Although it’s best-known for making networking equipment, Cisco Systems Inc.’s hardware lineup includes a wide range of other products as well. The list includes items as diverse as telephony systems, surveillance cameras, and, starting today, a cloud-connected digital whiteboard for conference rooms.

The touch display is launching under the name Spark Board in a nod to Cisco’s collaboration service of the same name. With a base price of $4,990, it’s positioned as a more economic alternative to Microsoft Corp.’s popular Surface Hub, which starts at $9,000. The system’s most direct competitor will likely be the Jamboard, an upcoming contender from Google that is set to launch later this year for under $6,000.

All three displays measure 55 inches across at the entry level, though Cisco plans to introduce a 70-inch model later down the road, and provide a crisp 4K resolution. The emphasis on screen quality is designed as much to increase the visual fidelity of presentations as to make things easier for the presenters themselves. As noted by Fast Company, high pixel density prevents the view from becoming fragmented at close distances.

It’s one of several features that Cisco included in the Spark Board as part of its efforts to provide a natural whiteboard experience. Most strikingly, the display can turn on automatically when a person walks into a conference room and greet them by name. It also comes with a specialized stylus that is designed to handle like a dry-erase marker.

For added effect, Cisco has configured the Spark Board to produce the corresponding sound effects via its built-in speakers when a user moves their pen across the screen. Input is registered instantly thanks to the fact that the company decided to implement its touch capability using the low-latency capacitive sensing technology found in mobile devices.

At the top of the Spark Board, meanwhile, is an array of twelve high-frequency microphones designed to support its collaboration features. The mechanism broadcasts encoded authentication data that mobile devices can pick up to establish a secure connection. As a result, meeting participants gain the option to directly view content from the panel in their handsets. It’s also possible to make presentations accessible for remote users through an integrated cloud service that Cisco will sell for $120 per month.

The Spark Board’s broad feature set can lend itself to a broad range of applications. According to Cisco, the display is useful for everything from regular office meetings to technical videoconferences that require sharing documents with remote participants.

Cisco hopes to launch the Spark Board into general availability by the end of this month. The 70-inch model will follow suit at an undisclosed later date.

Image courtesy of Cisco