10Zig Technology has announced two thin clients compatible with Linux: a RBT-602 model, offering terminal emulation, and a RBT-672v system targeted solely at virtual desktop environments. Both thin clients offer a 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270, up to 1GB of RAM and 8GB of flash storage, gigabit Ethernet, and four USB ports, the company says.

Formerly known as Bosanova, 10Zig touts its new RBT-602 and RBT-672v systems as the "fastest small form factor thin client on the market," though other companies who have released such devices with the same 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 processor might dispute that. Competitive examples that come to mind include Devon IT's TC5x/XW, introduced in March, and the Chip PC EX-PC XPD4741, introduced last month. In fact, the RBT-6xx thin clients, including a new Windows-based RBT-616 model, bear a striking resemblance to the Chip PC device, right down to matching specifications and physical dimensions.

10Zig RBT-6xx thin client
(Click to enlarge)

Physically identical, the two Linux thin clients differ in that the RBT-602 model offers a desktop that "provides access to all applications in a windowing environment" and offers terminal emulation. By comparison, the RBT-672v is designed solely for a desktop virtualization (VDI) environment, and runs applications full-screen, the company says.

10Zig packs the RBT-602 and RBT-672v with either 256MB or 1GB of DDR2 memory, and up to 1GB of flash storage, says the cmopany. The device includes client software from Citrix, Ericom, Leostream, Quest (optional), and VMWare, and applications that can be run locally are said to include the Adobe Acrobat Reader, Adobe Flash Player 10, Sun JVM 1.6, Cisco VPN, Linux PN Agent, NoMachine's NX Cient, X Windows, and (RBT-602 only) the Thunderbird email app.

The front panel of the RBT-616 includes a power switch, a LAN LED, mic in and headphone out jacks, and two USB 2.0 ports. Rear I/O includes an RJ45 port for gigabit Ethernet, two more USB 2.0 ports, a PS/2 keyboard connector, a power input, and a video output, says 10Zig.

10Zig omits to mention on its data sheet what type of connector the video output provides, but we're assuming that it's a DVI-I connector, as on the Chip PC EX-PC XPD4741. The thin client outputs to a single display with resolutions of up to 1600 x 1200 pixels, and supports a second display with an optional adapter cable, 10Zig says.

According to 10Zig, wireless networking may be added to the RBT-616 via optional wireless LAN modules, which are available in either 802.11b/g or 802.11b/g/n versions.

Features and specifications released by 10Zig for its RBT-602 and RBT-672x include:

• Processor -- Intel Atom N270 clocked at 1.6GHz
  
• Memory -- 256MB or 1GB of DDR2 RAM and from 256MB to 1GB of flash storage
  
• Display -- Supports single or dual displays with resolutions of up to 1600 x 1200 pixels
  
• Networking:
  • LAN -- Gigabit Ethernet port
    
  • WLAN -- 802.11b/g module (optional)
• Other I/O:
  • 4 x USB 2.0 (2 front, 2 rear)
    
  • 1 x PS/2
    Audio -- mic in and headphone out, plus internal speaker
    
  • 1 x DVI-I (presumed)
• Expansion -- none except WLAN module
  
• Operating range -- 32 to 95 deg. F (0 to 35 deg. C)
  
• Dimensions -- 6.14 x 4.80 x 1.4 inches (156 x 122 x 36mm)
  
• Weight -- 1.7 pounds (0.75kg)

Availability

The RBT-602 and RBT-672v appear to be available now, though pricing was not disclosed. Further information may be found here.

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