OK Labs and Citrix push 'nirvana' smartphone as desktop PC replacement

Paul Nesbitt

Imagine if your smartphone could double as your desktop or laptop PC, so that you could plug it in to a keyboard and monitor and use it as your PC? That's the idea behind the 'Nirvana phone' reference design just released by Open Kernel Labs and Citrix.

Open Kernel Labs and Citrix's nirvana reference design describes a smartphone that 'goes beyond traditional smart phones by allowing users to access their corporate virtual desktop and applications from a single device, in any location. With support for docking to full-sized displays, keyboards, mice and other PC-type peripherals, nirvana phones will offer mobile workers a complete “virtual desktop in your pocket”, allowing them to take their desktop anywhere without the need to carry around a full laptop.'

The blueprint uses virtualisation technologies, so that any mainstream desktop OS could be run on a nirvana smartphone, including Windows, Mac OS X and Linux. Theoretically a nirvana handset could also run a choice of smartphone OSes, including Android, Symbian, and iPhone OS. Of course, it's unlikely that Apple would permit its OSes to run on non-Apple devices.

Hot consumer handset?

While nirvana will initially be aimed at business users, the specification supports the output of full resolution video and HD output, meaning it may also appeal to consumers, who want to use a single device, a smartphone as a hybrid home computer and handset.

'The nirvana phone will provide groundbreaking capabilities without breaking IT budgets with exotic technology,' said Steve Subar, President and CEO, OK Labs. 'The nirvana phone represents a near-term paradigm shift – OK Labs, Citrix, and our ecosystem partners envision real-world converged nirvana devices enabled for both mobility and desktop productivity entering the market within 12 to 18 months.'

While no smartphone makers have yet officially committed to making handsets that support the nirvana specifications, both Citrix and OK Labs claim to have been in discussions.

Watch a demonstration of nirvana here.