Splashtop Aims For Project SHEILD Functionality With Streaming PC Gaming
This week the folks at Splashtop have announced the Configurable Shortcuts and Gamepad app for both iPads and high-powered Android tablets, this bringing a whole new chapter to PC gaming streaming in the mobile universe. Splashtop has been working as a remote desktop app for several years now, allowing both iOS and Android mobile devices view and work with desktop machines running Windows and Apple's Mac OS X. Gamepad functionality takes on what the recently announced NVIDIA Project SHIELD hardware aims to do with virtualized streaming PC game playing on a mobile device and, instead of working with one piece of hardware, spreads it to a collection of tablets.
Another major difference between the NVIDIA solution and what Splashtop is offering up here is the price – while no pricing exists for Project SHIELD, we must assume they'll be dropping one single price, one time. Here with the Splashtop Shortcuts and Gamepads app you'll be paying $0.99 USD once and $9.99 USD a year for a subscription to the service. This app will be available for download starting on the 1st of February, 2013.
The primary use case for this app is being demonstrated in a set of games with pre-made profiles. You'll have game profiles for World of Warcraft, Diablo III, and ProEvolution Soccer 2012 right out of the box, connecting you to the action with a series of controls on the surface of your tablet and connecting you to your PC wirelessly with ease. You'll also be able to create customized virtual joy sticks and buttons galore for each game you want to play.
You'll also be working with customized shortcuts of your own creation as well as mouse controls – with every version of Android 4.0 and up you've got built-in mouse functionality, mind you, and that'll be working with Splashtop here as well. This app will be released with built-in productivity profiles for a series of applications like Windows Media Player, QuickTime Player, web browsers of several different types, and Microsoft Office. Mac OS X and Windows 8 will also have their own unique profiles.
Have a peek at the demonstration video above and let us know if this seems like a solution you'll be trying out this year. Also be sure to keep in mind that the $9.99 a year subscription is mandatory for all functionality in the Configurable Shortcuts and Gamepads app and that you'll need to be using SplashTop 2 to make everything a reality.