Announced earlier this week at CES, OnLive has released their new Desktop for iPad app (free, App Store link), bringing cloud-based Windows 7 access to the iPad, as well as full-featured versions of Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
OnLive Desktop is a service that provides a seamless, no-compromise, instant-response cloud-based PC desktop, wherever and whenever you want it. OnLive brings to your iPad a high-performance PC experience, regardless of the content, even when interacting with fast-action media. Based on groundbreaking video compression technology, OnLive harnesses the power of cloud computing to deliver a seamless, no-compromise remote PC desktop solution.
The app works by hosting the software on OnLive’s remote servers, and then live streaming the content directly to your iPad, and a number of plans are available for the service (which you can see over at OnLive’s site), including a free plan.
Users of OnLive’s gaming platform can sign in with their current accounts, and new users can grab an account for free, although account activation is being carefully throttled and monitored to prevent OnLive’s servers from overload.
OnLive Desktop for iPad is available immediately as a free download from the App Store (link), requires an account with OnLive, and is currently only available in the U.S.
