OnLive Launches Premium 'Desktop Plus' with Flash and PDF-Enabled Web Browser

[MacRumors]

Last month, OnLive introduced its free OnLive Desktop service that allows users to run virtual instances of Microsoft Office apps streamed from OnLive's remote PCs to the users' iPads. The company has now added Adobe Acrobat Reader support to the service and introduced a paid "Desktop Plus" subscription service to provide enhanced functionality including priority access and a Flash- and PDF-enabled browser experience. OnLive Desktop Plus is priced at $4.99 per month.

The free OnLive Desktop App, currently available on iPad--and coming soon to Android, PC, Mac, TVs and monitors--delivers no-compromise, media-rich, instant-response Windows applications including Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint software, and as of today, Adobe Reader for PDFs, along with 2GB of cloud storage. OnLive Desktop Plus, available for $4.99/month at www.desktop.onlive.com, provides all OnLive Desktop Standard features plus OnLive's gigabit-speed accelerated browsing experience with full Flash player capability. With OnLive Desktop Plus, the iPad not only becomes 100% Flash compatible, it becomes the world's fastest mobile Flash player.

As with the original OnLive Desktop service, there is some lag in responding to touch input and visual artifacts when moving quickly through documents or web pages. The lag made it somewhat difficult to work with interactive Flash-based content such as games in our testing, but the service does allow for decent viewing of Flash video content on the web.




While that slight lag is a function of the time needed for data to transfer between OnLive's servers and the user's iPad, OnLive's PCs themselves are connected to the Internet with gigabit connections, making for very fast loading of content and data transfers, which is then optimized for the iPad's display and passed along to the user.

OnLive is planning yet another tier of service, a $9.99/month "Pro" level that will offer additional PC applications for use from the iPad and an upgrade from to 50 GB of storage, up from 2 GB on the regular and Plus levels.

Article Link: OnLive Launches Premium 'Desktop Plus' with Flash and PDF-Enabled Web Browser

[MacAztec]

Awesome product, but should be catering to the HTML5 wave of the future.

[Asclepio]

wow this turn ipads in something usefulll.

[MetalMoon]

Windows on ipad has its charm for those who need office, but I'll just stick to IOS for now.

[nagromme]

I like to have it (free version) as a “just in case” emergency option in the event that someone has a complex Office document they need me to edit and send back; there’s some risk of OpenOffice (much less Pages) altering something unwanted in the process.

That scenario has never happened, luckily!

But coupled with a bluetooth keyboard, it is certainly an interesting offering that has its uses. It really could use support for the iPad’s native software keyboard instead of that Microsoft thing (even if it’s a challenge to keep your work from getting hidden behind it). And it could use direct file import/export support with the iPad’s Mail app and browser. Right now, getting a doc in and out of OnLive using the iPad alone is a pain, if it’s even possible. And annoying even using the desktop site.

[chandra.hp]

How is this app different from SplashTop?

[Code.Red]

Originally Posted by chandra.hp

How is this app different from SplashTop?

Instead of connecting to your computer at home, you connect to OnLive's computers. One of the benefits of this, as stated in the article, is that OnLive's computers are connected with ultrafast Internet connections..

[SteveAbootman]

Originally Posted by Code.Red

Instead of connecting to your computer at home, you connect to OnLive's computers. One of the benefits of this, as stated in the article, is that OnLive's computers are connected with ultrafast Internet connections..

And one of the downsides of this is that you don't have full control over the VM. For 5 bucks you get the standard image and can't change it. Sounds like for 10 a month you can install additional programs, though I'd guess this is limited.

With Splashtop you connect to your local PC and can do whatever you want. I'd much rather pay the 3 bucks up front for that program than shell out 10 a month for OnLive.

[PeterQVenkman]

Originally Posted by MacAztec

Awesome product, but should be catering to the HTML5 wave of the future.

The iPad does that natively with Safari. This fills a different need for those that have it. Our old timesheet software was only in flash.... the horror.

[babyj]

Originally Posted by Code.Red

Instead of connecting to your computer at home, you connect to OnLive's computers. One of the benefits of this, as stated in the article, is that OnLive's computers are connected with ultrafast Internet connections..

That gigabit internet connection statement is misleading at best. Each server will be shared by a lot of users (say 50 plus) and the connection will be to the data centres network rather than directly to the internet.

You wouldn't need that fast a connection at home to get comparable speeds and Windows remote desktop doesn't use that much bandwidth.

