Facebook Announces a New Video Calling Device for its Portal Line
Author By Sophia VidaPosted on Social media giant Facebook announced the new Portal video-calling devices, Portal for Business service.
This week the company unveiled the third generation of its Portal video-calling devices, including the portable $199 Portal Go.
Facebook additionally announced Portal for Business, a service for small and mid-size businesses that will allow them to purchase, deploy and remotely manage Portal devices for their workers.
The Portal Go, a $199 device, has a 10-inch screen that can be lifted off of its charging block for use around the home. It also features a carrying handle and enough battery to last up to five hours of one-on-one calling via Messenger or 14 hours of listening with its screen off.
The company’s Portal+, which will retail for $349 and feature a wide 14-inch display that can be tilted forward and backward. The Portal+ was designed to sit next to users’ computers on their desks for video calls. According to Facebook this version has better sound quality than the first version.
The current 10-inch Portal sells for $179 and the previous version of the Portal+ was priced at $279. There should be revised promo prices for these devices later this year, Facebook’s head of product management for Portal Micah Collins said.
Pre-ordering started this week and the company will begin shipping to customers on Oct. 19.
Portal for Business, a service for small and midsize businesses, will allow companies to purchase, deploy and remotely manage Portal devices for their workers.
Facebook saw a fit for this type of service as more companies shift to remote and hybrid setups, Collins said to CNBC. Portal for Business will launch in beta this year in the U.S. and will become more widely available next year.
“Portal is extremely useful given the amount of video connection we have to sustain during a workday, and that trend isn’t going away,” he said.
Disclaimer: We have no position in any of the companies mentioned and have not been compensated for this article.
