CherryPal Cloud-Based Desktop Ships Election Day

Remember the CherryPal, cloud-based, thin client we reported about in July that was supposed to be available by the end of that month? The ship date obviously slipped a few months, but it looks like the CherryPal desktop is finally gearing up to make its real-world debut in only a few weeks from now. The CherryPal site announced that the CherryPal is finally ready to ship on Election Day: November 4.

Credit: CherryPal

When the CherryPal desktop ships it will look a little different than the glimpse we had of it in July. The case is a bit slimmer and with a more polished, glossier look. Also, instead of a 4GB SSD, it will ship with an 8GB SSD. Luckily these changes will not impact the price--it will still sell for $249. Also, it will be now be called the CherryPal C114, instead of the CherryPal C100.

The CherryPal C114 is "about the size of a paperback book" (1.3 x 5.8 x 4.2-inches), weighs 10 ounces, has no moving parts, and only consumes about two watts of power. It specs are as follows:

• Freescale's 400MHz MPC5121e mobileGT processor (800 MIPS)
• 256MB DDR2 SDRAM
• 8GB NAND Flash-based SSD
• 802.11b/g Wi-Fi
• Two USB 2.0 ports
• One 10/100 Ethernet RJ-45 jack
• One VGA DB-15 display out jack
• Headphone-level, stereo audio-out, 3.5mm jack
• 10-Watt AC-DC adapter power supply

When it ships, it will include the following applications:

• Firefox browser
• OpenOffice office productivity suite
• Mediaplayer music player
• MPlayer CD and DVD player
• Instant Messenger client (Yahoo, AOL, Google, MSN)
• Skype VoIP application

As a reminder of what the CherryPal is all about, here's a blurb from the CherryPal Website:

"CherryPal has removed the hassle from personal computing by moving most of the software and data that traditionally sits on the desktop to the Internet. Instead of accessing programs and data from your desktop computer, the majority of information is processed and stored on the web in a highly secure environment called the CherryPalCloud, which is automatically accessed at boot-up. The CherryPalCloud removes many of the headaches typically associated with traditional personal computers."

Back in July, CherryPal was taking orders only via PayPal. The company now appears to accept all major credit cards as well. Thin clients are all the rage now and they might just successfully fill a niche. Our biggest concern with investing in hardware that is tied to an unproven cloud-based service, however, is if the service ever goes belly up, we're essentially left with useless brick.