SAN DIEGO (Map) - SAN DIEGO, March 17 /PRNewswire/ -- General Dynamics C4 Systems announced today the availability of the Tadpole M1400 mobile ultra-thin client computer. The Tadpole M1400 is an affordable, low-maintenance solution in a notebook form factor that is designed for convenient, mobile and secure computing.

The Tadpole M1400 behaves like a secure data terminal to access server- hosted operating systems, applications and data, which means there is little risk of local system crashes and data loss. With no local storage, memory or software, the Tadpole M1400 is virtually immune to the security issues that are normally associated with lost or stolen notebook computers.

With ultra-thin client computing, operating systems and applications run on centrally managed servers that are more secure and reliable. There is no maintenance and support required to keep the Tadpole M1400 updated with new software or security patches. All new applications or software updates are installed on a few central servers and can be made immediately available to all users, thereby eliminating the long and costly update procedures normally associated with managing hundreds or thousands of distributed mobile or remote computers.

"The Tadpole M1400 is the future of thin clients. It is designed for security-minded mobile professionals across industry and government. It enables delivery of all the applications mobile professionals need via both local and wide area networks in wired or wireless environments," said

Mark Johnston, director of the Tadpole product group of Computing Technologies for General Dynamics C4 Systems. "Defense, intelligence, education, finance and enterprise mobile workers will appreciate the benefits of finally having secure, mobile, high-performance computing that can be used anywhere at an affordable price."

The Tadpole M1400 is 100% interchangeable with Sun Ray(TM) ultra-thin clients from Sun Microsystems, Inc. The compatibility ensures the Tadpole M1400 mobile ultra-thin client has all the session mobility and ease of management benefits of the Sun Ray architecture in a secure mobile environment.

The Tadpole M1400 uses 'smart card' technology for simple, first-level user authentication and session mobility for optimum efficiency in any deployment. Because there are no software upgrades, no system maintenance or repair, no virus or worm vulnerability and no lost data to restore, the cost of owning and operating the M1400 can be thousands of dollars less than alternative platforms.

Additional Features and Options

The Tadpole M1400 mobile ultra-thin client allows users the ability to login at any time for access to their computer session via wired Ethernet or Wi-Fi. In addition, the optional combination of 3G wireless networking with Virtual Private Network (VPN) provides high-performance secure wireless access from remote locations. Like the Sun Ray devices, the Tadpole M1400 can support a true heterogenous environment where multiple operating systems can be accessed simultaneously via a highly mobile, power efficient device.

Availability

The Tadpole M1400 is available now from the Tadpole product group at General Dynamics C4 Systems. Ordering and pricing information is available by contacting sales@tadpole.com.

The Tadpole product group provides notebooks and servers for mission- critical military, government and commercial operations. They are uniquely suited to distributed battlefield management, collaborative briefings, reconnaissance and intelligence gatherings. Tadpole is part of General Dynamics C4 Systems, a business unit of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD).

General Dynamics, headquartered in Falls Church, Va., employs approximately 83,500 people worldwide and reported 2007 revenues of $27.2 billion. The company is a market leader in business aviation; land and expeditionary combat systems, armaments and munitions; shipbuilding and marine systems; and information systems and technologies. More information about the company is available on the Internet at www.generaldynamics.com.