Cisco may be the first vendor out of the gate with a successful Android-based tablet when its Cius portable collaboration and communication device—announced today—officially launches in the first quarter of 2011.

The Cius ("see us," get it?), aimed squarely at business users, will integrate with Cisco's business applications such as WebEx, and it can dock into an optional phone base to connect to a user's corporate communications infrastructure.

The Cius is dominated by a 7" WSVGA touchscreen, weighs 1.15lbs, and appears to be much smaller than an iPad. It's also powered by a customized Android OS, though there has been no mention of what version of Android.

With the heavy focus on real-time communication, the tablet comes equipped with a 720p HD front-facing camera for video conferencing, as well as a 5MP rear-facing camera that can stream VGA-quality video.

For wireless networking, the device also supports 802.11a/b/g/n flavors of WiFi, 3G mobile data (Cisco doesn't specify UTMS or EV-DO; it could be both), and will "at a later date" support 4G networking.

Bluetooth and Micro USB ports round out the built-in connectivity, though docking the Cius in the optional "HD audio station" adds a telephone handset, speakerphone, DisplayPort, USB ports, and gigabit Ethernet. A removable eight-hour battery powers the device on the go.

In keeping with its business focus, the Cius includes built-in support for Cisco's collaboration applications, including Cisco Quad, Cisco Show and Share, Cisco WebEx Connect, Cisco WebEx Meeting Center, Cisco Presence, and interoperability with Cisco TelePresence. It can also connect to your corporate IT infrastructure remotely using Cisco AnyConnect VPN, and can be managed by IT support staff using Cisco Unified Communications Manager. Cisco also plans to release an SDK so that Android developers can include support for Cisco's Collaboration APIs.

No pricing information is available, but Cisco plans to roll out corporate customer trials in the third quarter of this year, with wide availability beginning in the first quarter next year.