Hands-on: Parallels Access 2.0
Parallels Access has been updated to support remote desktop access to devices of various sizes, from iPhones and Android smartphones to the full-sized iPad and Android tablets. A host of new features has been introduced as well. How does the desktop experience translate to the smaller screen? We show you.
Parallels Access gives you remote access to your computer from your smart device, mirroring your desktop experience. Above, we are using Internet Explorer on the iPhone.
Palm-sized Desktop
Parallels Access was launched as an iPad-only app for remote access to Mac computers, which is not surprising, given its strong branding as a Mac app with its Parallels Desktop virtualization software. Now, about a year later, Parallels Access updates to version 2.0 and supports full access to both PCs and Macs, from a variety of mobile devices including iPhones and Android tablets/smartphones. Although the apps are free, it is a subscription-based service that costs S$25.98 a year after a 14-day trial.
We are especially concerned with the experience of using a desktop app on a small screen -- shrinking the desktop from a 15-inch notebook to a 4-inch smartphone screen. Will it be a pleasant experience or frustrating nightmare? That's what we intend to find out by documenting our usage experience as we use Parallels Access 2.0 on our Toshiba Portege Z30 notebook, an Apple iPhone 5 and a HTC One (M8).
Setup
Getting started is a simple process. First, you download the Parallels Access app from the App Store or Google Play, depending on the mobile device you are using. You will also need to download the Parallels Access agent from the Parallels website for your PC/Mac to allow remote connection.
Then, you’ll be asked to sign in to your Parallels account. If you don’t have one, you can register for a new account when you first fire up the mobile app or the PC/Mac agent. You can also choose to login via your Facebook account - a new feature introduced in this version. For security reasons, you will receive an email every time you login to Parallels Access on a new computer or mobile device. According to Parallels, "data is fully secured using SSL and 256-bit AES".
You will be asked to log in when you first launch the app on your computer.
Once you are logged in, you'll see this screen, and your computer is ready for remote access.
Similarly, you'll be asked to login on your mobile device. You can also login using your Facebook account.
Once you are logged in on the mobile app, you will see the name of your computer and a corresponding icon. Click the arrow to proceed.
Basic Navigation
Once you've logged in and selected your appropriate system, you will then see the App Launcher with icons for desktop apps such as Internet Explorer, Skype, Paint and File Explorer, alongside others that you may have installed on the respective system. You can also modify this list such as adding, removing and re-positioning the apps quite easily, using the menu on the top right corner (bottom right on the iPhone in portrait mode). You can also use the search function to find the app you want.
You can modify the applications list in the App Launcher and they work like desktop shortcuts, giving you quick access to your apps.
There are two ways to add apps to the App Launcher -- by searching for the application or tapping on the Edit menu.
When you tap on the icons, the app will open and you will see a toolbar on the right with some useful shortcuts, which you can hide by swiping to the right. So far we've only achieved this on an iPad. For the other devices, such as the iPhone 5 or HTC One (M8), we had to swipe up or down to reduce the icon strip to just one icon when we want it out of the way.
The toolbar (right) may be slim, but using desktop apps means you will need every pixel you can get.
We couldn't hide the toolbar completely on the iPhone 5, but could swipe down (or up) to reduce it to one icon instead (bottom right).
The first icon on the toolbar is the App Switcher, which works a little like the taskbar in Windows. When you bring it up, you can tap on different apps to switch between them. If you have multiple windows open in the same app, such as Word or Chrome, you can also tap the arrow above the app to navigate to the specific window directly. The number next to the arrow tells you how many windows you have open in that application. We find this feature really intuitive and an excellent way to quickly switch between open apps and return to the App Launcher if necessary.
If you have more than one window open in a particular app, you can click on the arrow to view the windows and jump to the exact one you need.
Working with Desktop Apps
We moved on to create a new document in Microsoft Word, and the experience on the smaller screen is as good as it can get.
