iPad owners will soon be able to access Windows and all the familiar Office apps on their device, with OnLive offering a streamed cloud service that it claims offers up the “first no-compromise Windows desktop” for the Apple tablet.

Gaming service OnLive is stretching its cloud-based talents into a completely new direction, and the prospect of a cloud-based Windows experience on an iPad is certainly likely to turn a few heads.

OnLive is offering up its servers in the cloud and a streamed service which will allow people to log into a virtual desktop and interact with it in a familiar way.

It’a not the first time we’ve seen virtual Windows desktops on the iPad, but OnLive claims to have cracked several of the issues.

No-compromise

“OnLive Desktop is the first app to deliver a no-compromise, media-rich Windows desktop experience to iPad, opening up powerful new possibilities for consumers and businesses,” said Steve Perlman, OnLive Founder and CEO.

“iPad users will now be able to simply and securely view and edit cloud-hosted documents with full-featured Windows desktop applications like Microsoft Office, just as if they were using a local high-performance PC.

“Multi-touch gestures respond instantly and smoothly, while HD videos, animations and PC video games—never before usable on a remote desktop—play seamlessly.”

It’s certainly a fun idea, and one that is fairly obvious given the power of the cloud and the quality of the iPad’s screen.

Of course, Microsoft is currently beavering away on a proper tablet-friendly OS in Windows 8, whereas OnLive’s Windows will be a little less finger-flickingly useful.

And it doesn’t end there, with OnLive’s Windows service also being lined up for other devices, according to Perlman: “The Free OnLive Desktop app for iPad is just the tip of the iceberg. Android, smartphones, PC, Mac and monitor/TV support (via the OnLive MicroConsole thin client with Bluetooth keyboard/mouse) are coming soon, with your same OnLive Desktop available by login from any device.

“Your OnLive Desktop can be accessed anywhere, on any device, at any resolution.”

Windows in a Windows in a Window

So you could access your Windows desktop through a streaming service, from your desktop – mindblowing…

The OnLive Desktop iPad app will be available on Thursday to US customers for free (with terms and conditions) in the iTunes App Store, and the UK release date is given as “soon”.

You’ll need an OnLive account and you can check out the details at desktop.onlive.com.

Best thing is that it’s going to FREAK people out who look over your shoulder at what you are doing on your Apple tablet.

iPad owners will soon be able to access Windows and all the familiar Office apps on their device, with OnLive offering a streamed cloud service that it claims offers up the “first no-compromise Windows desktop” for the Apple tablet.

Gaming service OnLive is stretching its cloud-based talents into a completely new direction, and the prospect of a cloud-based Windows experience on an iPad is certainly likely to turn a few heads.

OnLive is offering up its servers in the cloud and a streamed service which will allow people to log into a virtual desktop and interact with it in a familiar way.

It’a not the first time we’ve seen virtual Windows desktops on the iPad, but OnLive claims to have cracked several of the issues.

No-compromise

“OnLive Desktop is the first app to deliver a no-compromise, media-rich Windows desktop experience to iPad, opening up powerful new possibilities for consumers and businesses,” said Steve Perlman, OnLive Founder and CEO.

“iPad users will now be able to simply and securely view and edit cloud-hosted documents with full-featured Windows desktop applications like Microsoft Office, just as if they were using a local high-performance PC.

“Multi-touch gestures respond instantly and smoothly, while HD videos, animations and PC video games—never before usable on a remote desktop—play seamlessly.”

It’s certainly a fun idea, and one that is fairly obvious given the power of the cloud and the quality of the iPad’s screen.

Of course, Microsoft is currently beavering away on a proper tablet-friendly OS in Windows 8, whereas OnLive’s Windows will be a little less finger-flickingly useful.

And it doesn’t end there, with OnLive’s Windows service also being lined up for other devices, according to Perlman: “The Free OnLive Desktop app for iPad is just the tip of the iceberg. Android, smartphones, PC, Mac and monitor/TV support (via the OnLive MicroConsole thin client with Bluetooth keyboard/mouse) are coming soon, with your same OnLive Desktop available by login from any device.

