New Beta Version of Splashtop OS Available for Consumer Download

Splashtop Inc., formerly DeviceVM, Inc., announced the immediate availability of its Splashtop OS for consumer download, as a beta version.

First introduced in 2007, the Splashtop OS is a lightweight, web-centric operating system optimized for notebooks and netbooks. It is a browser-based “companion OS” that can co-exist with the Windows operating system.

Earlier, Splashtop products were white labeled, pre-installed and distributed on tens of millions of PCs from major OEMs like Acer, ASUS, Dell (News - Alert), HP, Lenovo and LG. Now, the new product will be Splashtop-branded and available directly to end users via download from the company’s web site.

This instant-on, browser-centric OS allows users to quickly get to the content. With the help of this OS, users can do a quick search, find an address, check email or update their status on Facebook (News - Alert) or Twitter without having to boot into Windows and launch a Web browser.

According to Splashtop, its OS is designed for people who “live on the Web” and need fast, reliable access to their favorite sites and Web-based applications, as well as a traditional Windows-based desktop environment.

Expected to reach the market before the end of the year, the Splashtop OS will complement the Windows OS. Its Instant Search is powered by a pre-browser Bing-powered search box, for faster queries. It features a locked-down Linux core running a Chromium-based browser, thereby making it safe.

Chromium is the open source project behind the Google (News - Alert) Chrome browser.

Apart from automatically importing critical settings such as region, language, time/date, WiFi networks and browser bookmarks from Windows for streamlined set-up, the Splashtop OS also includes all the core plug-ins, such as Adobe Flash.

Along with the announcement of the beta version release, Splashtop also announced a new worldwide search distribution agreement with Microsoft (News - Alert) Corp. Through this agreement, Bing will become the default search engine across the Splashtop family of products.

Officials with Splashtop said that the new OS will include no native applications beyond the Chromium-based browser, and will boot directly to a Bing-powered search box in just seconds.

Mark Lee, CEO and co-founder of Splashtop Inc., said in a statement, "Through our OEM-branded instant-on products, we've already got millions of PC users hooked on Splashtop speed. With our downloadable product, we're aiming to reach the rest of the population. And now, together with Microsoft, we're going to put some zing into web search."

The company’s another product, Splashtop Remote, allows users to enjoy the full Windows experience from their iPad or other mobile device, while away from their Windows PC.