ZT
UC vendors gung-ho with touch screen interfaces, unveiling tablets to compete with iPad
Apple invigorated the market for touch screen interface tablets when it unveiled the iPad in April. Apple has mostly targeted consumers with the iPad, and enterprise IT pros are lukewarm to its potential as a mobile UC platform. However, end users, particularly executives, have pressured IT to support the iPad. Cisco Systems announced its touch screen tablet, the Cius, in July and has marketed it as a mobile UC and collaboration device for enterprises; Cisco has not confirmed when the Cius will be available to ship.
Not to be outdone, Avaya recently announced its touch screen interface and software platform, Flare, to run on its new Avaya Desktop Video Device.
On the Flare platform, users can "swipe" through a list of contacts and tap on one to see a person's presence, displayed with availability information for voice, instant messaging (IM) and video conferencing. Using the touch screen interface, a user can touch-and-drop multiple contacts to initiate conferences; break off groups into multiple, simultaneous voice or video calls by touching-and-dragging them under a different "spotlight"; swipe to rotate between calls, tap out IMs and emails on a visual keyboard; and share relevant documents by touching-and-dropping them into the session.
"These products are … much more efficient, much more compelling and frankly much more fun to use than anything anybody's ever seen before," said Alan Baratz, senior vice president of global communications solutions at Avaya, during Flare's launch event in New York City on Sept. 16.
Whether the "fun" factor carries much weight with enterprise UC pros is debatable, but the touch screen interface has emerged as the most natural fit for mobile devices and may sway some diehard desktop users to give mobility a chance, according to John Del Pizzo, director of unified communications and collaboration for IBM's Lotus products, which has expanded its Notes software to support the touch screen interfaces for the iPhone and more recently the iPad and Android devices.
"I think the touch screen device in mobile tablet form may end up replacing a lot of those fixed IP phones that do everything … [because] touch screen interfaces are certainly much more intuitive and easier than a phone keyboard," Del Pizzo said. "When I'm looking at my desk phone, I never remember how to make a three-way phone call. But if all I have to do is drag the names to an area … it's much easier."
Touch screens may not radically change mobile UC applications in terms of function or capabilities, but anything to improve the user experience should help galvanize adoption, he said.
"Does it change the UC functionality? Not so much. Does it change the UC experience? It probably optimizes it for the device that I'm using," Del Pizzo said. "The emphasis to me is not entirely on the touch interface but on the interface that works well on the device -- and the touch interface is the one that seems to be winning the hearts and minds of folks."
UC vendors gung-ho with touch screen interfaces, unveiling tablets to compete with iPad
Apple invigorated the market for touch screen interface tablets when it unveiled the iPad in April. Apple has mostly targeted consumers with the iPad, and enterprise IT pros are lukewarm to its potential as a mobile UC platform. However, end users, particularly executives, have pressured IT to support the iPad. Cisco Systems announced its touch screen tablet, the Cius, in July and has marketed it as a mobile UC and collaboration device for enterprises; Cisco has not confirmed when the Cius will be available to ship.
Not to be outdone, Avaya recently announced its touch screen interface and software platform, Flare, to run on its new Avaya Desktop Video Device.
On the Flare platform, users can "swipe" through a list of contacts and tap on one to see a person's presence, displayed with availability information for voice, instant messaging (IM) and video conferencing. Using the touch screen interface, a user can touch-and-drop multiple contacts to initiate conferences; break off groups into multiple, simultaneous voice or video calls by touching-and-dragging them under a different "spotlight"; swipe to rotate between calls, tap out IMs and emails on a visual keyboard; and share relevant documents by touching-and-dropping them into the session.
"These products are … much more efficient, much more compelling and frankly much more fun to use than anything anybody's ever seen before," said Alan Baratz, senior vice president of global communications solutions at Avaya, during Flare's launch event in New York City on Sept. 16.
Whether the "fun" factor carries much weight with enterprise UC pros is debatable, but the touch screen interface has emerged as the most natural fit for mobile devices and may sway some diehard desktop users to give mobility a chance, according to John Del Pizzo, director of unified communications and collaboration for IBM's Lotus products, which has expanded its Notes software to support the touch screen interfaces for the iPhone and more recently the iPad and Android devices.
"I think the touch screen device in mobile tablet form may end up replacing a lot of those fixed IP phones that do everything … [because] touch screen interfaces are certainly much more intuitive and easier than a phone keyboard," Del Pizzo said. "When I'm looking at my desk phone, I never remember how to make a three-way phone call. But if all I have to do is drag the names to an area … it's much easier."
Touch screens may not radically change mobile UC applications in terms of function or capabilities, but anything to improve the user experience should help galvanize adoption, he said.
"Does it change the UC functionality? Not so much. Does it change the UC experience? It probably optimizes it for the device that I'm using," Del Pizzo said. "The emphasis to me is not entirely on the touch interface but on the interface that works well on the device -- and the touch interface is the one that seems to be winning the hearts and minds of folks."