[ryuok]

clinging on the old world

[Sardonick007]

Going to have to go a long way to get money for this from me. The free is just north of lame right now. Might watch this, might forget it, either way it's not ground shaking (to me).

[DenisAuermann]

It's great to see many companies adding their services to the iPad. I might not use this, but if other technology companies see this kind of services being offered to the iPad user, they might start offering their services as well. Everybody wins

[*LTD*]

"We tried to shoe-horn a desktop OS onto a tablet. It didn't work when we did it, so we're going to have someone else do it for us."
- Some guy at Microsoft, as he swims around in red tape.

All I can say is "LOL", and "Get the hell off my iPad."

[vbtwo31984]

Originally Posted by babyj

That gigabit internet connection statement is misleading at best. Each server will be shared by a lot of users (say 50 plus) and the connection will be to the data centres network rather than directly to the internet.

You wouldn't need that fast a connection at home to get comparable speeds and Windows remote desktop doesn't use that much bandwidth.

From testing by Engadget, they got 650mbps down and 120mbps up in a speedtest from this. I would like to see you get a comparable speed from any home connection.

[firewood]

Originally Posted by chandra.hp

How is this app different from SplashTop?

Splashtop requires you to have a PC, a PC that's left turned on or that can be turned on remotely, and a fast PC that you wish to expose to the net. (I kill the powerstrip to my desk when I'm not home.) Also, a home network connection may have permanently limited upload bandwidth, used for streaming the desktop, which OnLive's servers do not, especially during off-peak use.

Sounds like an interesting way to run office and IE for people who don't have a copy of Windows (VM or PC).

[WiiDSmoker]

Originally Posted by *LTD*

"We tried to shoe-horn a desktop OS onto a tablet. It didn't work when we did it, so we're going to have someone else do it for us."
- Some guy at Microsoft, as he swims around in red tape.

All I can say is "LOL", and "Get the hell off my iPad."

You try way too hard.

[Benjamins]

that's kinda cool .... 4.99 that probably works around all the restrictions for Hulu too.

[babyj]

Originally Posted by vbtwo31984

From testing by Engadget, they got 650mbps down and 120mbps up in a speedtest from this. I would like to see you get a comparable speed from any home connection.

That speed test was for the connection from the hosted desktop to the internet, rather than the connection between the user and the hosted desktop though. So anything you download would be stuck on the hosted desktop, not sure exactly what help that is.

Obviously you can't get those speeds at home from a standard service, though Virgin Media have run trials of 1.5gbps/150mbps home connections.

But as I said you don't need that fast a connection for a remote desktop session to your home to be usable. I know as I use one all the time and it's fine for Office and maintenance type stuff. Depends what you want it for though, there are some things that Onlive would be pretty cool and useful for.

[Unggoy Murderer]

Cool, roll-over over that Flash menu with your curs... oh wait.

[faroZ06]

This is kinda stupid. I can already do this except with Mac OS using the old technology of VNC.

And if you're at home (which you probably are if you have enough bandwidth and battery power to do this), you could just use a real PC instead of dealing with this.

----------

Originally Posted by *LTD*

"We tried to shoe-horn a desktop OS onto a tablet. It didn't work when we did it, so we're going to have someone else do it for us."
- Some guy at Microsoft, as he swims around in red tape.

All I can say is "LOL", and "Get the **** off my iPad."

Windows 7 on the iPad is not a pleasing thought. No desktop OS on an iPad is a pleasing thought.

[Hawkeye411]

$60/year is TOO expensive!!

[a.gomez]

Originally Posted by MacAztec

Awesome product, but should be catering to the HTML5 wave of the future.

some of us live (and work) in the present

[BiggAW]

The biggest technical challenge I see with this is bandwidth. You need several mbps of bandwidth to use this type of thing, and it's not usable over 3G both due to lag, and the fact that you'd eat through your bandwidth cap in a matter of hours.

And although I think the technology is super cool, having used OnLive's gaming service, I just can't see it catching on at $5/mo. Although if you can use it on a PC, it might just be cheaper than upgrading your own Office every couple of years...

[RalfTheDog]

Originally Posted by Asclepio

wow this turn ipads in something usefulll.

Can it do the same for your comment?

Originally Posted by MetalMoon

Windows on ipad has its charm for those who need office, but I'll just stick to IOS for now.

Windows can make a nice toy OS for an iPad. Normally, I would not use it for anything real. That said, the local news station uses Flash for it's website and it is nice to be able to track a tornado or big hail when I am away from home. iPad based weather apps are good to see if it is raining, I would not use one to track the location of an EF-5 crashing down on where I am at.