Cisco, Microsoft, and Skype are all making aggressive plays to bring videoconferencing to any device starting with the TV. Cisco is going the high-end route with its Umi (http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2010/10/08/ciscos-new-umi-the-answer-to-a-question-nobody-asked/) at a price point of $600 for the unit and $24.99/month for the service, this will truly be aimed at high-end consumers and professionals who are willing to pay for an enterprise brand. Even if the video chat experience is good, user may get frustrated with the service given it requires 1.5Mbps of bandwidth. Other alternatives include Skype which has been in the PC video chat game for a while and has now partnered with several TV manufacturers (Panasonic and Samsung) to embed skype into the TV inlcuding a wide angle camera (http://www.skype.com/intl/en-us/get-skype/on-your-tv/) The service is free to other skype users. Continue Reading...
November 2010 Archives
Cisco, Microsoft, and Skype are all making aggressive plays to bring videoconferencing to any device starting with the TV. Cisco is going the high-end route with its Umi (http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2010/10/08/ciscos-new-umi-the-answer-to-a-question-nobody-asked/) at a price point of $600 for the unit and $24.99/month for the service, this will truly be aimed at high-end consumers and professionals who are willing to pay for an enterprise brand. Even if the video chat experience is good, user may get frustrated with the service given it requires 1.5Mbps of bandwidth. Other alternatives include Skype which has been in the PC video chat game for a while and has now partnered with several TV manufacturers (Panasonic and Samsung) to embed skype into the TV inlcuding a wide angle camera (http://www.skype.com/intl/en-us/get-skype/on-your-tv/) The service is free to other skype users. Continue Reading...
