“Cisco is looking at making inroads into the growing number of Android-based non-smartphone tablets with its just-announced Cius tablet,” Stephen Schenck reports for Obsessable. “While it might not be an iPad-killer, the Cius seems like a singularly-focused tablet intent on delivering high-quality video conferencing.”
“Basically, take the iPhone’s newly-added video chat, put it in an iPad, and give the tablet a forward-facing 720p camera and you have the Cius,” Schenck reports. “The Cius can still connect to the Android Market for app downloads, but Cisco seems dedicated to avoiding the Cius becoming some generic jack-of-all-trades-master-of-none tablet with its HD camera and extensive communication options. While that’s going to make it stand out from the crowd, you can bet that it’s also going to end up costing quite a bit more than a run-of-the-mill tablet.”
Full article here.
Sam Diaz reports for ZDNet, “At 1.15 lbs., the device is an ultra-portable tablet that’s targeted at market segments that can benefit from real-time, video-based collaboration… It’s WiFi-enabled, comes with an accelerometer, has a detachable battery and a 5-megapixel rear-facing camera.”
Diaz reports, “Customer trials of the device will begin in the third quarter, with general availability expected in the first quarter of 2011. Pricing details were not released.”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Nope. By the time Cisco’s business-centric, non-mass-market device would be getting up to speed, Apple’s iPad will do the same thing, almost definitely cost less, with easy and safe access to multiple times more apps, run on a better, more efficient processor, will be from Apple, not Cisco of all companies, while also being fully-compatible with the CEO’s Apple iPhone 4 which, oh-by-the-way, even if iPad never does, already offers video conferencing to business and every other user right now. Today.
Waste of time, effort and money…
Ciscoshpulf stick to routers
…”run-of-the-mill tablet.” As if there hundreds of tablet types out there.
Don’t discount this product. Anti Apple IT folks may well be looking for a tablet that has the “enterprise” stamp of approval even if it is ultimately an inferior product.
Mmmmm. That’s one sexy beast!
Yeesh
MacDailyNews is correct, as usual.
currentinterest is not.
iCal it.
Right. These specs are not going to be approached by the next iPad. There is no way it will get a forward facing HiDef camera, nor will it interface as cleanly with the Cisco telepresence suite. This is like a mobile video conference apparatus, not a tablet. I believe it will find its niche, no doubt. I do believe the iPhone 4 is already Cius killer if the Cius is going to be killed at all. The iPad is not going to compete with this thing in any way, shape or form. It isn’t meant to. MDN’s take is off here, I think.
@currentinterest
You are correct, but possibly wrong at the same time. Cisco’s advantage is indeed the traditional IT crowd who use and love their products every day. But Apple’s advantage is the CEO (amongst other executives) who, as MDN says, will want the tablet that works great with his/her iPhone 4. When push comes to shove, who do you think wins that battle?
A dead duck if ever an analyst saw one!
Cius = “see us” LOL
More Android-based tablet (“some time in 2011”) vapor. I’m guessing “iPad 2” will be available in first quarter (or early 2nd quarter) 2011.
> a 5-megapixel rear-facing camera.
A rear-facing camera on a tablet-sized device is stupid, and is exactly the type of thing the competition will do to put another bullet point on their spec sheet. Imagine how stupid you will look holding something the size of an iPad with both hands to aim it with the camera pointing 90º out the back side. An iPhone is the size (and weight) of a pocket camera; you can hold and aim it with one hand (while the other hand is free to use the touch screen as needed).
I think there is a misprint on the weight here, cisco’s website says that the weight is 1.5lbs, not 1.15lbs, which makes it the same weight as Ipad, with smaller screen. Here is the link:
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/collateral/voicesw/ps6789/ps7290/ps11156/solution_overview_c22-608594.html
Knowing that it’s cisco, this will be priced several times the cost of an Ipad, plus by the time this thing ships, the next generation of Ipad will be announced, probably with the same capabilities or more, for far cheaper.
“Basically, take the iPhone’s newly-added video chat, put it in an iPad, and give the tablet a forward-facing 720p camera and you have the Cius,”
Well that just made me lose some coffee through my nose.
@ken1w
“An iPhone is the size (and weight) of a pocket camera; you can hold and aim it with one hand (while the other hand is free to touch yourself as needed).”
Fixed that for you.
“The iPad is not going to compete with this thing in any way, shape or form . . . .”
A bit off topic, perhaps, but I just LOVE writers who try to appear precise and intellectual with the above “way, shape, or form” expression.
