IPhone and iPod touch devotees can now access their PCs or virtual desktops remotely using PocketCloud from Wyse, released Thursday.

Because of the iPhone's small screen size, compared to a standard PC display, intuitive navigation is key.

The PocketCloud user interface supports standard iPhone gestures, which, for example, make it possible to zoom in closer at a part of the screen or move around on the display.

PocketCloud is based on VMware View Open Client, which was first released by VMware in February to let business partners integrate their products with the VMware View platform, according to Fredrik Rynger, senior systems engineer at VMware.

"It works like you expect an application on the iPhone to work," said Rynger, who has played around with the PocketCloud client.

PocketCloud integrates with the VMware View 3.1 connection broker, which manages connections to virtual desktops.

It also connects to Microsoft Windows 2000, Windows XP Professional, Windows Vista Business, Windows 7, and Terminal Services features on Windows Server using RDP (Remote Desktop Protocol).

Users can also install the PocketCloud Windows Companion on the remote or virtual machine.

It adds server-side browsing that supports Flash, Silverlight and Java. The companion also adds automatic keyboard detection.

Traffic is secured using SSL (Secure Socket Layer) and there is also "experimental" support for RSA's two-factor authentication, according to Wyse.

PocketCloud is available for US$29.99 from the App Store. PocketCloud Windows Companion can be downloaded for free from Wyse's Web site.

The product will be demonstrated at VMware's user conference VMworld, which takes place in San Francisco between Aug. 31 and Sep 3.