Now you Cius, now you don't as Cisco cans tablet device

Vendor drops computing platform after less than a year on the market

Cisco has discreetly pulled the plug on the Cius less than one year after the tablet device hit the shelves in the UK.

In a blog post on the vendor's website, OJ Winge, general manager of Cisco's Collaboration Endpoints Technology Group, explained that the vendor intends to focus its R&D investments on software technologies such as Jabber and WebEx.

"We are seeing tremendous interest in these software offerings," he writes. "Based on these market transitions, Cisco will no longer invest in the Cisco Cius tablet form factor, and no further enhancements will be made to the current Cius endpoint beyond what is available today. However, as we evaluate the market further, we will continue to offer Cius in a limited fashion to customers with specific needs or use cases."

Upon its launch last year, Cisco talked up the Cius as an enterprise rival to the iPad, citing its AppHQ store for ratified applications as a key differentiator. The device was also sold exclusively through the channel with no e-tail or retail routes to market.

To sell the technology, partners needed to hold the Cisco Advanced specialisations in wireless and unified communications. About 70 partners in the UK were qualified to deploy the Cius.