Parallels released an update to the company’s mobile access app for iPhone and iPad. The app offers an array features, particularly for iPad users. The current update adds iPad and iOS 5 optimization, international keyboard support, retina graphics on the new iPad, along with several bug fixes including Mac and Windows scrolling fixes.
While there are plenty of remote desktop apps available for iOS users, Parallels Mobile offers a unique mix of features. It allows users to access any virtual machines on the host Mac. That can include most flavors of Windows including Windows Server and Windows 8 Consumer Preview, various Linux distributions and even Lion and Lion Server. In addition to offering up access to the configured virtual machines, Parallels Mobile also functions as a full featured remote access solution for accessing the host Mac itself.
Parallels has even made it easy for users to access their Mac and virtual machines remotely by using a Parallels account that can establish a connection from remote networks and over the Internet without requiring changes to most routers or firewalls.
In addition to basic remote access, Parallels supports advanced functionality when paired with Parallels Desktop 7.
- The ability to copy and paste text between iOS apps and applications running remotely
- Support for playing audio and video content including Flash content
- iOS printing capabilities – any print jobs processed through the app will print using whatever printer(s) is available to the host Mac
The app, which is currently on sale for $4.99 in the App Store, runs on both an iPhone and iPad – and it’s more than worth such a small investment if you’re a Parallels Desktop 6 or 7 user. Even at its full $19.99 price, the app is well worth the investment.
