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Are thin client devices still relevant in a world of $300 Dell PCs?

Saturday, 27 January 2007 by Michel Roth

Earlier this week I received an email from Dell about their latest offerings. My entire home lab is Dell-based. Why? Because they're cheap and reliable. Anyway, in the email I got they were offering a PC to me (as a consumer) for �249 (which is about $325). The specs of this machine are:

� AMD AthlonTM 64 3200+ processor
� XP Home
� 512MB DDR2 533Mhz
� 80GB SATA (7,200rpm)
� Integrated nVidia 6150-LE_Nforce
� 48x CD-RW/DVD Combo

So nothing fancy right? Sure, if you look at it in terms of a game PC for home. But what if you look at it as a thin client or a company PC? Just to compare prices: one of the better and cheaper thin clients out there in my mind is the Wyse S10. These go for $289 (list price).
So if you think about it, for about thirty bucks extra you could have a fully-fledged PC in stead of a thin client. Now I have always been a strong believer in thin clients mainly because of the following advantages:

� No moving parts, so a longer lifespan
� Lower investment (purchase cost)
� Security: no data is on the device
� Lower Power Consumption
� Almost no management cost (dumb device)

But if you take a look at these arguments today, this does not hold (enough) water anymore. Continue reading this article here or at BrianMadden.com.