10Zig's announcement of the RBT-617v and XTC-6000v today claimed these new thin clients will be the first to ship with Windows Embedded Standard 7, which was released to manufacturing by Microsoft at the end of April. If true, this means 10Zig is beating out the likes of Wyse, which said in mid-May that it would provide the operating system in a new family of thin clients to be released during the third quarter.

As the componentized version of Windows 7, Windows Embedded Standard 7 has the potential to provide users with the latest software technologies, while also delivering the smaller footprint and security that are desirable for a thin client. Cited advantages include the Windows Aero interface, RDP (remote desktop protocol) 7.0, support for Active Directory's Domain Join and group policies, and the Internet Explorer 8 (IE8) web browser.

10Zig's RBT-617v (right) appears to be a revamp of the RBT-616, released last August and touted at the time as the "fastest small form factor thin client on the market." The new model retains the latter's 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270, but the minimum RAM complement has now been doubled to 1GB of DDR2 memory, while there's also 2GB of flash storage, according to the company.

10Zig says the RBT-617v is available with a variety of VDI clients, notably including those for Citrix's Xen Desktop, Quest's vWorkspace, and VMWare's View 4 with PCoIP. Applications that can be run locally include Adobe's Flash Player, Windows Media Player, and IE8, the company adds.

The front panel of the RBT-617v includes a power switch, a LAN LED, mic in and headphone out jacks, and two USB 2.0 ports. The rear sports an RJ45 port for gigabit Ethernet, two further USB 2.0 ports, a PS/2 keyboard connector, a power input, and a DVI-I video output, 10Zig adds.

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. Wireless networking may be added to the RBT-617v via an 802.11b/g/n module, the company adds.

Features and specifications released by 10Zig for its RBT-617v include the following:

• Processor -- Intel Atom N270 clocked at 1.6GHz
  
• Memory -- 1GB of DDR2 RAM and 2GB 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/n 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
• 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)

WES-6000v

10Zig's WES-6000v (right) offers the same software as the RTB-617v, but comes in a larger case (9 x 8.2 x 2.2 inches) that includes a PCI expansion slot. The device has four USB 2.0 ports, a PS/2 port, and a serial port, while a parallel port and second serial port may be added via an optional PCI card, the company says.

The WES-6000v again includes a gigabit Ethernet port and room for an optional 802.11b/g/n wireless LAN adapter, according to 10Zig. The company does not provide details of the device's video connectors, but says resolutions of up to 1600 x 1200 pixels are supported, adding that dual- and quad-monitor configurations are supported.

According to 10Zig, the WES-6000V uses a 1.6GHz Via Eden processor (supporting chipset not listed), with 1GB or 2GB of RAM and from 2GB to 16GB of flash storage. The thin client uses an average of 14 Watts, the company adds.