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Facebook Portal Video Calling Device
p/facebook-portal-video-calling-device
If you can’t be there, feel there with Portal
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Ivan Mehta
Facebook Portal — Smart, hands-free calling, with Alexa built in
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Connecting through Portal feels like being together in the same room, even when you’re far apart. And Portal makes it easier to connect more regularly with the most important people in your life.

Replies
Niv Dror
An inside look at Facebook Portal inside your home:
Kai Gradert
@nivo0o0 Nailed it :-)
Ben Ingignieri
@nivo0o0 ahah this made this laugh a bit too much 😆probably accurate
Raman Ksaitor
Pros: New way to stay connected with those far away. Cons: New way to stay disconnected from those who are around you. Pros: nice attention to privacy. People don't trust camera to be switched off, unless it's physically covered.
Nolan Clemmons
I like the part in the video where they show a flap that can cover the camera. I can just imagine the design meeting where they anticipated that people would want one (as opposed the the post-it note that covers laptop webcams.)
Daylen Sawchuk
@n_clemmons I like the switch on the LG smart display that covers the camera better. I think this is too easy to misplace.
Duane Wilson✌️
Who is the target market for this? Wouldn’t it have been better to have a video device that could sit on your existing tv? Where will this go in the home and why? Phone, tablet, laptop and desktop all do this today 🤷‍♂️
George Shapter
@helloduane My guess is that it's partially for grandparents?
M Sh

Another privacy debacle in waiting

Pros:

Any?

Cons:

Facebook in our living rooms or kitchens? No war

Konstantin
No sane person would place this thing in his/her home
Matthew Helbig
Sure, I'll trust Facebook to open a window into my home and keep it safe.
Hayden Evans
There is a snowball's chance in hell that I would put any hardware device from Facebook in my home let alone want one within 100 feet of me. Zuck can fuck off with this.
Anneliese Herbosa
Interesting. I can see how they're trying to stay relevant in the realm of all things IoT, immersive tech and riding the AI/AR wave. I'm excited to see how B2C brands embrace this in order to augment more immersive community/fan experiences (think: possibilities of live chat or podcasts, but on a more personal scale - particularly media/entertainment artists/brands potentially using this as an interactive storytelling platform). Smart that they've decided to integrate *with* Alexa versus try to compete *against* Amazon... And considering the privacy issues they've had to cope with in recent years, I like how they acknowledged it up front. P.S. That parallax zoom effect (on scroll) on their marketing site is pretty trippy.
J Keith Hall

What is this good for/

Pros:

I don’t see any at all, it’s yet another device to take up time, Monty, and space that I don’t need

Cons:

It Facebook which I have an account with but don’t ever use and it’s a device that doesn’t solve anyone’s problems at all

Joacim Nilsson
Do you wanna "Netflix and Portal" ;)
Paul James
You would have to be mad to buy this.
Christian Giordano

What can possibly go wrong? Why would you need hardware camera block? Unless security...

Pros:

Useful for keeping families connected

Cons:

Do we really need a dedicated hardware for that?

Rajat

Never used this device and probably will never use it because I don't trust Facebook at all.

Pros:

None

Cons:

Cannot trust Facebook

Daylen Sawchuk
Does anyone know if Facebook Messenger video chat will be coming to Alexa? Skype will be nice, but I find that a lot more people use Messenger. I also wouldn't be surprised if they created an Instagram version of the device, similar to how apple did the iPhone 5C.
Lyondhür Picciarelli
Hahahahahahahaha
AI Being
@lyondhur if the facebook android app already requests all information by default , then their own devices will definitely have more ways to get information than just a "camera"
Lyondhür Picciarelli
Flop is in the air. Everywhere I look around… Camera action features are nice though.
Igo Akulov
I'd rather have Sauron's eye in my crib than this.
Nick Georgiou

Here are my 4 biggest issues with Facebook Portal. This gets ranty, I'm sorry. I like to see a big company trying new things but I don't think this is the right vision for the future.

1. Trust

Do people trust Facebook enough with their data to want to put Facebook's camera and microphone in their home? I don't think so.

2. Proprietary platforms

Aren't we sick of proprietary platforms? What happened to standards? You can't call anyone who isn't on Facebook or Messenger. Plus, you're tied down to Alexa. That doesn't seem very user-friendly. Remember when it was a big deal that IE had a massive market share and was installed into Windows? At least you could download other browsers.

3. Lack of mobility

You need to be in a room to call someone? Seems a bit '90s. A phone lets you go anywhere and call people wherever you are.

4. Form factor

Facebook wants you to add a whole new immobile screen when you already have a massive TV in your living room.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out. I certainly won't be buying a Facebook Portal, but I'll be observing with bated breath to see the reception of the public.

Pros:

Good for hands-free communication.

Cons:

Inferior to a mobile which you can just take anywhere.

Social Suite
1. Trust You make a good point. Obviously facebook is not releasing this out out of the goodness of there hearts or to solely to improve peoples life, they want to sell ads eventually, that's there business model. So I'm guessing they may have a plan to secretly record video and audio to sell relevant ads or something. Or even a scariest thought, to allow government agencies to access the camera. It's the classic foot in the door technique - when this is used widely and part of peoples homes, they are more likely accept larger requests, e.g. seeing relevant ads etc. 2. Proprietary platforms Your right and does not meet there business model of selling ads. If it were open source, you probably see all sort of tracking software integrated. 3. Lack of mobility Maybe this is designed for hermits or the elderly? Since most people are at work or outdoors doing stuff, not sitting around being recorded. Maybe they should change the target market, this would be perfect for security (watching your home if abroad), checking the kids, live video courses (e.g. like yoga classes, chefs etc - if facebook portal has group functionality) or even paid webcam girls! 😉 Had idea of using this for Facebook "big brother" online TV Show, I can put these facebook portals in all my rooms and you pay to watch me wash, eat, sleep and watch TV, any takers? Joking obviously. 😃 4. Form factor Yeah, you have a laptop, TV, mobile, tablet, now you want extra facebook portal? So many screens! Would of made more sense if they released this as some sort of dongle or attachment for your current TV or laptop, bit like Chromecast. But again, that would probably never happen, since they want to use there own proprietary camera technology to eventually record your every movement. Conclusion I certainly won't be buying a Facebook Portal, but like you, I'll be observing with bated breath to see the reception of the public.
Ryan Hoover
This might be Facebook's most important launch of the year, the first hardware product they've shipped (it would have been the second if the Facebook phone didn't get canned). While much of the marketing and expectations around Portal are video-focused, it's also as much an audio/voice device. Today Amazon (Alexa, Echo), Google (Google Assistant, Home), and Apple (Siri, Homepod) have audio plays while Facebook remained on the sidelines. Considering Facebook is truly the only member of the FAANG that truly gets social, I'm excited to see their spin on this space. Are you going to buy one? I'd love to try this out with my long-distance SO.
Thomas Leitermann
@rrhoover it'll creep the hell out of me if facebook was now able to peek into my private space / video conversations... If your business model is user data / personalization then I would not buy such a device from you.
Ganapathy Narayan
@rrhoover @thomasleiterman while V1 might underwhelm but necessary, my privacy concerns with FB has reached a new peak.
Kai Gradert
@rrhoover This will be a hard sell IMO. Facebook has gambled away a lot of user trust over the past year. Time will tell.