Windows 7 on an iPad with OnLive
OnLive today unveils an app that will allow you to use Windows 7, Word and Excel on your iPad.
Windows on an iPad? Sacrilege! Not according to to OnLive, which today unveils an app that will allow you to use Windows 7, Word and Excel on your iPad.
Because it's Windows 7, which is designed for use on a touchscreen, you can work in Windows by tapping and swiping your fingertips round your iPad's screen -- and all for free.
OnLive is a gaming service that turns your computer into a controller. All the processing is done at OnLive's end of the Internet, so it doesn't matter if your computer -- or in this case, your tablet -- doesn't have enough grunt to handle the task at hand. The catch is that you need a decent Internet connection to ensure there's no delay in the signal reaching you, or your actions returning to OnLive's servers.
In the case of the new OnLive Windows app, instead of games the app opens up Windows programs including Word and Excel. You get 2GB of storage for free to save your work.
Paying extra gets you more storage, faster browsing and the ability to install your own apps, with a top-end price.
The app has been delayed by a day or so but should be available from the iTunes App Store later today.
OnLive gaming is available now on the iPad and for Android tablets such as the Motorola Xoom or Asus Transformer. It also works with some Android phones, including the HTC Nexus One, HTC Sensation and HTC Sensation XL.
OnLive isn't the only app that lets your tablet channel your PC: a similar app called Splashtop has been shown off this week playing Skyrim on the Asus Transformer Prime.The next version of Windows, Windows 8, is due out this year and has absorbed ideas from Windows Phone to make it ideal for tablets.