The kit is well-suited for use in training rooms or computer training labs, Puls said. Through the host PC, users can also access servers in large data centers or network-attached storage.

Thin clients have existed for a long time and the hardware means different things to different people, said Jack Gold, principal analyst at J. Gold Associates. In some cases, the iPhone could be seen as a thin client with a browser that accesses software services through the browser, he said.

Many organizations like banks have plenty of resources stored on the back-end but want to have something thin and light running on the front end, Gold said.