Splashtop, known for its remote desktop solutions, has announced a new capability that will allow the Consumer Preview of Windows 8 to run on an iPad. The solution is targeted mainly at developers, but if it provides a full-fledged Win8 experience on an iPad, it could make a dent in sales of Windows 8-bundled tablets.
The "Win8 Metro Testbed - powered by Splashtop," is a remote desktop app that allows software developers and technology enthusiasts to simulate a Windows 8 environment on an iPad.It's designed for developers who may want to write apps for Windows 8 and who may own iPads but not necessarily want to purchase a dedicated Windows tablets.
With it, developers can test native Metro UI touch gestures on an iPad as they code and compile new apps on their Windows PC.
Tablets running Windows 8 could potentially cost up to $1,000, a Splashtop representative said.The app also enables native Windows 8 Metro touch gestures including swiping to view the Charms menu, swiping down to bring up additional menus, pinching to navigate files, folders, apps and data with Semantic Zoom and more.
Impact on Windows 8 Tablet Sales
Of course, the question remains what impact would the ability to run Windows 8 on an iPad have on sales of tablets with Windows 8?
The assumption is that Microsoft would be less than enthused about this app. In fact, a spokesman for Splashtop stated that while engineers at Redmond thought the Win8 Metro Testbed was "cool", Microsoft was not participating in aggressive marketing of Win8 Metro Testbed.
That hesitation on Microsoft's part has certainly not deterred Splashtop. With the Consumer Preview of Windows 8 downloaded one million times in just 24 hours of its release, that potential customer base is too vast for Splashtop to ignore.
"Since Apple's App Store generates over 80 percent of all tablet app revenue, nearly every software developer that writes apps for tablets has an iPad," noted Mark Lee, Splashtop's chief executive and co-founder. "With Windows 8 Metro expected to ship on over 400 million new PCs and tablets annually, these developers have high expectations for an enormous new market. Splashtop lets them turn their iPad into a development testbed to evaluate touch gestures and functionality of their app in a Windows 8 environment."
If Splashtop's app provides not only a testbed for developers with iPads to test drive apps coded fpr Windows 8, but also offers end-users a full-functioning Windows 8 experience on iPad, Win8 Metro Testbed could be akin to tablets what Boot Camp is to dekstops: that is, allowing users to enjoy both operating systems on one hardware platform.
