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Cisco Systems’ Android-based Cius tablet will go on sale at the end of July, and the company plans to launch an application ecosystem to help spur adoption.
The company unveiled today AppHQ, an application development platform that big companies can use to create and test applications for the Cius tablet. Companies will be able to create their own private app stores for employees who use the Cius. The platform also allows IT managers to control which applications can be used on the device.
Cisco plans to include some collaboration apps, including Cisco’s WebEx, Quad, Jabber, and TelePresence products, in the AppHQ app store that can be used by any company. IT managers who are setting up a corporate app store within an app store will also get to leverage the more than 200,000 apps already in the Android Marketplace.
There are numerous tablets in the market already, but Cisco is trying a different approach from the others. Instead of going after the consumer, like Apple has done with the popular iPad, Cisco is targeting its enterprise customers. Cius uses the Google Android operating system, but it’s strong security features make it a good fit for corporate users, the company says.
The device goes on sale July 31 and will cost about $750.
