Splashtop has just announced that its iPad app supports Windows 8 gestures and touch controls. Now that the Windows 8 consumer preview is out, enthusiast users and developers can get a feel for what Windows 8 tablets will behave like, from an iPad.
If you are not familiar with Splashtop for iPad, it is basically a Windows “remote control” application that lets one pilot a Windows computer from an iPad. Until now, the new Windows gestures were not yet supported.
Splashtop is pointing out that most tablet developers probably already own an iPad, and that by using Splashtop today, they can benefit from a tablet experience for their Windows 8 applications, without buying a Windows 8 tablet, which is not available, or very expensive (development units). The value-proposition of Splashtop is the $49.99 price of the application ($24.99 at launch) and its immediate availability. Keep in mind that Splashtop works over WiFi, so things won’t run as fast as native hardware. However, it may well be good enough to get the job done, for a relatively low price.