Cisco announced the long rumored tablet computer today to some 12,000 attendees at CiscoLive! the companies annual communications and collaboration industry conference. Called the Cius (pronounced “see us”), the tablet is a really impressive concept with an Android operating system and a camera in the front and the back for use in web conferencing, collaboration and sharing.
Cius in docking station
Cisco calls it “a first-of-its-kind collaboration business tablet.” Though the demo John Chambers (Cisco’s, CEO) gave was geared towards education and consumers, the company says they are targeting business first. One representative mentioned that “the price tag was not to exceed $1,750” which drew a gasp from the crowd in the booth. The spokesperson also said that the units would be available sometime in the first quarter. I hope they can shed about a thousand in price between now and then and launch around $700.
Cius will weigh just over a pound, offers HD video on a seven-inch widescreen VGA touch screen. The Cius has a Micro USB port, an accelerometer, as well as Bluetooth support. Expect 3G and 4G as well.
According to representatives, Cius will work with a host of Cisco collaboration apps, including Cisco Quad, Cisco Show and Share, Cisco WebEx Connect, Cisco WebEx Meeting Center and Telepresence.
I expect that this will announcement will be followed by more that give a better sense of what else Cisco has in store for the Pad Tablet communications and collaboration category including perhaps some kind of Cloud based PC service.
1 thought on “Cisco Announces Android-based Tablet Named Cius (See Us)–a Future Tool for Virtual Events”