Dell finally releases its enterprise-computing-environment-on-a-stick

Dell’s long-promised, cloud-tapping, enterprise-computing-environment-on-a-stick is finally here. The company on Wednesday announced the general availability of the Dell Wyse Cloud Connect dongle, first unveiled way back in January 2013 with the code name Project Ophelia. Dell Wyse Cloud Connect devices are priced at $129 per unit and plug into any compatible monitor to deliver access to the desktops, data, apps, and corporate networks utilized by business users. 

The term “thin client” usually brings to mind a screen and keyboard combination, or maybe a tablet or smartphone. Dell Wyse Cloud Connect takes the idea a few steps further. It’s a $129 (retail), Android 4.1.2-powered device the size and shape of a USB stick that lets you turn any any MHL or HDMI-connected display into a thin client. It also looks like one of the few positive examples of how to add management functionality to a business-grade Android device — something that’s long been an issue for Android generally and has been solved only through a whole patchwork of manufacturer-specific solutions. But as a thin client, Cloud Connect might have trouble standing apart from commodity mobile hardware.