Here's a "look before you buy," either to help you make a decision or just to satisfy a curiosity.
Teleport is naturally subject to all the things that are intrinsically annoying about any VNC connection, which are then compounded by a (relatively) small screen and less-than-ideal network speeds; it's not the ideal way to access a remote machine. The options allow you to set the speed of the refresh rate, but "fast" is slow, even on a local wireless network. Those annoyances are obstacles to be overcome, though, and I think that Teleport makes a valiant effort to provide a usable interface in light of these hurdles.
Check out the gallery for a mini-tour, and see the rest of this post for more impressions of Teleport.
Gallery: First Look: Teleport
Teleport automatically detects VNC servers on the local network, and catalogs "saved" servers for easy access on the main screen. The settings panel for each server allows for a few options, including a "Rotation Lock" (prevents response to the accelerometer) which I find quite useful, and I wish every app offered the option. I find the screen manipulation to be very intuitive and I picked up on its intricacies in a few minutes of playtime. My favorite feature: I wanted to scroll a page and, being primarily a MacBook Pro user, I dragged 2 fingers down the screen. It worked. I also like the fact that if I tap anywhere on the screen it clicks where I left the mouse cursor rather than jumping to the point where I touched the display. This makes hitting buttons much easier for me.
In addition to the standard iPhone keyboard, sticky modifier keys and a full array of function keys, Teleport also includes a basic remote control screen which is geared towards PowerPoint/Keynote presentations. It offers the basic arrow keys, page up, page down, etc., which is enough to provide remote control for a bevy of other desktop applications as well. I'm not sure I'd rely on it for my next big presentation, though, as Teleport is as likely as any of the larger apps (or any iPhone app) to disappear into oblivion right when you give up anticipating the crash and get comfortable.
What about Mocha VNC, the lite version of which is free and the full version only $5.99? $5.99 sure looks cheap in the face of a $25 app ... unfortunately, I've found Mocha to be unusable remotely. It makes a fun input device and is quite responsive, but the refresh rate is next to non-existent. Teleport, whether it's actually worth the comparatively exorbitant price or not, works.
Thanks Joe!
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Joey said 4:20AM on 8-01-2008
This isn't bad. But a software like this should be free and should be coming from Apple.
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Hobbes said 1:36PM on 8-01-2008
Amazing how cheap people are. I tried Mocha VNC and although it works well (I have both the Lite and paid version) there is a lot that can be improved. I just bought Teleport and I'm impressed. It's worth every single penny (and it's not expensive at all).
My major issues with Mocha were the limited screen resolution support (one of my Macs is running at 1920x1200, which is beyond Mocha's supported resolution) and controlling the mouse on the remote computer. Teleport addresses both issues and it does it very well.
I'm very pleased with the application and I think it benefits a lot from their experience with the first gen iPhone/iPod Touch.
And if you still think people should work for free I'm more than happy to accept your salary since you don't really need to get paid, right?
jared cohen said 3:06PM on 8-01-2008
he didn't say people should work for free. idiot.
the employees of the Mozilla project all get paychecks. but Firefox is free.
jared cohen said 4:42AM on 8-01-2008
i wouldn't even pay $25 for a VNC utility for my Mac.
ridiculous.
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mentalsticks said 5:46AM on 8-01-2008
why do you say "even"? VNC from a computer is far, far easier to accomplish than from an iPhone, I'd think.
jared cohen said 3:06PM on 8-01-2008
i mean that i'm willing to pay more for software that runs on a computer, not a phone. i think that's how almost everyone feels?
Aaargh! said 4:47AM on 8-01-2008
Also, what we really need for remote control is an SSH client.
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Dan S. said 10:39AM on 8-01-2008
It won't happen on a jailed iPhone -- it defeats the purpose of the chroot jail.
Brian said 11:09PM on 8-01-2008
Agreed, and I'm not so sure about its impossibility on a jailed iPhone. As long as it does not allow local shell access, I don't see why Apple would have any problem with it.
Shawin said 4:57AM on 8-01-2008
That's J Sherwani's old Touchpad Pro revamped and rebranded for the appstore!
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Quine said 5:03AM on 8-01-2008
This looks alright, but as said up above what I'd REALLY like is an ssh client. It should be sooo simple, and then you can use vim/emacs on the remote machine and actually sorta do work. Also TextMate Touch would be amazing.
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Stram said 5:54AM on 8-01-2008
I loved the free TouchpadPro but never got round to buying the screenview version which was $14.99 I believe as 2.0 was due out and I knew I was gonna ditch the jailbreak. Why is the same software now ten dollars more. I would have took a chance at $10 - $15 but not $25.
Jonathan Wise said 7:52AM on 8-01-2008
Jailbreak.
I'm running SSH on my 2.0 iPhone, and find it very handy...
Shawin said 5:04AM on 8-01-2008
That's J Sherwani's Touchpad Pro app revamped and rebranded for the SDK!
The price is a little exaggerated though. For $9.99, he would get many more purchases...
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Jash Sayani said 6:07AM on 8-01-2008
Thats awesome news !!!
I was waiting for TouchpadPro.
Finally the ultimate VNC client is soon going to be out!
Shawin said 5:06AM on 8-01-2008
sorry for the double post (through mobile safari)
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Hawkman said 7:25AM on 8-01-2008
$25? Jeez. And I thought he was being cheeky with Touchpad Pro's price! Maybe we'll get the original, VNSea?
I'm still hoping that we'll get a non-Chicken Of The VNC-based client; Chicken is ok, but Leopard's screen sharing doesn't like it much, and it's not the fastest out there.
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Ben said 8:12AM on 8-01-2008
How does the remote control work compared to ye olde Touchpad Pro? I remember I set a shortcut on my MacBook that set Front Row off when I tapped one of the buttons on the remote and it worked fine... Is that the case with Teleport? I'm reluctant to pay the UK price of £15 (So nearer $30!) for a copy,
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Patrick said 8:33AM on 8-01-2008
$10 says he knocks the price in a couple weeks. $25 is a bit much for a mobile app.
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dansays said 8:55AM on 8-01-2008
It's worth twice the price if I can send a damned control-alt-delete (to log in to a remote windows server), and it's worthless (to me) if it can't. Sadly, I can find no indication whether it offers this feature or not.
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