The singular goal of DeviceVM and the Splashtop technology is to get you to whatever you’re looking for, quickly and efficiently. We’re the inventors of this space and continually think of ways to innovate. Sometimes we innovate by solving large technical problems like getting your machine up and functional in a matter of seconds. Other times, we observe how people are using technology and attempt to make interface changes that improve the experience of using Splashtop.

Sometimes a small shift in an interface can create a revolution and open up a world of possibilities. That’s why our adding instant search to our list of features is a huge step for Splashtop. Here’s an understatement: people do a lot of searching. We all know this but we didn’t realize how many people use search as a tool for navigating the web. Many of us open a browser check our email, news and Facebook. But a lot of people put the word “Facebook” in a search box and click on the result. Are you one of those people?

Whether or not you use search as a tool for navigating the web, instant search is something we can all appreciate. Where was that restaurant? What was the name of the guy in that movie? What time does the hardware store close? Answers to these questions and more are now seconds away from your inquiring mind.

Our first partners on instant search are very exciting too! Yahoo, Baidu and Yandex have all jumped on board. When we set out to provide this feature it was important that we didn’t let one search engine be the only dominant player. We really wanted to give people a choice as search can be very regional. That’s why we picked partners who had incredible regional relevance. Splashtop users also have a choice as you can switch up the default Search Engine to whatever you prefer. Everyone wins with Instant Search!

Check out some great coverage:

BBC News - Push for ‘instant-on’ web search
CNET - Instant search comes to Splashtop
ComputerWorld - Eyeing Google, Splashtop partners with Yahoo for instant-on web search
Ubergizmo - (Yahoo) Search becomes a priority in Splashtop
VentureBeat - DeviceVM brings search to its ‘instant-on’ Splashtop software
jkOnTheRun - Splashtop Gains Instant Search on Netbooks, Notebooks — Expects User Base of 130m

There’s no doubt that the instant internet revolution is here. A couple weeks ago we announced that we are now working with both Acer and Sony. Add that to HP, Asus, LG and Lenovo. We’re on a roll and millions of people are booting up to Splashtop every day. We get lots of feedback about Splashtop - most of it is very complimentary and often we get suggestions how to make it better. Sometimes the suggestions are very specific about peripherals and applications that our users would like to see. Other times, it’s more general about the direction of our software or devices folks would like to see Splashtop running on.

Great startups listen to their users and we aim to be great. Lately, we’ve heard a lot of feedback about using Splashtop at work. One was from an IT manager who realizes how easy it would be to manage her fleet of devices with Splashtop. Another was from a sales representative that travels a lot and thought instant internet would make his 3G netbook way more useful when on sales calls. These are all great use-cases and ultimately we’d love to see everyone using Splashtop all the time! So, we thought we should start doing some research on how to bring Splashtop to the workplace.

The workplace can be a complex environment. In a big company, for instance, IT professionals often make very good, specific decisions on what kind of software to support. It’s not enough that Splashtop can prevent lawsuits. Splashtop also has to be secure and easy to manage. So, we’re beginning to do our due diligence on the subject.

Are you someone who uses Splashtop at work?

We want to hear real stories so please click this link and be as detailed as possible. Include specifics around how Splashtop has changed the work environment for you. If you’d like to submit a video, podcast or other form of your story just paste a link in the form. Well detailed submissions get a sweet Splashtop shirt! So, hit this link and let us know how you use Splashtop at work.

In its corporate blog post, Google outlined the vision for the Google Chrome OS. This is an exciting development, and validates and reflects what we have been seeing with Splashtop - people want instant-on computing; an easy-to-use interface; and a secure environment with no worries about malware or viruses. Here is how Google explains the motivation behind Chrome OS:

We hear a lot from our users and their message is clear — computers need to get better. People want to get to their email instantly, without wasting time waiting for their computers to boot and browsers to start up. They want their computers to always run as fast as when they first bought them.

We could not have said it better! Of course, the market has been moving towards instant-on computing for a while now, and DeviceVM has already seen tremendous success in the space: tens of millions of PCs already shipped with Splashtop, and our announced and shipping customers include HP, Acer, Sony, Lenovo, ASUS, and LG. By the end of 2010,  Splashtop will be in the hands of more than 150M desktop, nettop, notebook, and netbook users.
 
Instant-on became possible because of the web. In the past, computing was all about heavy native applications. Today, most of what we do is in the browser, and “applications” are things like webmail, Twitter, listening to Pandora or watching YouTube. By focusing first on the web, unlike traditional operating systems, Splashtop gets you started in seconds. This also appears to be the direction Google is taking with Chrome OS: “For application developers, the web is the platform.”

The world of web content and apps is diverse. Most popular services in China, for example, are quite different from those in the US (check out http://www.alexa.com/topsites/countries/CN - Google.cn is in fourth place there). To that end, we have been working with a number of leading regional brands to bring more relevant web services to Splashtop users around the world. Stay tuned for more to come on that!

Updated July 9, 2009

I’ve made no secret of my love for gadgets big and small. It’s something about the unboxing of a new gadget that makes me long for more and more. Am I the only one that blocks extra time on the calendar for Apple keynotes so I can watch it again online? Does anyone else just go to Best Buy for no reason whatsoever? Do you have a room where you retire your old gadgets to? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions then allow me to suggest a new site called, “gdgt.”

If gadgets are drugs then gdgt is your dealer. It’s a social network for gadget lovers done right. You can post things that interest you, questions you have or link to posts that might benefit the community. This plays on an interesting trend. If you’re a fan of Engadget or Gizmodo you’ll notice that the comments get quickly overwhelming. People are very opinionated about technology and more than any site I’ve ever seen, Engadget (in particular) gets a ton of discussion around nearly every post. gdgt seems to channel that enthusiasm into something more tangible. This is no surprise given that it was created by the original founders of Engadget and Gizmodo.

Interestingly, the real potential of gdgt lies in the database of user generated content. gdgt seems more like a distributed blog where the community can create content about their passions. I see it differently than a wiki as so much of the content will be IMO-based.

Engadget says it right in their review:

Look, we’ve found the best way in life to learn about something is to scuttle the user manual and dive right in — we highly suggest you do the same and take gdgt out for a spin. We think you’ll like what you find.