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For years now, we’ve been shipping Splashtop, the widely recognized leading instant-on computing platform, via an impressive array of PC OEMs, including Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo, LG, and Sony. And we’ve often heard from people - many would-be users - in our support and feedback forum that they wished Splashtop was available for download so they could take it for a spin without buying a brand new system with Splashtop pre-installed.

Well today, we’re taking the first step toward making all of that possible, and just in time for the holidays. We’ve just posted the first ever beta release of Splashtop OS (yes, our own branded offering), available free for download from here. For this introductory beta period, it is available for a limited number of computer models, with plans to add more as we work toward general availability in early 2011.

So what’s Splashtop OS all about?  In a word: the browser. It’s about getting you connected to whatever you want online, right away. No frills, no clutter, just instant-on, streamlined computing designed to get you to whatever you care about - fast. It boots into a search-centric splash page featuring Bing, our new default search provider thanks to a partnership with Microsoft (also announced today).

Within seconds of powering on, you’ll be typing a search query into the Bing-powered box or clicking a thumbnail from a recent browsing history. You’ll then be seamlessly transported to a familiar browser environment based on Chromium.  For this long time supporter of the Mozilla project, the move to Chromium is new too - and we think you’ll like it.

From here its up to you - Facebook, Gmail, Twitter, Hulu, YouTube, your sister’s blog - whatever you want, right away.  The Flash plug-in is pre-installed so there’s nothing to configure or set-up. Splashtop OS imports key settings from Windows at the time of install. Language, date and time - check. Wifi settings - check. Bookmarks - check.

You can read more in the press release, or watch a short video first. But try it out and tell us what you think via our discussion board or Twitter.

As of today, we announced that we're changing the name of the company from DeviceVM Inc to Splashtop Inc. “Isn't Splashtop already the name of the product?” you might be thinking.

Well, yes. And that's kind of the point.  The decision to change the name of the company was not simply a whimsical idea,  but rather one very notable outcome of a broad-reaching strategic branding process led by company advisor and friend, David Riemer, the former VP of Marketing at Yahoo! and current executive-in-residence at the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley. Now we collectively envision a single “master” brand that reflects both the company mission as well as an expanding family of products.

How did we get here?

This past summer the co-founders began thinking a lot about a brand strategy with respect to several new products on the horizon. Unlike our flagship Splashtop product--the instant-on platform that is often re-branded our many PC OEM customers--many of the new products (or product line extensions) would be coming available directly to consumers. Take Splashtop Remote, for example, a product launched near the end of August that has seen tremendous success recently in climbing the charts of the App Store.

So our executive team gathered for several intensive, introspective sessions with David over the course of 8 weeks and concluded we had a valuable brand asset in the "Splashtop" name that was well worth elevating and investing in. We found examples of other successful, innovative companies -- including Motorola, Oracle and Xerox -- all of which shed their original company name in favor of a more recognizable and growing brand.

So in many ways, dropping "DeviceVM" in favor of Splashtop is an evolution of sorts, a nod to the fact that there are people out there -- be they strategic partners or consumer end-users --for whom Splashtop has meaning. It is a foundation from which to build -- both more useful, innovative products and a more approachable, recognizable brand for the company. Launching Splashtop Remote was the first visible step toward executing this strategy; now changing the name of the company follows suit.

But wait, there's more -- coming soon. And you can bet it will be connected to Splashtop.

Now Get Instant Access to Outlook Without the Windows Wait.

With a slew of new Windows 7-based products hitting the market this holiday season, PC reviewers, retailers, and gadget-hounds will undoubtedly be buzzing about them.  Lucky for us at DeviceVM, our Splashtop-powered, instant-on environment is the perfect companion for Windows 7. And we have lots to share about some of the innovative new ways to enjoy Splashtop!

For example, Acer is now shipping the new Aspire One Pro 531, a revamped netbook targeting students and on-the-go professionals. In addition to shipping with Win7 Starter Edition or Home Basic Edition, this Intel Atom-based netbook sports all the sweet specs you’ll need – a 10.1” LCD screen, integrated 3G, 160GB hard drive, Bluetooth, and webcam – making it the perfect mobile companion system. But what really separates this product from the crowd is a practical and powerful new implementation of Splashtop, called “InstaBoot.”

Within seconds of booting up, users are greeted with an elegant start screen (pictured below), that delivers instant access to your personal communications suite, seamlessly synchronized with Outlook Email, Calendar and Address Book (supporting Office 2000 / 2003 / 2007 versions). Directly from the PIM desktop panel view, you can quickly scan daily appointments and your “to-do” list, read through your email messages, and look up contact information with the greatest of ease – even when no network connection is available.

In addition, Acer’s InstaBoot also includes “Insta WebGrab,” a handy program for one-click capture of web pages for quick access to maps, driving directions, flight information or whatever page you want to keep at your fingertips. And of course, what environment would be complete without the Splashtop browser (based on Firefox), with built in Flash support -- if your flight gets delayed there’s always YouTube.

