Splashtop Posts Windows 8 App to Windows Store

One of the biggest questions surrounding Windows 8 is how many third-party apps will be ready for launch.

That's still a huge question mark, but one hot app developer that makes software that serves as a usability multiplier is already on the platform.

Splashtop today got a consumer preview version of its Splashtop Remote Desktop for Windows 8 onto the Windows Store.

The San Jose, Calif.-based company already claims more than 7 million users of its software that, among other things, allows mobile devices from Apple iPads and Android tablets to various smartphones to access Windows-based PCs and Macs to remotely run applications. With technology that pushes video at 30 frames per second, Splashtop positions its software as especially well-suited for HD movies and graphic-intensive games.

The Windows 8 version allows Windows or Mac remote access support over Wi-Fi and 3G/4G networks. For now, accessing computers over the Internet through Splashtop will require a static IP address.

I used Splashtop's Win8 Metro Testbed for the iPad earlier this year to test the Windows 8 Consumer Preview over my home network, and it worked very well. Judging from that experience (and assuming Windows RT support), it seems like Splashtop's app could provide a handy workaround for some of the limitations in Windows RT, as well as expanding the applications immediately available to the Windows 8 platform.

Posted by Scott Bekker on August 02, 2012 at 11:58 AM