Review: myPhoneDesktop for the iPhone
myPhoneDesktop, makes it easier to access your iPhone from your Desktop. This app is great to use and let me tell you why. I am constantly sharing information back and forth between my computer and my iPhone, and this application provides a perfect solution for making it easier and less time consuming: I can now place calls, send out SMS messages, transfer long text notes, copy and send URL links, and save images conveniently from my computer to my iPhone. The desktop client transfers data to your iPhone immediately through secure servers, and your data is deleted from the servers afterward to protect your privacy.
Setup
After you have installed the app on your iPhone, you will need to complete a quick profile setup. The next step will be to download the desktop software for your computer. Currently there is support for Windows, Mac OS X, Linux and there is a browser based web client. When you launch the software you will have to input your user name and password you created earlier during the iPhone setup. You are now good to go! On both the iPhone app and the desktop client you will notice five navigation tabs located on the bottom: Phone, URL, Text, Image, and Settings.
myPhoneDesktop Privacy Policy:
Your Data is Protected. MyPhoneDesktop encrypts all data on your system and then sends it to MyPhoneDesktop over an encrypted connection to ensure your data is secure. We aim to provide you an excellent experience with our service. For additional detail on how we handle your data or to contact us with questions, please see the rest of the Privacy Policy below.
In the phone tab you can place calls and send SMS messages. To place a call, simply type out the phone number or click on the provided dial pad. After typing in the phone number just click call and your iPhone will start calling that person immediately. (Tip: You can save phone numbers for easy access by clicking the plus sign when you type in a phone number.)
Other notable features: Show will transfer the phone number to the companion iPhone app and Copy will save the number on the iPhone’s clipboard. As you place calls using the desktop client it will remember previous dialed numbers along with the time and date.
You can also create SMS messages. Just type in the recipient’s phone number then complete the personal message. When you are finished, click SMS and your iPhone will immediately redirect and open the Messages app. You will notice the recipient’s number is filled in and you can tap on the insertion point to paste the message data sent from the desktop client.
The app on the iPhone works similarly to place calls and send SMS messages. The dial pad springs up when you start to type a phone number, making it easy to dial. You will notice an options button on the upper right of the screen. When you tap on the button you are presented with a few options: Call, SMS, Copy, Assign to Contact, and Assign to New Contact.
URL
To get started just type or paste a link from your browser into the space provided. Now you have three options, you can choose from: Open will redirect and open Safari to the selected URL on your iPhone; Show which will transfer the link to the app; Copy saves it to the clipboard. The iPhone app gives you a few options as well. After transferring a URL, you can: open the link in Safari, copy it to clipboard, or add it to an existing or new contact. I located Apple on Google Maps then copied the URL into myPhoneDesktop. When I transferred the data to my iPhone, the app redirected and opened Google Maps.
Text
The text feature allows users to write short or long memos conveniently your computer using a keyboard to type. Then you can send the text to your iPhone by choosing one of two options: Show- pastes the text into the iPhone app or Copy- saves the text to the clipboard. There is also an option to assign the text to a contact.
Image
One of my favorite features is the ability to send images from your computer to the iPhone instantly. You can transfer the pictures using the desktop client three ways: entering the URL, locating the file on your computer, or (my personal favorite) Drag and Drop. Just drag a picture into the desktop client then choose Save to instantly add it to your Camera Roll. Other options: Show- will transfer the image to the iPhone app and Copy will save it to the clipboard.
On the iPhone app, you can even assign it to a contact by tapping options once transferred.
Options and Settings
Desktop Client:
Phone: Auto Send: local/international/unvalidated numbers; Set a default action to: Call, SMS, Show, Copy; Enable Skype (desktop).
URL/Text: Auto Send; Clear data after sending; Set default action.
Image: Auto Send; Size limit; Clear Data; Set Default Action.
