Five Reasons to Consider the Cius for Your Business

First, the Cius tablet features Cisco's network-centric unified communications and Quad collaboration platform. Tools include the WebEx Collaboration Cloud; Cisco TelePresence for real-time collaboration; and Cisco Quad collaboration to integrate business apps with social networking tools, such as VoIP, instant messaging, video, and calendars. Some of these apps, such as Cisco Quad and WebEx, are also available on the iPad, but Cisco plans to highlight these features on its tablet.

Google's Android operating system and Mozilla's Firefox browser open doors to new possibilities as the list of Android apps grows. Cisco also plans to provide tools to help developers expand its Android business applications, such as Cisco Collaboration Application Protocol Interfaces (APIs) through a software developer's kit.

The rise and

Cloud computing is on the rise and, according to some industry analysts' predictions, 40 percent of businesses will offer a blend of cloud and premise-based applications by 2012. Standard equipment on the Cius will include a virtual desktop client application, so it can perform as a thin client on any Cisco Collaboration Architecture. This means that your Cius tablet won't need resident applications because it will access these programs through the cloud; that is, Internet-based software housed in a single location.

For business, this promises lower cost, continuous availability, and more efficiency and flexibility. Software upgrades and patches can be deployed to one server only rather than individual machines, so employees always have the latest versions. Tablets can travel anywhere and the cloud follows, so apps are always available.

Many tablets have some or all of these features, including the iPad. For example, the iPad is comparable to the Cius in size and weight; the Dell Streak also has dual cameras, one front-facing and one 5 megapixel still image camera with LED flash; and Fujitsu's LifeBook TH700 also has Gigabit Ethernet, integrated wireless Bluetooth, plus a host of other features.T here are over a dozen manufacturers releasing tablet PCs this year, including Research in Motion, Adobe, HP, Dell, Toshiba, Samsung, and even Google. You might want to wait a bit longer and review all your options before making a company-wide decision.