Even as companies around the globe are rushing to crowd up the video conferencing space, Zoom is deepening its work further into that space. The company has partnered with DTEN to launch a new all-in-one personal collaboration device. This product mainly pitches to all the employees who are working from home and need an effective workspace for better communication with their organisations. However, the platform isn’t restricted to office work, and can be used by people for other interactions like fitness classes or simply hanging around with friends.
The appliance named ‘Zoom for Home – DTEN ME’, is a 27 inch stand alone screen with an interactive multi-touch whiteboard, 3 wide angle cameras and 8 microphones. Also, the device is just half an inch thick and weighs 14.5 lbs.
As far as the installation is concerned, employees will get their installation and synchronisations handle by company’s IT teams. However, for freelancers, there are going to be a few extra steps. To some relief for the untrained, it has been claimed that deep technical knowledge is not required for individuals.
Zoom for Home is also compatible with all Zoom Rooms Appliances, including hardware solutions from Neat and Poly, allowing users to select the hardware they need to create the perfect work-from-home communications experience across spaces such as living rooms.
The appliance will be sold at $599. There are similar products available in the market like – the Google Nest Hub Max is $229, the 10-inch Echo Show is also $229 retail (currently $180), and the large Portal+ is $279. This puts Zoom’s device at the high end of the market, a position that has been solidified by Zoom’s sudden rise to the top.
Zoom CEO, Eric Yuan said that the Zoom for Home collection responds to the clear need for a new category of products dedicated to work anywhere.
Needless to say, Zoom is once again trying to take the first mover advantage in a market that perhaps no one knows better. The company was into video conferencing long before COVID-19 necessitated work/learn from home. But lack of adequate security and a slightly dented user trust meant the space became available for many others to grab. The new ‘Zoom for Home’ device could be Zoom’s way of gaining back some of that lost userbase and establishing itself as the goto company for work-from-home needs.
The device starts shipping in the US in August 2020, bang on time considering the evolving COVID-19 situation and subsequent work from homes.
