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HP Thins Down With Entria

HP unveils thin-client line, designed for simpler use and management.

By Liane Gouthro, PCWorld   

On Monday the company will announce a group of new thin-client appliances, aimed at companies trying to pare down desktop hardware while still providing capable systems. The array of thin-client products, under the new brand name Entria, is designed to simplify your life as an end user (or a systems manager).

Thin-client computers typically don't include a hard drive, have less memory and processing power than desktop PCs, and start at prices less than $600. They run applications that are hosted on a central server, from which they also derive much of their processing power. The systems are designed to help companies reduce the cost of deploying and maintaining PCs.

HP is offering three new Entria thin-client appliances, the Entria X, the Entria L, and the Entria G. Each model is designed to meet different configurations according to a company's needs.

"Needs vary within a company. Not all departments need the same applications," says Wolfgang Baltes, general manager of HP's Thin Client Operation. Why, then, would they all need the same computer?

Cut Calories With Embedded Apps

The Entria G, which is expected to ship in mid-September, is the entry-level line. It runs a 166-MHz Cyrix Media GXm MMX chip and will have a list price starting at $599, according to Baltes. The G series uses an embedded version of the Windows CE operating system and is designed for users of Windows-based applications that are located on a server.

The Entria L and Entria X, which should be available by mid-October, will run on 266-MHz Pentium processors. They can use browser-based applications and will have more local features. These machines run Linux on an embedded core and include a local browser for access to Java programs. The X model also includes HP's ChaiVM embedded Java virtual machine, which provides access to applications hosted on Unix and legacy servers. Pricing has not yet been announced for these models.

HP launched its first series of thin clients, the Net Vectra, early last year. The launch of the Entria L and X models marks the first time a thin-client computer will be both designed and manufactured by HP, Baltes says. The Net Vectra is being renamed as an Entria.

The company hopes that the thin-client models will catch on easily, as they are designed to simplify the end user's experience. Baltes likened using a thin-client machine to using a household appliance.

"Think of using the thin-client computer just as you use any appliance in your household, such as the fridge. You don't have to understand the technology behind the appliance, you just know how it works for you," Baltes says. "We want to make the end user's experience as close as possible to an appliance experience."

Baltes notes that the systems professional is the one who will understand the technology behind the machine--the user has no reason to. The thin-client model will make life easier for the help desk, he adds. Having little hardware to configure and few applications to load, problem-solving is a much quicker process than on the typical desktop PC, according to Baltes.

HP's faith in the thin-client models is reflected in recent market research. International Data Corporation predicts the worldwide market for thin clients will expand from about 600,000 shipments this year to 6 million by 2002.

(James Niccolai of IDG News Service contributed to this report.)