Great for students and business travelers alike, the Aspire One Pro will be available in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific markets at competitive prices. Check it out and let us know what you think.

It is no secret that Netbooks – the small, ultra-portable and arguably underpowered cousins of larger, more powerful PC notebooks – have turned the PC industry on its head. Since Asus first ushered in the EeePC a few short years ago, the market has been flooded with a slew of netbooks. Today’s models are sporting larger screens, bigger keyboards, more memory and typically feature Windows XP as the de facto standard operating system. While Forrester Research declared an era of the third form factor back in January, the lines between netbooks and notebooks are increasingly blurring.

The key difference, as GigaOM recently posited, is that netbooks nail a sweet spot in the market where traditional notebooks often fall short on the 3P triangle: Performance, Price and Portability.

"Currently, a notebook can excel in one or two of these areas, but not all three… Enter netbooks: They provide enough horsepower to do the majority of everyday computing tasks, tend to average around $350, and are light and small enough to carry all day long."

Recognizing this ‘holy grail’ of computing, the November print issue of Wired magazine recently dubbed a netbook, the Samsung NC20, as its “computer of the year,” citing price ($550), ‘everyday’ performance (Via vs. Atom) and portability (3.3 lbs with a 12” screen) as its key selling points. [The only critical thing missing in this package may be the instant gratification of Splashtop to make portability even more pleasurable].

But given this year’s sweeping global recession, the most critical attribute thus far may in fact be Price-- cost-conscious consumers the world over have been snapping up netbooks at an amazing clip. Even the WSJ's Walt Mossberg has taken to reviewing netbooks, which he recently referred to as the sole bright spot in an otherwise awful economic climate. To put an even finer point on it, research firm DisplaySearch forecasts 33M netbooks shipping this year—2X over 2008—while notebook shipments have remained flat Y/Y for the first time. [See table below]

So on the eve of the Windows 7 roll-out, let’s take time to reflect on the 3Ps of netbook goodness, the potential impact of a new OS and imagine what might happen to this fast-changing product category over the coming months. On the positive side, look for more performance gains – new chip sets, bigger screens, more memory – and serious portability enhancements with longer battery life, better power management and smarter networking with integrated 3G. The question mark is around price – can PC makers keep upping performance and portability while maintaining the attractive price point that lured consumers in the first place? Or are we destined to see further blurring of the line between what makes a netbook vs. a traditional notebook?

Answer: “yes, but.” The “but” in this equation really depends on Windows 7. Unlike Vista, Win7 should run well on netbooks, according to Microsoft. But will it further the current trend of increasing screen size while maintaining affordability, a luxury afforded by XP-based netbooks. That remains to be seen – several reports indicate Windows 7 Starter OEM edition will cost $45-$55 per copy, which is OK for a new $1000+ notebook, but way out-of-whack for a $300-$500 netbook. While Amazon is currently showcasing an equal number of netbooks and notebooks shipping with Windows 7 (28 of each), it seems that price points have increased over comparable XP-editions. Using the popular Lenovo S10-2 as an example, a comparably-equipped netbook shipping with XP Home lists for $329, while the Win7 Starter version costs an extra $20.

At the end of the day, we at DeviceVM are extremely bullish on the future of netbooks as a distinct new form factor that deserves new “post-notebook” thinking. Regardless of which flavor of Windows suits your fancy or budget, the experience is made even better when complimented by an instant-on, web-enabled, browser-driven environment like Splashtop. And while Splashtop is currently shipping on flagship netbooks like the Lenovo S10-2 (referenced above) and S12, the new designer HP Mini 110 by Studio Tord Boontje, and the super-slick LG X130, we also look forward to sharing details of a new generation of devices from leading PC makers shipping robust new variations of Splashtop to complement the brand new Win7 environment. How will Splashtop fair in the Win7 world? Stay tuned…many more good things to come.

Last week we made a press announcement in China that the company has opened a new facility in Beijing, headed by our Chief Strategy Officer, Cliff Miller, and the new home base to several high-level employees, including founding team member Alex Lu, SVP of BD; newly appointed VP of OEM Sales and Alliances, William Wang; Director of New Business Development, Kevin Wang; and Allen Shen, PR Director for China. The Beijing office will focus on building strategic relationships in China as well as the broader Asian market.

All of us at DeviceVM are excited to have a new office to continue ongoing sales and marketing activity from pre-existing DeviceVM offices in Shanghai and Hangzhou, as well as our base of engineering operations headquartered in Taipei. With the foundation now in place, Cliff and team will be focused on existing relationships with top-tier PC OEMs, as well as expansion into the telecom sector, introducing the award-winning Splashtop platform to enterprises in Asia, and working with leading web companies in the areas of gaming, education, and new media.

Here’s a photo of the new building:

…and the team at work entertaining a team of local journalists:

Finally, here’s Cliff with several engineering students following a talk at the prestigious Beijing University:

Congrats to Cliff and team – if you are ever in Beijing, drop by and pay them a visit!