Cisco announced an enterprise-focused tablet based on a 1.6GHz Intel Atom, using Intel's upcoming x86 Android port. Due in the first quarter of 2011, the Cius offers a seven-inch touchscreen, 32GB of flash, 3G and 802.11 a/b/g/n communications, a 720p-capable front-facing videocam, a five-megapixel still camera, plus an optional HD audio docking station equipped with a telephone handset.

Cisco Systems is unveiling an Android-based tablet PC designed to give businesses a mobile communications and collaboration platform. At its Cisco Live event June 29 in Las Vegas, company officials showed off Cisco Cius, the latest addition to a growing collaboration portfolio that includes WebEx, TelePresence and Quad.

The Cius will give businesses a lightweight mobile device that will integrate with all of those Cisco collaboration technologies and be managed by Cisco's Unified Communications Manager software and offer enterprise-level security.

The Cisco Cius will make use of Intel's recently announced Android port to x86 and the Intel Atom.
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The device also opens up another avenue for businesses and their employees to access the growing Android application store, and will help expand that selection of apps by giving developers Cisco collaboration APIs through an SDK (software developer kit). Cius is part of Cisco's larger Borderless Networks initiative, which is designed to create an environment that enables users to access the Internet at anytime from anywhere using any device.

The Cius plugs into an optional HD docking station equipped with a telephone handset speakerphone, gigabit Ethernet port, HD DisplayPort, and USB ports.
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The tablet is the latest example of how business collaboration is changing, according to Tony Bates, senior vice president and general manager of enterprise, commercial and small business at Cisco.

"This platform can transform how healthcare professionals advance patient care; how retailers deliver service experiences to consumers, or how universities deliver world-class education to their students," Bates said in a statement. "Best of all, Cisco Cius offers IT functions a way to dramatically lower the cost-per-user of provisioning those new experiences."

Not everyone sees the usefulness of such a device. Van Baker, an analyst with Gartner, said he could see how a device like Cius would play well in the consumer market, but its practical business application isn't clear.

"If it's for an enterprise's use, I'm having a hard time figuring out why they would want to use this tablet as opposed to a notebook with a good integrated webcam," Baker said in an interview.

There are some instances where it could prove worthwhile, he said, such as if an engineer is working on a project and wanted to use the Cius for its video conferencing capabilities. However, in every-day enterprise life, most workers can get the same or similar experience that the Cius offers from a laptop with a good webcam running Windows, Baker said.

The consumer market is different, Baker said. Consumers are more willing to give up some functionality for ease of use, but not so in the enterprise.

The Cius weighs 1.15 lbs (0.52kg) and offers eight hours of claimed battery life
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The Cius — which will be going out to customer trials in the third quarter, with general availability in the first quarter of 2011 — features a 720p HD front-facing camera, a seven-inch high-resolution screen, and a single button for TelePresence interoperability.

The device also makes it easy for users to find their contacts, offers an accelerometer that orients applications for portrait or landscape modes, and wide wireless support for 802.11 a/b/g/n WiFi and 3G, with 4G capabilities coming later.

The battery offers up to eight hours of life under normal use, and the Cius comes with an optional HD audio station that includes a telephone handset speakerphone, HD DisplayPort and USB ports.

Cisco officials also said that because the tablet can be used in a business' virtual desktop environment, it can help drive down corporate operating expenses and integrated with cloud computing environments. The Cius is the latest move by Cisco to meet a growing demand to bring consumer technologies into the business world.

At a TelePresence conference to unveil their Cisco Quad enterprise social networking offering, company officials said there is a strong and growing trend in integrating consumer products — such as the Apple iPad, Skype VOIP (voice over IP) and Cisco Flip video camera — into the corporate space.

Tablet PCs have been around for many years, but it wasn't until Apple launched its iPad this year that the market appears to be taking off. A host of other vendors, including Dell, are bringing their own tablet to the market.

Availability

Customer trials of Cisco Cius will begin in the third quarter of 2010, with general availability in the first quarter of 2011, says Cisco. More information may be found here, here, and here.

Jeffrey Burt is a reporter for our sister publication eWEEK.

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