Laptop thin clients boost data security

Thinspace announces plans for thin client laptop

Thin client vendor Thinspace is to introduce a laptop format model to the UK market early next year. The new terminal will enable enterprise users to securely access applications and data while on the road or working from home, while most thin clients are designed to be tethered to a desktop LAN connection.

The Thinspace RWT750 is based on a 1.5GHz Pentium M processor and runs Microsoft's Windows XP Embedded (XPe) operating system. It resembles a standard laptop with either a 14.1in or 15in display, but comes without a hard disk. It is due to ship in the first quarter of 2007 and is expected to cost £499.

Workers are increasingly using laptops to enable them to work while off-site or in the evening, but this opens their employer to the risk of sensitive data being disclosed if a laptop is lost or stolen. With the growth in domestic broadband and expanding high-speed mobile coverage from carriers, workers can instead be given mobile thin clients, according to Thinspace.

"If your organisation has Citrix, you can connect from home just as easily as in the office," said Paul Craddock, technical sales consultant at Thinspace.

The RWT750 has built-in 10Mbit/s Ethernet, with 802.11b/g capability via an optional mini PCI card. It has also been tested with a Vodafone 3G adapter card, Craddock said.

The laptop thin client is aimed initially at government departments and the education market, Thinspace said, but the company will work with any organisation looking to deploy thin clients.