Enter the Enterprise Tablet

3.3 million iPads have been sold since the product launch in April.  Even for Apple -- a company whose new products are always fanatically anticipated -- that's a huge success!  It's clear that the general consumer thinks a highly-portable content-consumption device is a good idea.  

I agree -- it's a great idea!  It's actually quite liberating to be able to kick back on the couch, surf the web, check email, etc., all while feeling as comfortable as reading a magazine.  The content consumption tablet has arrived and it's here to stay.

But what about all the hopes for an 'enterprise tablet' -- a tablet that someone may actually want to take to the office and use it for -- well, work.  While that idea is yet to be proven successful, companies are refusing to give up.

Cisco has recently announced the Cius (pronounced See-Us), a Android-OS powered tablet for the business-person on the go.  As the name suggests, the primary use of this tablet is as an extension of Cisco's tele-presence system.

As the modern workplace continues to expand beyond the confines of office buildings and meeting rooms; keeping workers 'connected' via instant messaging, video conferencing, etc becomes increasingly important.  The Cius delivers this functionality in a low-cost package that's also highly portable.  I can't imagine why any organization who has invested in Cisco's tele-presence (it's expensive) would chose to not further expand their remote-productivity capabilities with the Cius.

And now it looks like Cisco is not alone.  The HP Slate (previously considered dead) seems to have been re-branded as a Windows powered enterprise tablet. At this point these are just rumors, so little is know about the features or the target audience HP is after.  However, given HP's own tele-presence system (called Halo), one can guess that they are shooting for something at least somewhat similar to the Cius.

It's been very exciting to witness (and participate in) the iPad success.  I'm now very curious if the tablet form-factor will be received with equal enthusiasm by the enterprise.