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Amazon Chime — Frustration-free video calls. Amazon's Skype competitor.
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Hummm I think Amazon jumped the gun a bit here...
A. No iOS or Android working links for downloading apps [and they aren't in the stores]
B. You have to have a AWS account to subscribe, really? :/
:(
And do I trust Amazon to be better than companies at software/video technology than companies who have dedicated years to it.. hummm, nope, not really yet...
@francisco_ramos Thanks Francisco, hummm but you still can't find the App, in the App Store if you type: Amazon Chime, fyi.
@emmanuel_lemor @francisco_ramos That is maybe because some geo restrictions. "Amazon Chime" worked for me
I still don't understand why Slack offers the "skype" field in the profile settings. Why not simply "contact" field?
Fun fact: even my grandma hates Skype and keep trying alternatives 🤣 😂
Man, I just wrote about how Amazon will become a Trillion $$$ company (https://medium.com/@kirillzubovs...) and that's an exciting future, but seeing apps like this also makes me scared for the future of startups. Amazon has amassed such power, they can out-execute and outrun anyone, and given that everything is stored on S3, it's only a matter of time. What do you guys think? How do you compete with a power giant that can copy any tool that they need?
@kirillzubovsky for startups, there is always room for innovation. Only difference is your startup has to be unique and disruptive enough to make it otherwise no hope for generic solutions, the big dogs are clearly more hungry.
I like the effort, but I also tried it, and it's just not that great right now.
The app is not on the AppStore or GooglePlay which is misleading since this is supposed to support #mobile devices, and it would be much smarter if #AmazonChime automatically imported all my Google contacts vs. my having to manually enter them in 1 by 1.
Update: I felt the need to remove my upvote. I just expected better product. I'll recommend it again if they address their issues. #newreleaseproblems
It's not as good as skype or zoom and you need to have an AWS account to use it but they talking about "easy to join conversations"...seriously? 🤔
We use G+ hangouts. Native screenshare and up to 15 in the call at once. $5/month with a Google Business plan. Not $5 per user, $5 for the team. Recording meetings, static URL... Really, why people gush over this is beyond me.
@osakasaul Agree, this one is free only for 1:1 calls so I wonder for the market share they will gain
Amazon is bringing in their A game, but I doubt people will switch from what they are already comfortable with. Too many options currently. My personal favorite has always been appear.in
"You can use video conferencing for up to 16 people"
Definitely not compete with zoom for now if you're a bigger team
I watched the video, but I'm still puzzled. What are the key differentiators here? (though admittedly, that's often not covered in an intro video)
If it's reliability, awesome! Especially over low latency.
But (while -- as a Googler -- I'm admittedly biased) I'm pretty happy with Google [video] Hangouts and I've also had good luck with Skype in the past, so I'm genuinely curious what enterprise need this new product is filling.
That said... delighted by the competition. Just like Google Home will undoubtedly be getting Amazon to up their game with their Echo, I'm excited about how Amazon's efforts in this space may spur greater innovation and quality in online meetings :).
@thatadamguy How can you be happy with Google Hangout as a serious business solution? :/
yes, I get you have drunk the cool-aid ;) lol
@thatadamguy If you are with Google, you sound like the person I need to talk to. Hangouts used to be great 3 years ago, but it seems like Google just forgot about it. We have been using Hangouts on Air to record our podcast over that time. The updates are weak, and they are stripping away useful features, like sound effects, in April. You have to search hard to find out where to start an Hangout on Air on YouTube now. We switched to Blab because we were fed up with GHO, then they shut down with almost no warning. I would love a video service that can record your chat, is easy for people to join, and has reliability. I work in education, and teachers need a simple solution to deliver professional development. I am on the lookout for any new tool that can do this.
@jonsamuelson :\ sorry for the frustration on multiple fronts!
I don't work on anything Hangouts related at Google (I'm on the Travel Products team, the group trying to get the world to meet face to face :p), but I'm optimistic about the future of Google Hangouts'y stuff and will keep my fingers crossed that you and others will be delighted :).
Still looking a lot "Entrepresy" to me though.
Btw Amazon, don't build a webinar software. We got it. Thanks.
I wonder if this is another one of these tools they were using internally and decided it was good enough to release it to the world
It feels that soon Amazon Chime will be an extra Alexa skill, bringing Echo and Echo Dot to any office nearby!
@alex_shin I'd assume simply because they can? They're building out their networking portfolio (with some of their more ambitions projects) so why not create the software to manage these networks? I mean, with AWS they're more than set up to build Chime into something with plugins for everyone.
Amazon acquired patents, employees from Biba, reportedly plans new video chat service
=> https://techcrunch.com/2016/11/2...
Top Hunter
@nopus good catch. I discovered evidence that this is indeed the Biba app, but rebranded, inside the Mac OS app.
There's also a couple files that reference Biba, like BibaCommonResources.bundle.
There's also a couple files that reference Biba, like BibaCommonResources.bundle.
@nopus They've also acquired do.com apparently - https://techcrunch.com/2017/03/0...
I like it, but clearly the pricing is for enterprise not the regular guy. I'm basing that on the inability to record without shelling out $15 per person.
Chime - not to be confused with chyme.😬🤓🙃 -Amazon's new competitor to Google Hangouts sure promises a lot! If it's quality & stability holds up it will shake up the entire Internet!
The sign in flow is confusing... It says "Email address used for calendar meetings". So I input my work address, and it brings me to the "Login with Amazon" page where it says "If you are creating a new Chime account use the email address you use for scheduling your meetings rather than your existing shopping account.."
I wasn't using my shopping account, I was using my AWS account! Seems like a bug that they think my AWS account is a shopping account? I'm not sure == Confusing.
@kalamyty Yeah, I really wasn't sure what to do here. Are we meant to create new Amazon accounts with our work emails? Decided to quit and use Hangouts instead. ;)
Tried it this morning for a team meeting spanning New York, Amsterdam & Delhi & it worked really well. We'd been having troubles with Skype lately for similar calls and have to say the first time experience was really good. Will be using again for sure!
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