On June 29, 2010, Cisco unveiled the Cius, a mobile collaboration tablet (with a camera and video camera) targeted at business users.

With Cius, there was limited hype, Twitter talk or product spec leaks leading up to the announcement that would indicate Cisco was thinking of launching its own tablet so soon. While the introduction of Cius was a relatively unexpected and sudden move, there is a clear motive. Cisco’s business is all about data — both accessing and transferring it. A tablet such as Cius that is designed to make it easier for end users to consume data, wherever they are, will help Cisco drive forward its core business of selling networking, and communications and video products.

Krista Napier

Pronounced, “see us,” the tablet runs on Android OS, and with the SDK and API, Cisco is allowing Android app developers to tie into their system, enabling external applications to leverage Cisco’s collaboration-related infrastructure components. Cius will be interoperable with Cisco’s TelePresence videoconferencing system and will work with Cisco applications including Cisco Quad, Cisco Show and WebEx tools, allowing users to make a voice or high-definition video call. Perhaps most notable though is that Cius will be shipped with a back facing five megapixel digital camera and a front facing HD video camera, two features missing in the first generation iPad.

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