Have you been watching the tablet frenzy, but sitting idly by waiting for a tablet that can run Windows? Well, you could be one of the few people in the world with an HP Slate 500, or you can wait for other Windows tablets to hit the market. Better yet, buy yourself an original iPad on clearance for $400 and use the new VMware View app for iPad to run Windows virtually.
To be fair, VMware is actually coming late to the party. There are already remote desktop and virtual Windows apps available for the iPad--like Wyse PocketCloud Pro, LogMeIn Ignition, or the recently launched GoToMyPC for iPad. However, VMware is a leading virtual computing platform that many organizations are already invested in, so having an iPad app that lets mobile users access the VMware virtual PCs on the go from a tablet is a huge benefit.
The VMware View for iPad app uses the PCoIP protocol for quick display and responsive interaction with the remote virtual systems. The VMware app takes advantage of the multi-touch gesture iOS interface to enable users to work with VMware virtual systems, but also includes an option to call up a more precise mouse trackpad or virtual keyboard for inputting information into the remote systems.
Rendering a remote desktop in real-time over a Wi-Fi or 3G connection is demanding. The PCoIP protocol is optimized to deliver acceptable streaming quality even over slow connections, or connections with a lot of lag. The need for acceptable performance is why VMware for iPad does not work over RDP, and why it requires VMware 4.6.
One of the most important aspect of accessing virtual Windows systems remotely is security--especially when accessing the remote systems wirelessly via Wi-Fi or 3G. VMware ensures that the connection between your iPad and the VMware virtual environment is secure.
The VMware View for iPad app is free and is available now in the Apple App Store. However, you need to have VMware virtual computers to connect to so there is some investment required in the backend VMware infrastructure. The iPad app is compatible with VMware 4.6 or later.
