This article will show you how to access your home computer or laptop from anywhere in the world using one of the best remote login apps on your iPhone, iPad (Mini), or iPod Touch.
Splashtop 2 iPhone App being used to access my Mac Mini
With every evolution of iOS devices, there is less and less need for a “normal” computer. There are few things you can’t do with an iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch. However, with all of the developments in the smartphone and tablet industries, there are still a few things that a laptop or desktop computer are good for. So, the perfect bridge between a highly portable iOS device and a computer is the ability to login remotely and use your iOS device as a monitor and the touch screen as a mouse. This is quite easy to do with an app on your iDevice and additional software on your Mac, PC, or Linux machine. Here is how to remotely access your computer using the Splashtop 2 app and an iPhone, iPad (Mini), and iPod Touch:
1. Download the app on your iPhone, iPad (Mini) or iPod Touch. Here are the direct links to the app store for the iPad (Mini) and iPhone/iPod Touch Apps:
2. Download the Splashtop 2 Streamer software for your Mac, PC, or Linux computer here:
3. Configure the App and the Splashtop 2 Streamer software to allow your iOS device to remotely log in to your computer. Be sure to set a secure password (generate a secure password using an app like 1Password – see review here: 1Password Review)
4. Make sure your computer is left running and that the Splashtop 2 Streamer software is active. Then, whenever you are away from your computer, you can just launch the Splashtop 2 App on your iPhone, iPad (Mini), or iPod Touch to remotely log in to your computer. If you want to access to your computer from anywhere, you will need to subscribe to the Access Anywhere in app purchase for a nominal monthly or annual fee.
Once you have configured the apps there are 2 modes for controlling your computer – touch screen or trackpad mode. In touch screen mode, your computer becomes a touch screen computer. Mac, PC, and Linux software is not necessarily optimized for touch so it can be difficult to control your computer with accuracy. Trackpad mode is my preferred mode for controlling my home computer. This mode turns your iOS device screen into a trackpad. As you slide your finger on the touch screen, the mouse moves accordingly on the remote machine. This allows for much greater accuracy. All of the other multi-gesture features work like 2 finger scroll. The app even allows for audio and video pass through to your device. This means that you can be remotely playing music or a video and the sound will be patched through to your iOS device. Pretty cool!
With Splashtop 2, whenever I travel, I only need take my iPad and iPhone. Then, if I ever encounter something that one of these devices can’t do, I simply log in to my home computer remotely using Splashtop 2 and complete the task. Get started by downloading the app:
Here is the official Splashtop 2 video:
