Cisco Live (aka Networkers) is going on now in Vegas and among all the other technical training and insights going on, Cisco has announced the Cius and the Home Energy Controller, a pair of Android-based tablets.
The Cius is undeniably cool as a portable HD videoconferencing device with other abilities to access cloud-based apps, but I gotta wonder what niche this will fill especially when it does come out. I think I heard it was rumored to come out in 2011Q1 so we might have a ton more interesting things to look at when that rolls around. I think it is cool enough to make some CxO/execs want it just “because”.
The HEC looks a lot more practical than the Cius and uses Zigbee and presumably 802.11 wireless to control and report on your home and its energy utilization. Priced (or subsidized) correctly, this could be an interesting and arguably the “sexiest” way to monitor your utilities.