The IGEL UD Pocket measures 22.4mm x 12.2mm x 6mm, and weighs 3 grams.

Bremen, Germany-based thin client vendor IGEL Technology has announced the IGEL UD Pocket, which it is describing as a revolutionary new product. It has a dual-boot system that offers simple and secure access to the user’s IGEL Linux 10-powered desktop.

“The IGEL UD Pocket has an IGEL OS on a hardened USB stick the size of a dime,” said Jed Ayres, President and CEO of IGEL North America.

The Pocket allows the IGEL Linux 10 desktop to be accessed from any USB-bootable PC, laptop, tablet or thin client that meets the minimum requirements of an x86, 64-bit processor and 2 GB RAM. It measures 22.4mm x 12.2mm x 6mm, weighs 3 grams and has an 8 GB memory module. It comes in a USB 3.0 form factor, with backward compatibility to USB 2.0.

So where does this kind of device fit within a customer’s portfolio? Ayres explained that it’s for specific mobile access VDI use cases.

“It’s really for BYOD, contractors, anyone you want to give a thin client experience – they boot to this thumb drive and you can manage it like a full blown thin client,” he indicated.

“It’s for where you want to give users access to your environment, but at the same time, you don’t want to let them have their PC on your network,” said Jeff Kalberg, IGEL’s Technology Evangelist. IGEL also says it has particular specificity to particular vertical markets, like vertical markets such as financial services and insurance, education, logistics and warehousing. It also fits in call centres where workers are mobile, moving between desks, offices or locations.

Like the rest of IGEL’s offerings, the UD Pocket supports two-factor authentication through integrated or external smart card readers or USB tokens, which prevents passwords from being lost, forgotten or intercepted by cybercriminals. Similarly, the IGEL UD Pocket can also be integrated like these other products into the IGEL Universal Management Suite, a centralized and secure remote management console.

The IGEL UD Pocket uses the same type of simplified endpoint management, with licensing that is independent of the device on which it will run. Previously the company’s software was licensed to the specific device, but the new product releases this fall have provided the opportunity to allow customers to move licenses from device to device. The new model is a recurring revenue one, with a small maintenance fee for allowing a license to be moved from device to device.