Cisco today unveiled Cisco Cius, a first-of-its-kind mobile collaboration business tablet that delivers virtual desktop integration with anywhere, anytime access to the full range of Cisco collaboration and communication applications, including HD video.

Cisco Cius is an ultra-portable device weighing just 1.15lbs (0.52kg) that extends the productivity benefits of Cisco collaboration applications to a highly secure mobile platform. In addition to full telepresence interoperability, Cisco Cius offers HD video streaming and real-time video, multi-party conferencing, email, messaging, browsing, and the ability to produce, edit and share content stored locally or centrally in the cloud.

Based on the Android operating system, Cisco Cius is an open platform for communication and collaboration whose form factor and applications are designed to more securely connect employees on-the-go with the right people in real-time, and to provide those workers with the ability to access and share the content they need from any place on the network.

Cisco Cius offers IT professionals new options when it comes to equipping mobile workers with computing devices. Through virtual desktop integration, Cisco Cius offers flexible computing options with cloud-based services, providing dramatically lower capital costs and cost-per-user for desktop maintenance.

Businesses can also tap into the growing Android developer community that is building business-class productivity applications with appropriate IT controls. The combination of applications and flexible computing options provides a compelling alternative to todays PC-on-every-desktop paradigm.

Product Features

The Cisco Cius is a lightweight portable business computing tablet offered with an optional HD audio station equipped with a telephone handset speakerphone, HD DisplayPort and USB ports.

The Cisco Cius tablet features a front-mounted 720p HD camera which refreshes at up to 30 frames per second; a seven inch, high-resolution widescreen super VGA touch-target display for real-time and streamed video, and single-button TelePresence interoperability that can be utilized either when the tablet is docked, or being used remotely via Wi-Fi.

The tablet has a 5-megapixel rear facing camera that can transmit streaming VGA quality video and capture still images, and dual noise-cancelling microphones for audio conferencing.

Cisco Cius features an eloquent contacts-driven user experience, designed to enables users to quickly reach their important contacts.

An on-board accelerometer readily orients applications for viewing in portrait or landscape modes as the user rotates the device to their preferred viewing orientation

Cisco Cius supports 802.11 a/b/g/n Wi-Fi for enterprise campus mobility and 3G cellular services when off-campus.

4G services will be available at a later date. Bluetooth and Micro-USB means users can work untethered and share data with a PC.

A detachable and serviceable battery offers eight hours life under normal usage.

Integration with Business Applications

Cisco Cius provides support for the comprehensive suite of Cisco collaboration applications including Cisco Quad, Cisco Show and Share, Cisco WebEx Connect, Cisco WebEx Meeting Center, Cisco Presence, and interoperability with Cisco TelePresence.

Cisco Cius is supported by Cisco Unified Communications Manager and is easily integrated into existing Cisco customer environments.

Cisco Cius helps ensure a more secure mobile collaboration experience by leveraging Cisco AnyConnect VPN Security, part of the Cisco Borderless Networks architecture.

Virtual desktop integration provides IT organizations with the ability to host software applications securely in the data center and to utilize the Cisco network to deliver those applications as-a-service anytime, anywhere. Cisco Cius thereby supports data center consolidation and reduced software licensing costs.

Cisco Cius offers businesses the ability to take advantage of the ever-expanding ecosystem of cost-effective, third-party applications, supported by the Android operating system, while controlling user access policy.

Cisco will help expand Android developed applications for business by offering Cisco Collaboration Application Protocol Interfaces (APIs) to developers through a Software Developers Kit (SDK).

Availability

Customer trials of Cisco Cius will begin in the third quarter of calendar year 2010, with general availability in the first quarter of calendar year 2011.