Hewlett-Packard has introduced its first mobile thin client, a notebook that can store data and access applications wirelessly on a centralized server. In addition to the Compaq 6720t, HP introduced on Thursday two desktop thin clients, the Compaq t5730 and t5735. The 6720t and t5730 run Microsoft Windows XPe, and the t5735 uses the Debian Linux operating system and supports open source applications.
HP's thin-client hardware uses technology acquired last year in the $214 million purchase of Neoware, which sold hardware and software that allowed users to build desktop systems that could be centrally managed from servers with little desk-side intervention. Neoware's Linux-based thin-client systems complemented HP's Windows-based systems.
The 6720t mobile PC features a 15.4-inch display and is powered by a 1.06-GHz Intel Celeron M Processor 423. The machine also has 1 GB of memory, a 1-GB solid-state flash drive, and three USB 2.0 ports. For graphics processing, the PC uses the Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950.
The mobile thin client has no hard-disk drive, since all storage is hosted on a server, which also handles processing for all business applications, such as Microsoft Office.
