SWRemote on a tablet

[Richard Naninck]

Maybe this will be the answer:

http://eee.asus.com/en/vivo-tab/features/

Rather expensive but it has an Intel cpu thus able to run standard windows (8). My guess is that W8 should run the SWRemote. The beauty here will be that this vivo tab can be a laptop and a tablet in one based on Intel instead of ARM (W8 R or Android) or IOS.

[Steve Horn]

Interesting. I wonder if it will be able to compete with the iPad. If not, prices will fall. But you're right, it's an option.
I will say that since I've been using a Remote Desktop app on the iPad to access HB, it's been an acceptable alternative. Not perfect, but acceptable.

[dlmorgan999]

I have yet to be able to find any prices (even speculative) on this. Have you seen anything Richard?

I already have an ExoPC. It came with Windows 7 and it currently running Windows 8 beta. It makes a very nice HouseBot SW remote.

[Richard Naninck]

I have seen 799$ for the tablet and 199$ for the keyboard.
in europe I have seen 699€
Let's wait and see

[dlmorgan999]

The hardware looks very similar to the ASUS Transformer Prime (Android). I have that tablet and I really like it. I did some more research and found some information on pricing and it matches what you found. Also, it looks like it may be released on the Windows 8 release date (October 26th). I'm definitely going to keep my eye on this!

[Richard Naninck]

Same here. Now Lenovo is joining the club with Intell 5's and 7's on a 12.5" Tablet like Laptop. But I think Asus is the only one that actually detaches the screen from the keyboard.

[dlmorgan999]

About a week ago, I bought a Samsung ATIV 500T tablet. I personally really like Windows 8 on a tablet - the user interface is very nice.

This tablet makes an excellent software remote! My theme is full-screen with movement locked so normally you never see Windows. I have a Minimize button on the remote to easily peek under the covers as needed though. With the Windows 8 UI, it's also very easy to get to the Start screen to run other apps.

On a side note, Windows 8 includes a Remote Desktop app that is the nicest touch-usable RDP app I've ever used. Last night while I was watching a movie, I was switching between the software remote, an RDP session to a server that was doing a large file copy, and a web browser when I wanted to look up something about the movie. The Windows 8 UI made it all very easy.

[Richard Naninck]

Exactly as I had hoped for. I played with the 500 and it seems like a very good choice. However the 700 (which is much more expensive) has some very nice specs and can be used as a full bore laptop as well but with all the nice specs.

It would be nice to be able to pin an icon to the start menu showing a living SWRemote but I don't think that can be done.

So time solved lots of problems and finally HouseBot can be used natively on a tablet. Now if only we could natively play video's (like camera streams) in the theme

[dlmorgan999]

I was hoping your post #1000 would be in this thread - congratulations Richard! I looked at the 700 as well, but since this tablet was purchased as a dedicated software remote, I opted for the cheaper 500. I debated getting the keyboard for the 500, but decided against it to reduce cost and size. Since it has a USB port, I can always plug in a keyboard for a bit if I really need to.

Before Windows 8, I usually had a Windows 7 tablet as a software remote, plus an iPad for web browsing, or sometimes my laptop if I needed to do heavier duty work. With Windows 8, I find I can usually get by with just the tablet.

[Richard Naninck]

For me the new device must replace my laptop so I need that keyboard and it needs to be as quick as the laptop I have now.
I don't really need 1920x1080 nor do I need 10 fingers touch but you never know what it is good for in the future..

If the remote runs on your 500, can you pinch zoom it?

I couldn't zoom my remote when I logged in from a store using my remote desktop feature. My XGA theme got displayed on 1920x1080 and thus it was too small. Sharp but small and without the capability to zoom when trying to remotely access the theme. This won't be a problem when running the remote on the device itself.

[dlmorgan999]

For a laptop replacement, I think there are already a few choices and I suspect you'll see a number more in the coming months.

I was considering buying a Microsoft Surface Pro and using it for a software remote tablet. But then I found that it was 1920x1080, and while this sounds good, I already had all my remotes created at 1366 x 768 for my ExoPC tablet. I didn't want to have to re-create them and I also felt - as you do - that 1920x1080 would actually be too small on a tablet-size device.

To answer your question, no I can't zoom the remote. I'm guessing that the app has to be written specifically to do that.

On another positive note, I've found that this tablet - even though it's not an ARM processor - seems to have very long battery life. I haven't done any tests yet myself, but others are reporting 8+ hours.

[Richard Naninck]

OK, if you cannot zoom the remote than the 700 would not be the best choice.
My remote is 1024x768 which would be fine on the 500.

Other question: What happens if you put an app on the left 1/3 of the screen and the swremote on the right 2/3 of the screen? Does it scroll or compress? What would my XGA remote do? I can imagine running my remote on the right 2/3 and put something else on the left 1/3...

[Steve Horn]

...On a side note, Windows 8 includes a Remote Desktop app that is the nicest touch-usable RDP app I've ever used. Last night while I was watching a movie, I was switching between the software remote, an RDP session to a server that was doing a large file copy, and a web browser when I wanted to look up something about the movie. The Windows 8 UI made it all very easy.

Unrelated to the HB remote 'app' functionality you describe, but does the RDP connection to your server (or wherever) stay nailed up, or does it drop after a certain time or when you switch back to another program (HB Remote or whatever)? Just curious, as the RDP I'm using on the iPad to connect to a remotely running HB Remote will drop if I don't keep the RDP app visible. Not a big deal and certainly does not affect using the Samsung for HB via the HB Remote program. But toggling to/from the HB Remote like you describe could be a tittle tedious.

[Richard Naninck]

The Free logmein app for iPhone keeps The connection going even when not visible and notifies you before disconneting due to timeout

[Steve Horn]

Thanks. I had installed it on the iPad and on the HB server some time ago, but for some reason uninstalled it later. Cannot recall why. Just reinstalled it and it seems to act as you describe. The only thing I miss (or cannot find) is a way to lock the screen so that the image cannot be floated around unless I want to.