The people who popularized running Windows on a Mac have been working on another trick: Word on the iPad.

Parallels Access on iPad accessing Windows 7 PC
Windows and Office running on the iPad via Parallels Access.

That’s one of the possibilities with a new iPad app from Parallels, part of a $79.99/year subscription service called Parallels Access that lets users of Apple tablets connect to their Windows PCs and Macs to run desktop programs on the iPad.

The company, based south of Seattle in Renton, Wash., unveiled the new app tonight. It works in conjunction with a small piece of software installed on the user’s Mac or PC.

The iPad app includes features that makes it possible to interact with desktop programs — yes, including Microsoft Office — using native iPad gestures for commands such as copy-paste and cursor placement, among many others.

Although the features of the Parallels Access service are much broader, the ability to run the Microsoft programs on the Apple tablet is notable in part because Microsoft itself has so far decided not to release the core Office programs natively for the iPad.

The Mac version of Parallels Access requires the $79.99 year subscription after a 14-day trial, but the Windows version is currently in beta, and free to use for now.

Like what you're reading? Subscribe to GeekWire's free newsletters to catch every headline

Job Listings on GeekWork

Find more jobs on GeekWork. Employers, post a job here.