Dell Wyse Cloud Connect goes live to keep the cloud in your pocket

As they say, looks can be deceiving and this unassuming pocket-sized device from Dell fits that cliché perfectly. While the Wyse Cloud Connect might simply look like a USB thumb drive, it is packed with enough features to virtually meet users' basic enterprise and personal computing needs.

On a hardware level, the Dell Wyse Cloud Connect might not sound or look impressive. Dell is rather tight-lipped about some of the hardware specifications, like the exact multi-core ARM chip that drives the device. The USB thumb drive sized gadget does have a bevy of connectivity features, like WiFi and the HDMI/MHL video interface. There is also a DisplayPort connector, a mini USB port for attaching peripherals like a keyboard and mouse, a microSD card slot that can support up to 72 GB, and a micro USB host port for external storage.

Of course the Wyse Cloud Connect's selling points are the features that turn it into an ultra-compact cloud-access device. Just plug it into any display via HDMI or MHL, plus one or two input devices, and you've practically got a portable computer in your hands. The Android 4.1 OS running on the device itself gives users access to their favorite apps and features.

But more than just a very portable computer for personal use, the Wyse Cloud Connect really shines when it comes to enterprise applications. As part of Dell's Cloud Client-Computing catalog, it bridges the gap between thin clients and mobile devices, giving users access to powerful and popular virtualization features. Aside from the usual remote desktop features, the Wyse Cloud Connect also includes other Wyse products for managing remote resources as well as compatibility with virtualization products from Citrix, Microsoft and VMWare.

Dell is aiming for a low Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) and has priced the Wyse Cloud Connect accordingly at $129 per device. The device can be ordered from Dell's Cloud Connect online portal and is available in a good number of countries include the US, the UK, Canada, Australia, China, India, Japan, Brazil, Austria, and more.