Cisco is following its pattern of working with major carriers when it comes to bringing something new to life. Just as the worked with AT&T and other Tier 1 providers around the globe to generate deployments of their Telepresence video communications suite, they will be doing the same thing with their enterprise tablet, CIUS, which features video and is aimed at the corporate enterprise market.
The developer bootcamp is a way for Cisco to get their new device into the hands of two people. Those who can write apps for it, and those who may want to do business deals with them. The target will likely be those who use either Cisco’s Telepresence suite or their Tandberg line of video conferencing products.
To me, the real winner will be Apple, GTALK and Skype, because all Cisco is really doing is building interest in the category. The CIUS will not be a mass market device, nor will it see mass adoption. For video, it’s more important to have internetwork services, like offered by Glowpoint or Vidtel. Those two make it possible to have one company’s network talk to another’s network regardless of platform. Cisco needs to be fueling the growth of those companies, not simply saying “oh, use AT&T” and us, as in the end, the help push more data, which is really all Cisco really cares about.