Screens from Edovia is a new, gorgeously designed, super simple VNC client that brings your Windows, Mac, or Linux desktop to your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad. I had the good fortune to test drive it through the beta cycle and it really is the closest thing to a Back to my Mac-style, “it just works” experience on iOS. Features include:

• Universal – Screens will run on both iPhone and iPad – one app for both devices.
• Easy to Use – Screens is the easiest, most user friendly VNC client for iOS.
• Secure – Screens can connect to your computer through a SSH Tunnel so your session is encrypted and safe.
• Pull-to-Dock – Your Dock is hidden? No problem! Screens can make it appear with a simple flick!
• Multi-Touch – Screens supports many multi-touch features your already use on your trackpad.
• Screens Connect – Make your computer available from anywhere. Easy as flicking a switch! No messy router setup. (Requires OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard)

It’s on introductory sale right now so if you act fast, you can save $10 off the regular price.

Screenshots after the break. If you want to run your desktop — or server room — from your lounge chair, and do it in pixel-perfect style, check out Screens. And after you do, come back and tell me what you think.

[$14.99 on sale - iTunes link]

Normally, this would not necessarily be too exciting, except I just got done testing this release. I am very excited to report that I was able to log in to my remote desktop, then check mail and other apps. Put the iPhone to sleep, come back minutes later and open LogMeIn Ignition and… my desktop was still there!

They’re no doubt using iOS 4 multitasking’s task completion feature (the same one that lets uploads finish in the background). It won’t let you keep the connection open forever — more like 10 minutes — but it’s still fantastic and I can’t recommend this app enough. This is very exciting to see developers adopting iOS 4 so quickly and in a useful manor.

Oh, and here is a tip. If you keep LogMeIn “running” in the background for a while, and want to make sure you don’t get a timeout error when you return to the app, check the setting on the client machine. It needs to be more than iOS 4′s 10 minute task completion limit (the default on mine was 20 min.)

[$29.99- iTunes Link]

If you’ve been using LogMeIn Ignition for iPhone, prepare to be blown away by the iPad version. LogMeIn Ignition for iPad [$29.99- iTunes Link]has essentially the same functionality as the iPhone, but is much faster.

LogMeIn is a free service (with paid options depending on what you want) that works on a Mac or PC. It allows you to remotely control another computer. LogMeIn Ignition brings that functionality to iPhone and iPad. You have full right and left-click support as well as most all of the other useful key functions such as your “F” keys and arrows keys. If performance is an issue, you have complete control from the settings screen to change resolution and color quality. I tend to use Compressed; it is a step above Black and White and allows for a faster refresh. You can also change how you navigate on screen. You have two choices: screen moves or mouse moves. I lean towards screen moves as that gives me the most speed when navigating. Pinch to zoom works like a charm and is blazingly fast.

Ready for the bonus? LogMeIn Ignition is a Universal app, so you buy once and you can use it on iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. For those that need a little extra power in their remote sessions, LogMeIn offers their Pro2 account which allows for even more flexibility such as copy/paste desktop sharing and remote printing between sessions. If you aren’t sure which works best for you, there is a handy comparison chart.

I can’t recommend LogMeIn Ignition enough. It’s come in very handy when having to access my home computer.. and even my Mother-In-Law’s PC for help. There are several VNC type of clients out there, but this one is fast, zero setup (compared to a VNC configuration) and has plans to meet your needs.

Check out the Video and Gallery after the break!

Remote access wizards Citrix have announced that they’re getting ready to make Apple’s just-announced iPad a fairly awesome thin client for IT types eager to connect to their bigger Windows 7 boxes (and hopefully Linux and others as well.)

It turns out the 9.7 inch display on the iPad with a 1024×768 screen resolution works great for a full VDI XenDesktop. Windows applications run unmodified and securely in the data center, and even multiple applications at once.

The iPhone restrictions of screen size and small keyboards are overcome with the iPad. The iPad looks to be an ideal end-point device that can empower users to be productive wherever they are and IT will be able to safely deliver company-hosted virtual desktops and apps without worry.

A good friend of mine who works as a network admin called me drooling over the idea of just such functionality right after the announcement. Assuming Citrix (and similar companies) can nail the interface, TiPb figures there’ll be another business vertical taking a serious look at the iPad.

[PCWorld via Gizmodo]

Citrix has been warning… er… teasing Windows for the iPhone for a while now, but their blog (via Gizmodo) was recently updated to reflect some updates:

As we have announced here on the Citrix Blog ( still no Press Release though … ) we are actively developing a Citrix Receiver for the iPhone that will bring the world of millions of Windows apps and developers to the iPhone. As part of our testing and demonstrations we are looking for examples of compelling applications that will not run natively on the iPhone, however if the app was hosted on XenApp and delivered to the iPhone it would provide a great visual example of the power of Citrix and the iPhone.

They cite examples including IE-only apps (ActiveX?), Flash apps, medical apps, and cut and paste (?!)

While other remote desktop and VNC clients exist for the iPhone, Citrix comes from a background deep inside the Windows kernel and are thus unique situated to develop a killer solution.

So, anybody really want remote access to Windows on their iPhone, and if so, what do you want most from it?

Citrix, the folks behind Go To Meeting and Go To My PC — and if you believe the urban myth, a good portion of the Windows kernel — have just significantly harshened Steve Jobs’ mellow and sent yet another shudder down Tim Cook’s spine.

While VNC/Remote Desktop Apps have been available for the iPhone for a while (see Chad’s Jaadu vs. Mocha Showdown), a helpful Fortune Blog reader points us the differences in the Citrix solution:

“The Citrix client gives access to hosted applications on XenApp servers — allowing dozens to hundreds of users to access their applications remotely from a single system, with the very efficient Ctrix ICA display protocol.

One approach is for individual users — the other is for a cost-effective shared application delivery infrastructure.”

(Thanks to The Reptile for sending this in!)