Startup unveils cheap mobile PC that plugs into any USB port

- Gary Thayer, News Editor

Salt Lake City, Jan. 17, 2005 -- (MobileVillage) -- Realm Systems has announced a new mobile computing platform targeted at enterprises. The platform consists of two key elements – the Realm Mobile Personal Server (MPS) and the Realm SOBA Router.

Realm Systems' Mobile Personal Server, is a USB powered computing device that lets end users can securely access enterprise applications on any available PC regardless of host operating system, according to the company. It comes with an embedded operating system with up to 64MB of DRAM, dual PowerPC processors, up to 1GB of flash using either an SD expansion slot or up to a 20GB hard drive.

Using the Realm SOBA Router, enterprise IT controls and provisions what is available for their end users – data, applications, web services, and desktop look and feel. By simply docking the device in any computer with a USB interface, the MPS takes over the monitor, keyboard, mouse, and Internet connection – all without leaving a trace, says Realm.

Realm says that with the MPS' intermittent connectivity capability, the user can literally stop writing mid-sentence in their word processor or other application, unplug and go, then plug in at another location and the cursor will be waiting in the same place, on any computer with a USB interface – no long boot up required.

For security, MPS uses a built-in biometric identification system and password protection to authenticate the approved user through a 2048-bit encrypted VPN tunnel which is established every time the MPS is connected to a computer with an Internet connection. No special software is needed on the host computer.

The Realm SOBA Router can be used to deploy and provision Web services to employees, partners, and customers, according to their approved level of access. Should an MPS be lost or stolen, the SOBA router can render the missing device useless in a few seconds. Since the SOBA router saves an exact duplicate of the enterprise users' desktop environment, which includes personal server applications, data, and desktop look and feel, a missing MPS can be inexpensively replaced in a few minutes, according to Realm.

Realm is currently in beta. Additional information is available on the Realm web site, realmsys.com.

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