Networking giant Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) has introduced a new tablet device that the company says will be ready for limited shipment in the third quarter of 2010 and for general sales by the first quarter of next year. The tablet, named Cius (pronounced “see-us”), falls into Cisco’s strategic plan to “combine voice and data communications on networks over a common Internet Protocol architecture,” according to CEO John Chambers.
Cisco immediately pointed out that the device is aimed at a business audience and is complementary to the iPad from Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), which targets the consumer market. Other high-tech companies that have announced tablet devices include Research in Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM) – read a full story on the BlackBerry Tablet Computer plans here — Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE:HPQ), and Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL).
Unlike other tablets, the Cisco device includes a docking station with a telephone handset and a port to connect the tablet to a wired Internet connection. The 7-inch tablet itself can be detached from the docking station and used with WiFi, and 3G/4G wireless data services. Cisco also noted that the tablet supports business applications whether accessed locally or through a VPN connection.
In Cisco’s vision, the tablet’s main use will be as a business videoconferencing device with a high-resolution color screen, an integrated forward-facing HD video camera, and a 5-megapixel rear-facing camera. The device is expected to sell for less than $1,000.
Cisco is banking on widespread adoption of video conferencing as the next big growth area. The company cites a Gartner report claiming that 200 million workers worldwide will be using videoconferencing from their desktops by 2015. Whether putting a $1,000 device on every one of those desktops is a reasonable corporate expenditure is open to question however.
Cisco indicated that it would sell the tablet through its usual sales channels to corporate buyers. The tablet uses the Android operating system from Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG), enabling users to take advantage of the growing number of Android apps.
Thus far most of the interest in tablet devices has come from consumers who are expected to use the devices to watch movies, listen to music, surf the web, and play games. It’s likely that H-P, RIM, and Dell also have plans to attack the corporate market, but Cisco got there first. And with the company’s broad array of products and leadership in the network market, the Cius device could squelch the competition before it can even materialize.
