Cisco exits the tablet space in pursuit of 'choice'

Cisco announced this week that it will no longer invest in its enterprise tablet, the Cius, citing "market transitions" and opportunities for "the broadest choice of collaboration options" as the impetus. In a blog post on the company's website on Thursday, OJ Winge, Senior Vice President of Cisco's Telepresence Technology Group, quietly noted that the Cius tablet would receive no further funding. As with any investment opportunity, Winge said that the company "will continue to offer Cius in a limited fashion to customers with specific needs or use cases." The Cius was designed with specific needs in mind just one year ago, which is why this discontinuation may be the first many consumers even hear about the device. Cisco only sold the 7-inch tablet (for $750) to its enterprise partners, touting its network integration as the primary benefit. To put that in perspective, a Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 (sporting a 8.9-inch display) sells for $480, and among other capabilities it can access Cisco networking devices by IP via its mobile web browser. Most customers - those without the need to manage a Cisco Unified Phone System of a Cisco UTM Firewall on-the-go - have turned instead to personal pads to meet their mobile computing demands. According to the Cisco IBSG Horizons Study from earlier this month, "95% of organizations surveyed allow employee-owned devices in some way, shape or form in the office."