“Your OnLive Desktop can be accessed anywhere, on any device, at any resolution.”

Windows in a Windows in a Window

So you could access your Windows desktop through a streaming service, from your desktop – mindblowing…

The OnLive Desktop iPad app will be available on Thursday to US customers for free (with terms and conditions) in the iTunes App Store, and the UK release date is given as “soon”.

You’ll need an OnLive account and you can check out the details at desktop.onlive.com.

Best thing is that it’s going to FREAK people out who look over your shoulder at what you are doing on your Apple tablet.

Sony’s Kaz Hirai has insisted that the ‘PlayStation certified’ project is not just for the company’s own products, with other devices likely to soon sport the certification.

Currently only three Sony devices, the company’s two tablets and the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play phone, have carried the PlayStation Certified branding.

However, Hirai insists that this is not a deliberate attempt by the company to lock one of its brands into only its own products, and is keen to see other devices bringing new games revenue streams into the company.

Sony family

“It is not the case where we want to keep it in the Sony family,” said Hirai. “We are in discussions with non-Sony makers.”

“This is not just for Sony devices.”

Hirai is the executive deputy president of Sony, but has long been associated with the PlayStation brand, and he does indicate that the games industry is evolving as casual gamers use non-traditional gaming devices to play titles.

“IPods, iPad or any Android based smartphones…have had an impact on traditional video games, he said.

“Now some of that is positive in that a lot of people may buy traditional non-gaming device to play games.

“Some were gamers before, and…anecdotally [some] got a Smartphone tried the game app and thought ‘this was pretty good, this was pretty fun’ so the games industry gains a customer.

“The original PlayStation games run on Android devices and we have set up a program where we are going to encourage software developers to use the PlayStation suite which runs on Android smartphones.”

The next few months are hugely important for Sony’s PlayStation, with the next generation portable – the PlayStation Vita – launching this side of Christmas in Japan and early 2012 in other markets.

“It does a host of other things as well, but the primary purpose is to offer a really immersive gameplay experience.”

brightcove : 1091086359001

Breaking into the console market at this point would be futile what with Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony having a firm grip of it with their respective consoles. However, if EA vice president Eric Soderlund is to be believed, there is room for yet another, but only if it came from Apple, a point which does make sense given the immense success of the App Store combined with what some consider to already be Apple consoles: the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch.

“If it was anyone but Apple, I’d say that’s going to be very hard,” said/a> Soderlund. “I still think it’s going to be extremely hard for them but they’ve surprised many people before. Look at what they did with the iPhone, right? They are a truly brilliant company so I would give them a relatively good chance to succeed if they tried.”

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Should you have missed it, RealTime Worlds’ APB/a> was scooped up/a> by GamersFirst last month which means we’re looking at a revival of the MMO-ish title next year, apparently renamed to APB: Reloaded. As it’s reborn, the title will undergo extensive changes, the biggest being the free-to-play concept it’s adapting. But one of the greatest things about APB was the level of customization available, how much you could make your character your very own, something GamersFirst won’t be changing expect for the addition of “basic” and “premium” models, outlined by the company’s boss Bjorn Book-Larsson in one of his blog entries/a>.

“We really mean it when we say that we want free players to also enjoy the experience, while giving everyone great perks for becoming premium players,” said Book-Larsson. “The perks usually involve things like making larger clans (like in WarRock), creating and controlling clans, or otherwise giving you various unique options and rewards (though they have to be meaningful in order to make sense).”He further explains: “instead of limiting what you can customize as a free player, you will be allowed to customize almost anything, but you will not be able to store (and share) complex customizations above a certain complexity level unless you are a Premium player AT THE TIME OF CUSTOMIZATION. This has several benefits, first it would limit the amount of content pushed to everyone else in the game from free players (which would reduce the amount of loading required), but it would also let you be Premium for just one month, create a lot of customizations that month, and then use those items later on (even if your Premium membership has lapsed).”

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