Cisco announces Android and Ubuntu-based tablets

Cisco's new Cius business tablet in its docking station.
Source: Cisco Networking specialist Cisco has announced a new business tablet, called "Cius", that runs Google's open source Android mobile operating system. According to the Cisco, the Cius is "a first-of-its-kind mobile collaboration business tablet" and is HD video (720p at 30 frames per second) ready.

The dock-able Cius weighs 1.15 lbs and features a 7-inch touch screen, HD audio with dual noise-cancelling microphones and up to 8 hours of battery life. While the front-mounted 720p HD camera is primarily aimed at video conferencing, a second 5-megapixel rear facing camera that supports VGA video is also built-in. Wireless connectivity includes 802.11 a/b/g/n Wi-Fi, 3G/4G WWAN wireless data and Bluetooth 3.0. Cisco doesn't mention which version of Android the tablet will run, however.

While pricing hasn't been confirmed, it's expected to cost less than $1,000 and be available in the first quarter of 2011. A short introductory video is available on YouTube.

Cisco's new Linux-based Home Energy Controller.
Source: Cisco The company has also unveiled a new 7-inch countertop tablet called the Cisco Home Energy Controller (HEC) aimed at home energy management (HEM). Cisco says that it hopes that the HEC will help consumers "make more informed choices" about how they use energy and help to reduce overall energy consumption.

The HEC tablet is based on Ubuntu Linux for mobile internet devices (MIDs) with the 2.6.29 kernel and features a 1.1 GHz Intel Atom processor. Other features include 512 MB ram, 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, a USB 2.0 connection, and 1-2 GB of onboard storage (expandable to 64 GB).

According to Forbes, the HEC tablet will cost approximately $900.00. A short YouTube video and white paper on the Cisco Home Energy Controller are available.

This is not the first time that Cisco has used free and open source software in its products. Previously, the company ran into trouble with the Free Software Foundation (FSF) for failure to comply with the terms of the GPL and LGPL licences related to the firmware in Linksys devices. Following a law suit, Cisco and the FSF settled in May of 2009; Cisco agreed to appoint a Free Software Director for the Cisco subsidiary Linksys who now enforces the company's compliance with the terms of the GPL.

See also:

• Cisco Simplifies Mobile Collaboration with First-of-its- kind HD Video-Capable Business Tablet, press release from Cisco.
• Cisco Powers Up Energy Management Tools for Utilities, Consumers, Businesses, press release from Cisco.

(crve)