NOTE TO CCAP1: I believe you left out “manner”! If you really want to put on the proper amount of “airs,” you must employ, “way, shape, manner, or form.” There. That’s better. Your post is much more credible and impressive now.
@ TheMacAdvocate
You certainly made clear what you do all day…
Dear Cisco:
Why?
On the same note, are you really creating a dumbed down Ubuntu tablet that just reads meters? You’re kidding right? For $900?
I am dreaming right?
Why?
Wow, compare Cisco’s web page with any of Apple’s: night and day difference. Not even inn the same market.
I think someone published somewhere a “fake” meeting between Steve Jobs and Jeff Bezos in which Steve asks Jeff what is this device you have? Jeff answers, “It’s a Kindle.” Steve responds, “What does it do?” Jeff answers, “It shows books….” Steve looks on in consternation and then asks, “What else does it do?” To which Jeff states, “It just reads books.” At which point Steve drops the device and mutters something ridiculous and returns home.
I see the same thing happening in a fake meeting with John Chambers. It would not be a very good meeting, probably filled with Jobsian expletives, but I would help along with that. John WTF are you thinking? The idea of 1 App devices ended with Sony. You have no chance with this thing. Additionally, there is no way in hell that Apple will let their lead evaporate in this space. By the time you get this tablet up and running, the IOS Ipad will have invaded the business space in record time.
Do yourself a favor, like Palm did with its Foleo: Pack it up and do something else.
Are you people that blinded by Apple that you’re making fun of Cisco? Cisco is the standard for network infrastructure in the enterprise market. Steve Jobs is a genius in one respect and an idiot in a lot of other areas (idiot savant). I love Apple products because they are great, but they will always be considered “toys” in the corporate world as long as Steve Jobs keeps down the path of being a maniacal control freak. Not to mention the Apple developers out there that keep giving their applications stupid little names like “Chicken of the Sea VNC” … among many others.
I understand why they have to do it. Jobs open up peoples wallets, and if you don’t fight for 2nd place, you are losing. The problem for them will come next year, when all these tablets from Cisco, RIM, Asus, Acer, Dell, HP, Sony, and GoogleSoft partners are all placed side by side and compared with each, and people will realize they’re no iPad, and they’re not that cheap either. The commodity PC market rules will not apply to consumer media devices.
I work for a major online university (read: accredited) as a network engineer and we have a few Apple servers and desktop/notebooks. Our IT won’t touch them or even barely recognize that they exist. I had to to go outside of my duties to help one department get their server configured and attached to our network. This scenario exists in almost every medium to large corporate environment and until Apple recognizes this, they will never get heavy use of their servers, desktops and notebooks in the business environment. Yeah, I know Apple is the market leader in the phone and handheld market but Cisco, Dell, HP, IBM and Oracle run the corporate world where the most money is spent. Apple products are considered “toys” in the business world.
@devnull32
I agree with you for the most part. I work as a Network Engineer as well, so I know the quality of Cisco products. I’d wager most people here really have no idea how great Cisco is, so that is why they rip on them. John Chambers is a great CEO, just like Steve Jobs. Forgive them their ignorance. I do, however, join them in questioning this move. I just don’t see how Cisco can win, for reasons I divulged in my response to currentinterest.
Have you ever buy a Policom video conferencing system? a Policom phone? it does exactly thye same as a normal web cam, or the same thing as a digital avaya phone or radioshak one. But since it is “for business”, stupid IT people (I was one of them) convince their boss that policom is the only way to do it and that they need to spend those additional Thousands dollars for a system that cost only $600 in the normal world.
iChat conferencing has been doing what Policom only dreams for a lot lees money.
My point is that even that the iPhone does the same as the new Cisco’s tablet, the new tablet will cost you about one thousand, and stupid IT people will buy it because “it si for business”. Yes, cisco table will definitively have a market for it.
@MrMcLargeHuge
I don’t think Cisco is trying to win anything. They are trying to get another foothold in the enterprise environment. If I as a company invest in the Cisco Unified Communications product line, I am most certainly going to buy a product that integrates seamlessly with that technology. I don’t think smart companies are not going to invest the time and effort in developing business applications for Apple products as long as Steve Jobs continues to present the attitude that he seems to have.
@Troy
Stupid IT people … wow.
@devnull32
Gotcha. And I can agree with that. I don’t think Apple is worried about the corporate market, and will assume Cisco isn’t worried about the consumer market. So really, no issue exists unless what happened with the iPhone happens with the iPad, which I think is far less likely.