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Thin Clients: Igel Range 

Literature

One problem I have with Igel is that their website is very much oriented towards their current models. Whilst they do have a firmware archive for discontinued models there is very little in the way of information, publicity material etc on these old models, although, with patience and luck, you might be able to find an old brochure on one of their distributors' websites. However they do have a useful list of End-of-life products giving the dates when manufacture and maintenance ceased along with the version number of the last released firmware. I have duplicated this information under the eol tab as this provides a list of their entire model range.

Model labelling

Another bugbear is their labelling. The ones I have seen are not labelled with their marketing name (eg 2110LX) but with a number like Igel 1/2. Web searches for 2110LX will turn up specifications, searches on 1/2 generally only return "for sale" entries that have zero details about the unit.

Early models

For the early models It would appear that the X/Y label identifies the basic hardware platform. After that you get the variations of flash, ram and operating system.

A rule of thumb would appear to be that first digit designates the Model Range:

1 - Entry Model. Slow processor. Limited expansion
2 - Midrange.
3 - High-End. Fast processor, better graphics etc.

The second number is the hardware release. This sort of follows from the 2100 (1/1) and 2110 (1/2) and 3200 (3/3) and 3210 (3/4), but I haven't seen a 3/1 or 3/2 yet. Certainly the third digit in the Model Number (eg 2100/2110/3210/...) would appear to change when the internal circuit board is upgraded.

As I mentioned earlier all the publicity material refers to the product name such as 2110 LX or Smart. With these the suffix (CE/LX/XP) identifies the operating system.

At the moment my best guess as to the mapping is:

LabelModel Range
1/12100 (early) Smart series
1/22110 (later) Smart series
3/33200 (early) Compact series
3/43210 (later) Compact series
5/44210 Winestra series

They ended up with a range of product series under the names Smart/Compact/Winestra/Premium/PanaVeo/ProScribe/Elegance...

Universal Desktop Series (Generation 2)

In January 2009 Igel launched the Universal Desk Top series. This took a new approach in the blend of hardware and software and so also got labelled as 'generation 2', generation 1 being the old style thin clients that had preceded it.

From the press release:

The Universal Desktop range is powered by five sleek and modern hardware designs:

  • The UD2 series is a small, affordable, energy efficient hardware platform that can be VESA mounted on the back of a monitor. The DVI-I port supports dual monitors with an optional Y cable and it can connect to common peripherals with its four USB ports. The UD2 series only supports the Entry and Standard Digital Service Packs.
  • The UD3 series is an affordable, compact, versatile midrange hardware platform that can power all digital service levels, from the Entry to the Advanced Digital Service Packs. Optionally, an integrated smartcard reader and a Connectivity Foot for Wi-Fi and/or a serial port can be added.
  • The UD5 series is a powerful and expandable hardware platform. Its high speed processor and graphics can support demanding applications or many applications running simultaneously. It also supports the broadest set of connectivity to peripherals. Optionally, an integrated smartcard reader and a Connectivity Foot for Wi-Fi and/or a parallel port can be added.
  • The UD7 series is based on the powerful UD5 hardware platform. It is custom designed for the most demanding quad-screen graphics environments. Using the same chassis as the UD5 it offers an optional smartcard reader, optional Connectivity Foot and a broad range of IO ports. This series is only available with the Advanced Digital Service Pack.
  • The UD9 series is an integrated 19" LCD platform with a broad range of I/O ports. Ideal for customers with space-constrained environments, this series is only available with the Advanced Digital Service Pack.

The basic hardware for the UD2 is the D200.
The basic hardware for the UD3 is the M300C.
The basic hardware for the UD5 is the H700C.
The basic hardware for the UD7 is the H700C.
The basic hardware for the UD9 is the 930XT.

Universal Desktop (Generation 3)

At some point the underlying hardware was upgraded and they moved on to the current Universal Desktop (Generation 3). This is what was listed on Igel's website in July 2012.

The current core hardware is based on:

ModelHardwareCPUClock Rate
UD2D200VIA Eden500MHz
UD3M310CVIA Nano800MHz
UD5H710CVIA Nano1.3GHz
UD9TC215Intel Atom N2701.6GHz

Just to complete the picture there are variations on the amounts of flash and RAM fitted to the basic hardware that depends on the firmware supplied.

The device name in full is UDx-y30 ZZ where:

x is 2,3,5 or 9.
y is:

1 - entry Level firmware
4 - standard firmware
7 - advanced firmware

ZZ denotes the operating system:

LX Linux
ES Windows Embedded Standard
W7 Windows 7 Embedded

In July 2012 I could see a total of 20 permutations on their Product Overview.

 


Any comments? email me.    Last update July 2012