Comparison

SmartTE Terminal Emulation vs SOTI Surf

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

SmartTE Terminal Emulation

This app provides reliable wireless terminal emulation for business environments, ensuring secure and high-speed connections without dropped sessions. It modernizes green screen applications into intuitive graphical interfaces for enhanced productivity on touchscreen devices.

Highlights
  • Wireless terminal emulation
  • Modernizes green screen apps
  • Secure data transmission
  • Barcode scanning support
  • Centralized management console
  • Supports multiple emulation types
Features
Read full description

StayLinked Smart TE is the only Terminal Emulation (TE) product specifically designed for wireless environments. Traditional TE solutions are, by the nature of their architecture and transport layer, incapable of dealing with the real-world inconsistencies of both Wi-Fi and cellular wireless networks. StayLinked TE delivers secure, high-speed terminal emulation while completely eliminating the major productivity killer - dropped sessions. With its unique thin-client architecture, StayLinked allows mobile devices to connect to emulation host systems with industry-leading performance, connection/session reliability, and data security. Centralized help desk and tech staff benefit from the included StayLinked Administrator management console. SmartTE easily converts your "Green Screen" applications to intuitive, modern, graphical apps. There are great productivity improvements gained by implementing an easy-to-use, graphical data collection application that supports modern, touchscreen devices. Additionally, StayLinked helps eliminate the high costs, long implementation cycles, and application performance risks associated with migrating away from fast and reliable Terminal Emulation “green screen” applications. With StayLinked SmartTE you get the best of both worlds with No-Risk application modernization. Continue to realize the speed, reliability, and security of StayLinked TE while increasing productivity with the addition of an intuitive, modern user experience. DEMO MODE: This version includes the ability to easily connect to the StayLinked demonstration server and interact with a live host-based application. REQUIREMENTS: If you are not currently running the required StayLinked Server, please contact StayLinked.com or your preferred StayLinked Reseller to arrange for a free evaluation. FEATURES • Terminal Emulation over Wi-Fi or Cellular connections • Barcode scanning through iDevice camera or connected 3rd party scanners/card readers •. Wireless IP printing support •. StayLinked Server software runs natively on the most reliable server OS platforms, including IBM i (AS/400), AIX, HP-UX, Sun, SCO, Linux and Windows Servers •. Supports IBM 5250/3270, VT220/100/420/52 and SSHv2 terminal emulation •. Security - All Telnet or SSHv2 communications take place on the host machine and are never broadcast over the wireless network. With Blowfish encryption, firewall-friendly design, application lock-down, and support for port filter and access list controls, StayLinked ensures the integrity of your data and communications. •. Advanced Session Management - StayLinked delivers full management of all aspects of telnet sessions on the mobile device, configuration, and licensing. StayLinked eliminates the need to purchase additional software to manage software distribution, client configuration, barcode configurations, keyboard maps, scripting, screen reformatting, file transfers, session transfers, device reboots, diagnostics, and more. • Comprehensive Help Desk Toolset - Features include the ability to fully remote control or observe a live telnet session, run diagnostics on the mobile device, collect log files, send text messages to the device, re-start the client software, re-boot the mobile device, change device configurations, execute commands, run programs, manage licenses, collect usage data, and more. • StayLinked supports voice enablement of existing applications with no changes to the host-based application for such applications as voice picking. • The Client2Host protocol is very efficient, only transmitting data across the network on the demand of the client. UDP also avoids the IP traffic and connection issues that are inherent in the TCP protocol and exacerbated in a wireless environment • All configuration and licensing is controlled via a centralized management console • Transferable concurrent-user terminal emulation licensing.

About

SOTI Surf

This secure mobile browser allows access to an organization's internal web content without a VPN. It offers robust data loss prevention and customizable security policies to mitigate common browsing risks.

Highlights
  • Secure access to internal web content
  • No VPN required
  • Data loss prevention
  • Customizable security policies
  • Kiosk mode
Features
Read full description

SOTI Surf is a secure mobile browser that allows you to access your organization’s web content on your iPhone or iPad. It enables secure browsing and provides an organization with the ability to configure customized settings to meet unique business and end-user needs. By allowing organizations to define and enforce secure browsing policies, SOTI Surf provides the benefits of mobile browsing without common place security risks. Key features * Access your organization’s internal web content without a VPN connection * Improved data loss prevention restricts copying, downloading, printing and sharing * Access predefined websites from home screen * Restrict access to websites based on URL or Category * Kiosk mode Note: SOTI Surf requires your device be enrolled in SOTI MobiControl to operate. Contact your organization's IT administrator for instructions.

Screenshots

SmartTE Terminal Emulation4 screens
SOTI Surf4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: SmartTE Terminal Emulation at 5.0 against SOTI Surf's 4.0. SmartTE Terminal Emulation also leads on ratings volume (5 vs 1) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 14.0). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

SmartTE Terminal Emulation holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: SmartTE Terminal Emulation has 5 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

SmartTE Terminal Emulation ships an update every 6 months, SOTI Surf every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
SmartTE Terminal Emulation versus SOTI Surf: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSmartTE Terminal EmulationSOTI Surf
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (5 ratings) — better4.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews33.3% of reviews—
Number of ratings5 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 6 monthsEvery 4 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.0 — better14.0
Further details — not scored
Size12 MB32 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperStayLinked CorporationSOTI Inc.

Customer experience

SmartTE Terminal Emulation

All ratings5 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive33.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative66.7%

SOTI Surf

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

SmartTE Terminal Emulation

No in-app purchases

None

SOTI Surf

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is SmartTE Terminal Emulation free?
SmartTE Terminal Emulation is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is SOTI Surf free?
SOTI Surf is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, SmartTE Terminal Emulation or SOTI Surf?
SmartTE Terminal Emulation is rated higher. SmartTE Terminal Emulation averages 5.0 out of 5 from 5 ratings, while SOTI Surf averages 4.0 from 1 ratings.
Do SmartTE Terminal Emulation or SOTI Surf have ads?
Neither SmartTE Terminal Emulation nor SOTI Surf shows ads.
Which is updated more often, SmartTE Terminal Emulation or SOTI Surf?
SmartTE Terminal Emulation ships an update every 6 months, and SOTI Surf every 4 months. Most recently, SmartTE Terminal Emulation was updated on November 1, 2026 and SOTI Surf on October 24, 2026.

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