To start typing,you can bring up (or hide) the keyboard by tapping the keyboard icon on the toolbar. It actually works just like a touch version of your computer keyboard, though not the one you are used to on your smartphone, so there's no autocorrect or suggested words. If you thought you could swipe your way through the document with Android keyboards such as Google keyboard or Swiftkey, you're out of luck. We found ourselves tapping Backspace quite often to rectify spelling mistakes, and this makes the "applified" experience seem incomplete. Technology has certainly made us all lazier and to expect the best experience across any device or situation. Here's hoping to a better typing experience in a newer version that utilizes the smartphone's default keyboard and word libraries.
There are also extra keys that proved to be handy, such as Ctrl (Cmd in Mac) that allows you to undo your last action with a Ctrl+Z as you would on your computer keyboard. It supports sticky keys so you can tap one after the other, instead of trying to hold down Ctrl and then tap Z.
Sticky keys allow you to use desktop shortcuts without contorting your fingers. Simply tap one after the other for shortcuts such as Ctrl+Alt+Del or Ctrl+Z.
The extra keys are handy, but even on a 5-inch smartphone screen (HTC One M8), that leaves barely any room for the actual app.
When it comes to small buttons, most smartphone users would zoom in to enlarge the buttons to tap on it more accurately. The Lock’n’Go magnifying glass somewhat makes up for it. When using Parallels Access, you can tap and hold a non-clickable area, drag the magnifying circle over to the button you want to tap, then wait for the red circle to turn a full round before releasing your finger to utilize the Lock'n'Go function. It did take a bit of time and we opt to just estimate and tap on it, hoping we hit the correct one.
That is an actual viable option, with the SmartTap feature that will "adjust a user’s tap so that taps on toolbar or ribbon icons don’t have to be precisely on-target", as Parallels describes. This worked fine most of the time, such as inserting an image file from a folder (Insert > Picture > Desktop > Image.jpg). Double tap works as double click, naturally.
We inserted a photo and did some adjustments such as re-sizing, moving and cropping. It was a bit of a struggle squinting and trying to get it spot-on, even with the help of the Lock'n'Go magnifying glass. It was a lot easier on a full-sized tablet than the tiny iPhone, so unless there isn’t any other option, you might want to just wait till you get back to the office.
Lock'n'Go gestures as illustrated by the in-app tutorial. This is useful for resizing images by dragging the corner of the image.
New and OS-specific Features
You can toggle between different settings to decide how you prefer to use the limited screen real estate: Best For Your Device, More Space, or Same As Your Computer.
The file browser allows you to look for your files in a iOS 7 themed interface, which is much friendlier to the smaller screen. You navigate each folder level as you would on your default Mail app or Dropbox, instead of attempting to double click on folder icons.
iOS microphone support not only allows you to save audio recordings on your computer, it also comes with speech-to-text feature. We tried this out and it’s quite accurate, with about 9 words out of 10 appearing correctly. Not the quickest of ways to input text, but will definitely work in a pinch.
On Android tablets or smartphones, you can add desktop apps to your home screen, just like how you would with any other Android app.
The iOS file browser interface is more touch-friendly than navigating Windows Explorer/Finder via the small screen.
Adding desktop apps to your home screen will give you one-tap access.
Concluding Thoughts
The Parallels Access service is still slightly skewed towards Mac and iOS users, with the design of its App Launcher taking a leaf from the OS X Launchpad, and certain new features such as the file browser and microphone support making its debut in the iOS variant of the app. The experience is definitely more satisfying if you are already a user of both Apple's operating systems. However, bells and whistles aside, it does as advertised, by converting the desktop into a workable interface for a smartphone or tablet. The software is geared towards business users, and definitely lets you get the job done in the least painful way possible while you rush to complete amendments for a demanding client. For about S$26 a year, if you are someone who is away from your computer frequently and unexpectedly, you may want to invest in Parallels Access to keep your bases covered.
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