FRAMINGHAM, Mass. — Along with Cisco System Inc.’s announcement this week that its Cius tablet computer will ship on July 31 for US$750 is the unveiling of an app store for the new product.
Cisco introduced AppHQ, an application “ecosystem” assembled specifically for its Cius business tablet computer. AppHQ is a cloud-based user storefront intended to provide users with a way to quickly deploy enterprise tablet applications, especially collaboration apps.
Cius, which was unveiled a year ago, is an Android-based tablet created for the enterprise that combines voice, video, collaboration, and virtualization capabilities. It is designed to provide enterprise customers with a portable collaboration platform by combining phone, videoconferencing and business application execution in a tablet form factor.
And as we all know, a computer – PC, server, laptop, tablet, handheld or pocket-sized – is only as good as the applications that make it an indispensible utility. So here are the 10 most compelling applications that may or may not make Cius an indispensible business productivity utility for enterprises:
Wyse PocketCloud Pro. Allows users to access remote hosted desktops, files and Windows apps securely from Cius, and enables remote access to virtual hosted desktops over Wi-Fi. Allows use of Cius to access any file and run any application on remote desktops. Eliminates the need for a laptop to make a presentation, access a remote report, or edit and e-mail a spreadsheet remotely.
VMware View Client. Enables access to Windows virtual desktops from Cius with “the best possible user experience” on a LAN or across a wide area network. Supports the PCoIP display protocol for optimized performance. Requires VMware View 4.6 or later.
Citrix Receiver for Cius. Provides remote access to XenApp applications, documents and desktops. Users can use Citrix Receiver to check e-mail, review documents, tune into project dashboards and approve expenses from Cius, provided their company uses Citrix to host applications.
WorkPlace. Presents business metrics on a mobile device. Provides dashboards, charts and other graphics to allow users to assess the performance of their business wherever they are. Enables interconnection of existing databases, dashboards, scorecards, spreadsheets, and portals so users won’t have to rewrite business intelligence aggregators. Delivers current web-based applications based on employee role within the company.
ARALOC Content Protection and Distribution. Allows customers to distribute confidential and proprietary content while maintaining control over its use. ARALOC employs 256-bit AES encryption, content license technology and rights controls to protect against piracy and unauthorized viewing. ARALOC supports many file formats, including WMV, MOV, MP3, MP4, JPG, PNG, GIF, SWF, HTM, HTML, TXT, and Microsoft Office content in Word, as well as Excel and PowerPoint formats. All of these formats can be mixed in a single protected package, the company says.
WiFi Ruler. Automatically connects to open access points as you walk by. It differentiates between “open” access points that are actually paywalls, and allows users to skip them. It also can determine the differences between multiple access points all called “linksys” or “dlink”, etc. It’s compatible with access points already deployed in an enterprise.
Webur Notes. Allows users to create multimedia notes using various sources such as video, picture, voice and text, and store them on Cius. Employees can use Webur Notes to, for example, capture short interviews as voice or video files, snap photos of whiteboards and include with meeting notes, and record in-room meetings and voice memos. All notes include geo-location information for mapping and search.
Evernote. “Turns your Android phone into an extension of your brain.” Evernote is designed to allow users to remember and recall anything that happens in their life — from notes to ideas to snapshots to recordings. Evernote synchronizes it all, whether it comes from a phone, the Web or a PC. These notes can then be connected to other apps and products, and shared with friends and colleagues via Facebook and Twitter. It can add, synchronize, access and share such business files as PDF, Word, Excel and PowerPoint, and can access and modify shared notebooks.
gbaHours Trial Time Tracking. Tracks time for freelancers who work on projects for multiple clients. Tracks and presents billable time totals by project, client or task. Totals and details can be sent by e-mail to a desktop computer for billing.
AppMonster Pro. Manages apps for Android-based devices like Cius. It allows users to install, uninstall, back up and restore applications, and share them with coworkers via Facebook, Twiiter and e-mail links. It sorts applications by install-date, name and size. It performs an automatic and silent backup of newly installed apps to an SD card for later restoral.
(From Network World U.S.)
