Comparison

SmartTE Terminal Emulation vs TTerm 5250

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

TTerm 5250

Features
Read full description

TTerm 5250 is an enterprise grade terminal emulator designed for host connectivity between your iPad and host system. TTerm 5250 version offers connectivity to IBM midrange systems such as the AS/400 (iSeries) which require 5250 emulation. Offering a variety of features and tools designed to enhance terminal emulation on your device TTerm 5250 features comprehensive keyboard language support, custom hotspots for touch interaction, multi-session capability, bluetooth keyboard support and more. TTerm 5250 is designed to get the basic user up and connected with a minimum of fuss whilst allowing seasoned, technically advanced users to create in-depth configurations as required. Based on Turbosoft's popular TTWin terminal emulator for Windows, TTerm 5250 builds on a heritage of accurate, reliable and robust terminal emulation proven over many years of extensive real world usage and development. Terminals supported: -Support for TN5250 and TN5250e (3179, 3180, 3196, 3477, 525x, 529x + variants) Features: -Secure SSH, support for importing RSA SSH keys -Telnet (TN5250 and TN5250e) -Telnet via SSH Tunnel -Telnet via SSL2/SSL3/TLS -Multiple simultaneous host connections -Support for Apple Wireless Keyboards. -Support for custom keyboard mapping. (bluetooth keyboard keys to emulation keys) -Compact or expanded keyboards display including transparent overlay option -Dynamic Hotspot support, creates touch elements on your terminal display -Terminal select/copy/paste -Scroll history -Access levels offer restricted and kiosk modes to lock down the App, protecting login details and restricting access. -Import/Export configuration for administrators looking to deploy across small numbers of devices. Single tap to share Access Level settings and multiple connection configurations. -AppConfig support for administrators looking to support larger number of devices, enabling TTerm 5250 to be configured through a Mobile Device Management product such as AirWatch®. For support, feedback and feature requests please contact support@tterm-app.com.

Screenshots

SmartTE Terminal Emulation4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: SmartTE Terminal Emulation at Free against TTerm 5250's $12.99. SmartTE Terminal Emulation also leads on device support (3 vs 1). TTerm 5250's advantage is update cadence (every 3 months vs every 6 months). On ads, in-app purchases and iOS requirement 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

SmartTE Terminal Emulation is free to download; TTerm 5250 costs $12.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

SmartTE Terminal Emulation ships an update every 6 months, TTerm 5250 every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on June 5, 2026 and September 20, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
SmartTE Terminal Emulation versus TTerm 5250: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSmartTE Terminal EmulationTTerm 5250
PriceFree — better$12.99
Rating5.0 (5 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews33.3% of reviews—
Number of ratings5 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 6 monthsEvery 3 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPad
Requires iOS12.012.0
Further details — not scored
Size12 MB26 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperStayLinked CorporationTurbosoft Pty Ltd

In-app purchases

None

SmartTE Terminal Emulation

No in-app purchases

None

TTerm 5250

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is SmartTE Terminal Emulation free?
SmartTE Terminal Emulation is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is TTerm 5250 free?
TTerm 5250 costs $12.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do SmartTE Terminal Emulation or TTerm 5250 have ads?
Neither SmartTE Terminal Emulation nor TTerm 5250 shows ads.
Which is updated more often, SmartTE Terminal Emulation or TTerm 5250?
SmartTE Terminal Emulation ships an update every 6 months, and TTerm 5250 every 3 months. Most recently, SmartTE Terminal Emulation was updated on June 5, 2026 and TTerm 5250 on September 20, 2026.

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