Access your PC through your iPad with these apps

Ever had to access your personal computer or laptop while you were out of the office? Ever needed that one special file from your desktop computer while you were on the other side of the country from it? Using your iPad along with a remote-access app, it is possible to access your desktop or laptop computer regardless of where it is or you are. As the name indicates, these apps enable you to utilize your iPad to take control of your personal computer or laptop. Once you’ve gained this control, you can easily open files, explore folders, access contact lists and, in some instances, watch movies or videos that you’ve saved on your PC or laptop. The best news? There are several remote-access apps on the market. While remotely managing your PC isn’t quite as smooth an experience as simply working with it directly, these applications can help in an emergency.

GoToMyPc: Citrix has long provided GoToMyPC, a means to access your home computer when you are on the road. In fact, Citrix was offering this service before tablets and smartphones became the favored toys of tech-savvy consumers. Today, you can sign up for the service for $9.95 monthly for basic service or $99 for one computer for a year. Once you sign up, you'll get a free app for the iPad that permits you to run GoToMyPC from your tablet. As the name suggests, use this service to remotely access your Word and PowerPoint documents, e-mail folders and file folders. PC Magazine just reviewed the service and praised it for ease of use and usefulness. The cost, though, is high. Many iPad users will find more cost-effective services which work equally as well for their needs.

SplashTop Remote Desktop: Among the more popular remote-access iPad apps, SplashTop Remote Desktop is incredibly powerful for the low price of $4.99. And, as a recent review in CNET says, you can even use this application to access and stream videos and music from your PC to your iPad. This is a uncommon feature in the remote-access industry, and makes this program an attractive one.

LogMeIn Ignition: LogMeIn Ignition is yet another lower-priced alternative to popular GoToMyPC, though at $30, it's costlier than rival SplashTop. This program was also praised by CNET for its being user friendly and effectiveness, but also for two nifty features. First, you can use LogMeIn to remotely wake up a sleeping or shut-down PC. Secondly, you can utilize the app to remotely relocate files from a PC to your iPad.