Yes. There is such a device as an Android desktop. It does run the same operating system found on Galaxy smartphones and Tab and Google Nexus browsers. The question now is what do you do with it?
For the home user that only surfs the web, does some light word processing, or processes email an Android desktop would likely work for you. Your better choice would probably be a Chromebook or Chrome-based desktop computer, though. The Chromebooks from various manufacturers including Samsung and Acer are running around $200. Chrome desktop computers are coming out at less than $200.
The true intent of the Android-based desktop computer is business customers. The reason they would opt for Android-based desktop computers is of course low-cost, but also the ability to “lock-down” the machine. Employers would likely want machines limited to the apps that could be downloaded and installed from the Google Play store.
Can your employees do real work on an Android desktop? Most likely yes, but typically not as a stand alone product. They would likely serve best as a thin-client for accessing Remote Desktop Services on a Microsoft server. This can raise a couple of questions…
- Why not just buy a Windows desktop computer? Windows computers require more maintenance and demand higher performing hardware. The cost per workstation would be more and the long term Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) would likely be higher.
- Isn’t there an expense with providing Remote Desktop Services and wouldn’t that negate the benefits of the thin-client? A couple of years ago the answers would be yes and yes. Cloud computing is changing that though. More and more applications are becoming web-based which allows work to be done via a web browser. Another development has been rental “desktop” computers in the cloud. Costs for cloud-based Windows computers without any commitment beyond month to month start at $35 per month per instance. Larger companies can bring the remote desktop experience in-house using Microsoft Remote Desktop Services with licenses costing $199 per instance for outright ownership.
What are the down-sides?
- Technical expertise to setup this type of system. This type of knowledge is not yet common place as it is setting up a Windows workstation.
- Changing from a capital to an operating expense. Thin client environments thrive in a business committed to converting IT expenditures to an operating expense. IT long has been a capital expenditure that could be budgeted in large sums every few years.
There is no right or wrong answer right now. As the saying went about IBM many years ago – “No one ever got fired for buying IBM.” The same can be said about replacing aging workstations with Windows computers today. You won’t get fired right now for buying Windows computers. Other options – well, sometimes the pioneers get the arrows.