Over the last few years a lot of people have labeled netbooks as “underpowered” laptops thanks to the relatively slow Intel Atom processor found in most netbooks. While a lot of netbook users have realized that the Atom processor is good enough for day to day tasks such as surfing the web or editing documents, Wyse Technology is taking a different approach with its new X90cw mini-laptop.
The Wyse x90cw is an 11.6 inch notebook with a 1.33GHz Intel Atom Z520 processor and a 1366 x 768 pixel display. It weighs 3.2 pounds and runs for up to 8 hours on a charge. The laptop supports 802.11b/g/n WiFi, LAN, and Bluetooth. There’s also a 3G option.
But what really sets it apart from the crowd is that Wyse has loaded the laptop up with software that lets it act as a remote terminal. In other words, it provides a quick and easy way to access all of the applications on your work computer while you’re on the go. You don’t need a super-powerful processor in the notebook, because your PC or server at the office will be handling all the hardcore number crunching.
The Wyse X90cw will reportedly sell for around $699, which seems a tad expensive at a time when you can pick up any number of laptops with similar hardware for less than half that price. But you don’t necessarily get Wyse’s virtualization support. And the company web site does say you can “call for price,” so it’s possible you can work out a better deal if you’re ordering a set of these computers for your workplace.
via PC World
Wow… Umm, this makes sense. We use Remote Desktop at work all the time, and I’ve tried using a netbook with that and the Atom is more than fast enough to handle it. You get a lot of the experience of using your desktop, only remotely (although I feel like i’m staring through a tiny peek hole on a 1024×600 screen since my desktop drives 2 2560×1600 monitors)…
The only thing is you can do that with Windows XP. You certainly don’t need to spend an extra $300 on their software to do this.
Depends on what you are comparing the price too –
The machines made specificly as Thin Clients are still
priced like Laptops used to be.
So I would guess that Wyse is targeting business too small to
house an IT department to convert (re-load) conventional NetBooks.
Being able to layoff a few IT people might be worth the “price bump”.