Account; System options: Growl support; Setup and Manage phone favorites.
iPhone app:
Fetch New Data setup: Push or Pull intervals; Clear Data; Alerts: Sound options and Vibrate on/off toggle.
My Final Word
I really enjoy using this app. I didn’t run into any problems during my setup or testing. This app works for me because I am constantly sharing data between my computer and iPhone, and myPhoneDesktop provides a clear and direct way to transmit that data effectively. There is no delay between the time I hit send on my computer and when my iPhone starts to ring. I like searching the web for iPhone wallpapers and I can now easily transfer any picture to my iPhone instantly through this service.
I am also a fan of sending URL links from my computer to my iPhone, and I like the fact I can save it to the clipboard or open it immediately in Safari to view. The push notifications work great and alerts you of the type of data transferred to the phone.
As of today, version 1.2 has introduced universal support for the iPhone, iPod, and iPad. The developer stated in an e-mail that on Saturday (4/3) there will be an update to the desktop client. The update will included Address Book and Microsoft Outlook integration. In addition to improvements and support for third party applications. My hope is for Google Voice support in the future and maybe an option for a URL shortener. I believe this app is a must buy for anyone who likes to share data from their computer to their iPhone.
myPhoneDesktop is available for $1.99 in the App Store and the Desktop Client is available for Free.
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This is great app! Thanks for the review. It does exactly what I was missing with pastebot. Already switched to myPhoneDesktop! Their miltiplatform and web support is awesome. Highly recomend. Plus it's runs great with my new shiny iPad
love it.
Totally agree Chris, Thanks for reading
Thank you Frank! Great review. Has been looking for something like this but in the mids of 170K apps was not able to find it
For my needs (same like yours) it beats both Pastebot and Pastefire. Multiplatform support including Web (Win and mac is very important to me because my office is win and my home is mac) and web is great when I am on-the-go or at a friend house, client's office or what even better – airport kiosk! Sweet app and new desktop v1.2 is already posted to myphonedesktop.com and major improvement is (as you said) support for both Apple's Address Book and MSFT Outlook (via Settings | Favorites | Import). Thanks again for finding it and for a great review. Nina,
Thank you Nina for reading & for the kind words.
The name is really misleading. You don't really "control" your phone from your desktop. You simply send it text and this app does something with it. There are other apps that do this better and for free.
PasteFire for instance, does the same things but all from your browser. You can easily setup a bookmarklet that takes whatever text you have selected on a webpage or the URL of the page you're on and sends it to your phone via Push. It's also 100% free. Your iPhone then auto detects what to do with it. If you send it a phone number it will make a call, send it a URL and it will open Safari and there are settings to configure its actions.
Great review, by the way. I'd love to see myPhoneDesktop compared to PasteFire and factor in that your readers don't get comped software to review.
Nice idea! Agree, PasteFire is another great app!
Not 100% agree that name is "misleading" but do agree that you do not actually "control" your i-device from your desktop (well, even there is a matter of definition of what "control" is…) This said, yes, pastefire is another alternative but I would not put functionality of myphonedesktop and pastefire on the same line. There are many differences between these 2 apps… for one is myphonedesktop's integration with your desktop (integration with 3rd party apps like LaunchBar, Address Book, etc – looking at the scrips it took me 10 min to write my own script that integrates myphonedesktop with instapaper.com). Second, system wide shortcut support, where simple Command+C+C click and date (phone number, url, picture, etc) are on my iPad or iPhone – regardless what app I am in… and third (not final, but still) stability of the app – sorry to say but pastefire is buggy… This said, yes there are other apps that do similar functions… will not agree that they do these functions necessarily better, but they do it nevertheless. Regardless, I think Frank did a great review (again) going well outside of just howto, showing what app can be used for in what situations, etc… It would be great to see apps like myPhoneDesktop and Pastefire and Pastebot compared… Well… Just my 2 cents. Tnx
Thanks Nina!
Great application, thanks for posting
Thank you for reading!