FuzeBox Brings iPad 2, Android 3.0 Tablets Into Video Meetings

There are some user experience enhancements, including a pop-out for the video pane and the ability to resize video windows and pin those windows wherever users want. It's possible to record Fuze Meetings.

The tablet and mobile versions can't initiate desktop sharing (the desktop version can; iOS doesn't allow screen sharing and Android can do so only with root access), but iPad 2 and Android tablet users can share content or become presenters. Whiteboarding comes only with the Mac and PC versions, though whiteboard content can be viewed on the iPad and, soon, on Android.

Sadly, Apple's Airplay isn't included in the iOS version of Fuze Meeting, but the new iPad 2 does come with HDMI out if big screen functionality is needed.

There will be competition, of course. Cisco's WebEx runs on the iPad and receives video, though it still can't initiate it. Cisco also doesn't have an Android 3.0 version of WebEx . . . yet. There's Skype for Android, but it doesn't support video. And there's no iPad version. As Skype continues to add enterprise conference and file sharing features, it could be a formidable low-cost challenger.

Fuze Meeting on iPad 2

Surely, when Cisco releases its Cius Android tablet (expected very soon), it will include the full telepresence experience. Moreover, Avaya has been making noise with its Flare (see video demonstration further below), which is purpose built for videoconferencing, the company says.

But FuzeBox is the first to strike in this important category, making the tablet that much more of a professional productivity device.

The video-capable version, Fuze Pro, costs $69 per month per user for the next 30 days; it will list at $99 thereafter. Call usage pricing for an account is 6 cents per minute; add $9 per month for international "toll free" calling, with non-toll-free usage charges ranging from 40 cents 57 cents per minute depending on country, company officials said.