Wyse Technology will offer a sub-$350 thin client that offers a separate hardware graphic accelerator to deliver better video and multimedia playback all the way up to 1080p HD.

Wyse’s new Wyse C class thin client features a processor and graphics accelerator from Via and uses VMware View 3.1 and Wyse’s TCX solutions on VMware, Citrix and Microsoft virtual environments, according to the company.

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“This is a family of thin clients that are very small but very high performance,” says Jeff McNaught, chief marketing officer and chief strategy officer at Wyse. At full operation, the device, which is about the size of a paperback book, uses only 7 watts of power and generates very little heat.

“What that means is that companies that replace PCs with this client reduce their energy footprint by 90 percent in for the data center and clients and save $53 per client per year,” McNaught says. “This device, before its lifetime is over, has completely paid for itself in energy savings alone.”

The Wyse C class thin client also supports Wyse WSM zero-client provisioning software. It’s powered by a Via C7 1GHz processor.

McNaught says for the device deployment to make good economic sense for an enterprise, the organization would probably need to put in 50 or more of them. Small businesses may need 10 or 15 for these to make sense and may need to turn to cloud computing rather than running their own virtual data centers.

"Today's businesses are looking for computing solutions that combine compactness [and] lower TCO, and improve energy efficiency, all without compromising power and productivity," says Bob O'Donnell, vice president at IDC, in a statement. "Companies looking to do desktop virtualization need the full capabilities of traditional PCs in their thin clients, particularly when it comes to media playback and graphics performance."

According to Wyse, the Wyse C class thin clients offer simple management secured with Wyse Device Manager (WDM) and are easy to manage, with features such as support for secure HTTPS-based communications, configuration management, real-time asset management, health monitoring and remote imaging.  The clients also offer a variety of connectivity options, including the following:

• DVI-I dual display video output
• Two PS/2 ports
• Optional wireless b/g and n
• Kensington Lock Slot
• 10/100/1000 Base-T Ethernet port
• Four available external USB 2.0 ports (two front; two back)
• Audio out: 1/8-inch mini jack, 16-bit stereo
• Audio in: 1/8-inch mini jack, 8-bit stereo microphone

Wyse says the clients will be available starting in September 2009.