Avaya's New Android Tablet

Avaya's New Android Tablet

Avaya announced it's new Android-based tablet device for business.

Cisco's version of iPad for business, Cius, is going for around $1,000. Avaya's device, and the software Flare, costs $2,000+. My iPad, $750. No doubt my iPad is not optimised for Video, Voice and Web conferencing. It'd be great to see one of these in action. I shall reserve judgement until my next visit to their demo centers.

The design of these devices are obviously based off the popularity of the iPad. I'm already using my iPad for many things. Doddling, DJing (yes!), taking meeting notes, trying to maintain a GTD system, games, and of course, reading news, and magazines. I've even tried (sucessfully) making a phone call with it! The experience of video over 3G was however, horrible. Even with a WiFi connection, I find the resolution-to-speed performance undesirable.

Assuming these two giants really pulled it off and optimised the device for Voice, Video, and Web conferencing, whilst integrating their existing UC suites of solutions, there's still this question: What is these devices looking to displace? The $200 IP Phone? Or the $2000 personal video confc? Spending $1,000 to buy a personal "toy" is one thing. How many companies can justify it's company expenses on these devices?

Cisco brings WebEx to Blackberry and iPad

Cisco brings WebEx to Blackberry and iPad

Cisco brings WebEx Meeting Center to Blackberry and iPad. I even found a link to a PDF quickstart guide.

Here's the classic dilemma. Do you spend R&D budget on product development on a platform that has wider adoption, or one that has more appeal? The Blackberry phones have wide enterprise adoption, with more than 20% market share on smart phones and probably somewhere in the range of 20m -30m units sold yearly. However, even on the latest model, the Blackberry only has a screen resolution of 480x360. The iPad has a screen resolution of 1024x768. Here's the real dilemma. If I have both devices, which one would I use for a WebEx web conference? Probably on the iPad. However, which device would I tend to have with me? Probably the Blackberry, for mobility. Also, if it is just an audio conference, the choice is probably going to be the Blackberry as well. Fact of the matter is, I don't see many day-to-day business calls which utilise the web conference facilities. Most calls are audio calls.

Regardless of the case, thumbs up to Cisco for implementing Meeting Center on both devices.

Cisco and 2 Telepresence Solutions

Cisco and 2 Telepresence Solutions

With acquisition of Tandberg by Cisco, there appears to be overlap of their telepresence portfolio.

The $3.4b acquisition is expected to wrap up sometime in H1 of 2010. At the product-level, this acquisition will see a fuller video conferencing portfolio from Cisco. While Cisco previously cover the lower-end video conference, Webex and the highest end board-room style telepresence, Tandberg's product line complements Cisco missing mid-range offerings. However, Tandberg has its own telepresence products. How will these 2 telepresence products integrate? Or will one of them be dropped off completely?

At the partners level, Tandberg's partners may or may not wait for official news. Some may react to this by switching over to Polycom. Just as the recent Avaya-Nortel acquisition sees partners switching sides, it is inevitable that some Tandberg's partners will switch to Polycom.

At the industry level, this suddenly leaves Polycom a very attractive choice. With an impending IPO coming up, will Avaya consider buying Polycom?