Cisco Systems has some clean new plans in mind. Its hoping to turn tablet computers into a popular office item. Yes, the company has plans to launch a new tablet for the business world early next year. It will have a seven-inch screen, making it smaller and lighter than the iPad. It will also have two cameras, to enable videoconferencing and will be sold at less than $1,000.
It will be an Android-based tablet produced with its Cius portable collaboration. The Cius, who aims at business users particularly, will integrate with Cisco’s business applications such as WebEx, and it can dock into an optional phone base to connect to a user’s corporate communications infrastructure.
The Cius has a 7″ WSVGA touchscreen, weighs 1.15lbs, and appears to be much smaller than an iPad. It’s also powered by a customized Android OS, though there has been no mention of what version of Android. With the heavy focus on real-time communication, the tablet comes equipped with a 720p HD front-facing camera for video conferencing, as well as a 5MP rear-facing camera that can stream VGA-quality video.
For wireless-network, the device supports 802.11a/b/g/n of WiFi, 3G mobile data and will later support 4G networking also. Bluetooth and Micro USB ports round out the built-in connectivity, though docking the Cius in the optional HD audio station adds a telephone handset, speakerphone, DisplayPort, USB ports, and gigabit Ethernet. A detachable eight-hour battery powers the device on the go.
As designed for business, the Cius includes built-in support for Cisco’s collaboration applications, counting Cisco Quad, Cisco Show and Share, Cisco WebEx Connect, Cisco WebEx Meeting Center, Cisco Presence, and interoperability with Cisco TelePresence. It can also connect to your corporate IT infrastructure remotely using Cisco AnyConnect VPN, and can be managed by IT support staff using Cisco Unified Communications Manager. Cisco also plans to release an SDK so that Android developers can include support for Cisco’s Collaboration APIs.
No pricing information is yet available, but Cisco plans to roll out corporate user trials in the third quarter of this year, with wide availability beginning in the first quarter next year.
Tags: 720p, cisco systems, collaboration applications, iPad, popular office, tablet computers, telepresence, usb ports, vga quality, webex