Thin-client maker Neoware on Oct. 17 announced its first-ever line of notebooks, which the company hopes will appeal to security-conscious professionals.
The King of Prussia, Pa., company will start taking orders for its Neoware m100 thin-client notebooks later in October, said Diana Wong, director of product marketing.
Neoware has had success with its line of thin-client desktops, and Wong said the time seemed right to offer a notebook line that would appeal to users concerned about security.
Wong said the new notebooks will appeal to users outside the company who need access to secure data.
“We really see this appealing to [workers] who move from conference room to conference room and need to have regular access to their laptop,” Wong told eWeek. “We see the notebooks appealing to people who work from home or might need access to company data from their hotel room.”
Neoware is not the only vendor trying to offer thin-client notebooks and desktops as secure alternatives. Thin-client vendors Wyse Technology, Hewlett-Packard and others have continued to tout the security benefits of their thin clients. Heavyweights, such as Intel and Dell, have also begun to introduce thin-client products for the enterprise marketplace. Advanced Micro Devices, for one, in June announced a project called Raiden that will give the company presence in the thin-client space.
Much like a standard thin-client desktop, the m100s key components, such as memory and processors, are housed in a centrally located server.
The notebook can access a companys server through an Ethernet, a USB, a built-in Wi-Fi or a cellular connection.
The m100 includes support for ICA (Integrated Communications Adapter), RDP (Remote Desktop Protocol), XDM (X Window Display Manager), SSH (Secure Shell) and terminal emulation. In addition, it supports open-source applications such as Firefox, NoMachine and Tarantella.
The m100 features a VIA Technologies processor, a 15-inch display and a battery with a 6-hour life span.
M100 models running Microsofts Windows XP Embedded operating system are priced starting at $799; Linux-based models start at $759.
The Linux-based notebooks are due in November but will have limited availability. Wong said those notebooks will become widely available in the first quarter of 2007.