Are thin clients really ready for prime time in the home?
Consumer PC makers will soon face a new competitor: thin client manufacturers.
Thin client devices are mostly used in large enterprises instead of “fat” PCs.
After subsidized cell phones and netbooks, telcos might now turn to consumer thin clients
Wyse, as well as Redwood City, Calif.-based competitor NComputing, now thinks consumers are finally ready to exchange their aging PCs for powerful thin computers, that would cost a fraction of a new PC or could even be, free!
Both NComputing and Wyse – unknown quantities in the consumer market – will launch their consumer devices, first through partners – cable providers, telcos or monitor-manufacturers – sometimes this year; and then eventually, under their own brand.
But are thin clients for the home ready for prime time?
The business model for those new consumer thin clients will most likely look akin the carriers’ subsidizing cell phones in exchange of a long-term subscription contract.
In the case of thin clients, this could be cable operators or telcos with a wireline business (AT&T, Verizon).
Now the billion dollars question to NComputing and Wyse is, will these thin clients have enough performance to satisfy the majority of computer-savvy consumers; because in the last 15-years or so, they have so far failed!
Here’s a short video excerpt of my conversation with Wyse’s chief marketing officer Jeff McNaught talking about the San Jose, Calif.-company consumer ambitions:
TechPulse 360
Mark Boslet