FuzeBox brings new telepresence option to iPads, Android tablets
Visual application maker FuzeBox is introducing a new telepresence solution designed specifically for the iPad and Android tablets.
Users of this platform will be able to conduct most tasks they would be able to on a desktop or laptop. Features include starting and hosting secure, multi-party telepresence meetings with a single click, recording meetings, and dynamic camera control.
To take further advantage of the tablet itself, the app supports gesture-based annotations of shared documents on touchscreens.
FuzeBox CEO Jeff Cavins explained in a statement that many businesses are looking at tablets much more favorably, to the point where "they’re becoming an ideal platform for mobile video conferencing, collaboration and extending the capabilities of dedicated telepresence systems."
Cavins has a point. Not only are tablets so obviously portable (slim and light designs), they usually have a number of connectivity options (Wi-Fi, 3G/4G, Bluetooth, sometimes SD card slots). Tablets are also a lot cheaper to hand out to employees than notebook computers, with perhaps the exception of netbooks or Chromebooks, if you want to include those in the same category.
FuzeBox isn't alone in seeing this. For example, both Cisco and Polycom have video conferencing solutions for tablets.
Speaking of competitors (and collaborators, in this case), FuzeBox has also announced that its Fuze Telepresence Connect technology is now available as a cloud-based hosted solution for iPad and Android tablets, Macs, PCs and other mobile devices. This means users can connect Fuze sessions with other telepresence systems from the likes of Polycom, Tandberg, and Teliris, among others without any additional installations.
Both versions of the new FuzeBox tablet app are available to download for free now, but keep in mind the monthly subscription costs for FuzeBox's services.
Related:
- The consumerization of IT: top-down, or bottom-up?
- With Apple's U.S. dominance, smartphone race heads overseas
- Enterprise iPhone 4S activations spike, highlight Apple's halo effect
- Accommodating personal devices at work and other IT 'myths'
- Apple's iBooks Textbooks initiative is a welcome and natural progression