Sharing Screens in iOS

If you had told me in 2006 that I would regularly use a handheld communicator to control a remote computer, I would’ve assumed that you were talking about an expensive tablet PC (few of which ever sold), or I’d tell you that maybe in 2010 or so there would be the right combination of software, hardware, and network robustness to make that work. I was off by a few years.

Since Apple began allowing third-party developers to write software for the iPhone and iPod touch in 2008, there has been strong demand for apps that let you view or control a computer’s screen from an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch (but not vice-versa). In this chapter, I discuss two remote access apps that work on all iOS devices:

•In iTeleport (Formerly Jaadu VNC), I look at how this app provides remote access and control with the Virtual Network Computer (VNC) protocol that’s a standard across many platforms and built into Mac OS X.