New Work From Home Video Conferencing App
This last week saw the announcement of two new video conferencing options for the work from home (WFH) crowd.
Microsoft announced its dedicated Microsoft Teams device in collaboration with Lenovo.
The ThinkSmart View is a touch screen device allowing you to interact with all your Teams functions as well as integrate to any computer to share screens, etc. The neat feature here is the integration with Cortana. You can do things like start meetings, add people to meetings, etc. by just telling Cortana to do it. The ThinkSmart View features an 8-inch screen with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 624 processor 5 MP wide angle camera 2GB of Ram and 8GB of storage. It connects through Wireless and Bluetooth and has a built-in microphone and speaker. The ThinkSmart View runs about $300 from Lenovo.
Not to be left behind, Zoom has also announced the addition of their home video conferencing hardware.
Zoom has partnered with DTEN to create what they are calling an all-in-one personal collaboration device. Significantly more expensive, retail looks to be $599 and is currently offered as a pre-order. The DTEN offers a 27-inch multi-touch display with 3 camera array, an 8 microphone array, and integrated speakers. This device is made for rooms up to 16 x 16 ft. and connects via ethernet or Wi-Fi and has output for HDMI. With the standard VESA mounting capability, it can be mounted on any monitor wall mount or desktop mount.
Although the DTEN does not work with a Teams interface, it does support an upcoming calendar view for meetings as well as a white board function so you can draw and annotate on the fly. So, if you are looking for a device to hold meetings this may be a good fit.
These are just the beginning of offers I expect to see in the near future. The WFH revolution is only beginning and looks to be gaining traction in the hardware industry as well.
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Greg Durnan is the Owner/President of AcaciaIT and very active in the business community of Southern Arizona. One of the founding members of the Greater Vail Area Chamber of Commerce and Chairman of the Oro Valley Chamber of Commerce. He is very passionate about the needs of businesses in Arizona. He also strives to educate clients on Computer and Network Security through Lunch and Learns, articles, and webinars.
On the weekends he enjoys spending time with his wife and son at their ranch in Vail and working with horses.