Cisco Cius: Cisco Unveils Android-Based, Business-Focus Tablet Computer

Thanks Kara Wilson, VP of Collaborative Solutions Marketing. As a corporate division manager myself, you identified the very cornerstones we plan to implement in Q3 - synergy, paradigm shift, and corporate MBA tech speak. Getting signed Cius purchase approval from corporate now.

tl;dr:<p>"designed for business"<p>"next wave of collaborative experiences"<p>"fundamentally change"<p>"ushering in a new era of productivity"<p>"redefines industry paradigms"<p>"designed from the ground-up"<p>"global economy"<p>"breadth of capabilities"<p>"open extensible platform"<p>"productive experience on the go"<p>"collaboration architecture"<p>"cloud computing"<p>"total cost of ownership"<p>"comprehensive suite of unified communication and collaboration applications"<p>"broad array of capabilities"<p>"intuitive contacts driven user experience"<p>"a new way of working"<p>"a tremendous competitive advantage"<p>That about sums it up. And no, she doesn't ever turn it on.

Of course, the path to buying ONE of these things is a long, twisting road through sales reps and the like. Why can't I just buy one online at a reasonable price?

Obviously this product isn't even close to release and is bound to be expensive, but there are some interesting ideas here. The tablet has a dock that looks like a phone; it replaces your Cisco IP phone. The dock has HDMI and USB; it also replaces your thin client. It looks like Cisco is trying to learn a bunch of lessons from netbooks and tablets and apply them to enterprise IT.

Some things I've noticed:<p>- Intel Atom-based (1.6ghz) Android Device. Is that port mature yet? I didn't think it was. - Includes Android Market. Ok, so the SDK compiles to Dalvik, so existing apps will probably run just fine on it. Right? - Includes Firefox for Android? Isn't it still in pre-alpha stage?<p>A lot of this smells like fish vapor to me.

The idea of the phone as a dock for the tablet is an elegant design concept. Let's hope it supports SIP.<p><a href="http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/collateral/voicesw/ps6789/ps7290/ps11156/solution_overview_c22-608594.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/collateral/voicesw/ps6789/ps...</a>

At least they got further along than MS Courier. They actually have a useless prototype, rather than a vaporvid[1].<p>[1] <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmIgNfp-MdI" rel="nofollow">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmIgNfp-MdI</a>

And now we know why the iPad didn't ship with a front-facing camera.<p>But cisco must really be steamed, what with Apple calling their mobile OS "iOS" and integrating face-time to the new iphones.

Cisco ? They never got wireless working on the Flop Camera.

Look for its 4000$ price tag buried on an overly complex invoice sheet near you! Great, I shudder for the moment when my boss will actually nod his head in agreement when Bell Canada asks if we need these.