SL Go has just announced that from now on the Firestorm viewer is available for mobile devices including Android and iOS but not the official Linden Lab viewer.
I quote from the Press release;
OnLive is thrilled to announce today that due to overwhelming demand from our community of SL Go users, we are making the Firestorm Viewer available for mobile devices including Android and iOS. Due to current technical limitations, we are only able to offer one viewer for mobile devices. Our studies have shown that the SL Go community prefers the Firestorm Viewer, and now they can enjoy the same rich experience on their mobile devices.
Of course the LL viewer still works on PC and Mac computers, but for mobile devices you now will have to use Firestorm.
For me this is not a bad thing, I ever only use Firestorm for Second Life and I don’t use any mobile devices anyway.
But for others it means they have one less choice and may even have to start getting used to the Firestorm viewer.
But it is not surprising, although worrying for Linden Lab (or should be) that the majority of viewers prefer the Firestorm viewer.
The SL go team also said that they hope to “bring this same choice to mobile devices soon, but still have some technical hurdles to overcome.”.
Now you can enjoy Second Life on your Ipad everywhere you go with ultra high settings.
Yay shadows!
Drax got to try it out and is rather excited about the experience;
From the press release;
SL Go empowers Second Life residents to experience Second Life in full 3D and in real time on any iPad running iOS 7 or greater, without the need for an expensive desktop computer. New and existing users can simply sign in over Wi-Fi or 4G LTE to enjoy a high-fidelity Second Life experience with amazing graphics quality, full shaders, shadows and full motion capability. Streamed from OnLive’s powerful cloud-based servers, which have been clocked at speeds as high as 200 FPS set to Ultra with Maximum Render Distance, each secure Second Life session enables users to rez quickly into their favorite sims to connect with in-world friends, participate in events, engage in combat games, and enjoy immersion in Second Life at a level never before possible on iPad tablets.
SL Go offers access to the full Second Life Viewer interface, including edit menus, inventory, preference settings and chat management, adding intuitive touch controls. All user customizations are saved from session to session, even if played on a completely different device or platform. Design a beautiful scene using SL Go on your Mac or PC, and then show it off to friends on iPad. Your world transfers seamlessly, making it mind-blowingly easy to stay connected with in-world events.
“Ever since we launched SL Go for Android™, the Second Life community has been clamoring for iOS compatibility,” said Rick Sanchez, VP of Product and Marketing at OnLive. “Now, residents can keep Second Life at their fingertips whether they’re at work, home, out with friends or traveling for the holidays. And with the iPad’s stunning Retina display, the Second Life world is beautifully rendered with breathtaking 3D graphics.”
Since its launch in 2010, OnLive has enabled premium-quality gaming via the cloud on nearly any Mac or PC computer and a wide range of thin client devices, including lightweight laptops, tablets, phones and TVs—platforms that would normally lack the processing power and memory to run graphics intensive games.
To get started with SL Go for iOS, users can sign up for an OnLive account here, and choose from one of two payment plans: $9.95 (£6.95) per month for unlimited access, or pay as you go for $1.00 (£0.70) per hour. A free 7-day trial is available for monthly subscribers. iPad users in the United States can then download the free OnLive SL Go app from the iTunes Store here, or in the UK here, for instant access to their virtual world. Alternately, users can open iTunes and search for “SL Go”.