ie8 fix

Between the Lines

Larry Dignan, Andrew Nusca and Rachel King

Polycom intros 'world's first' whiteboard tool for collaboration, video

By | October 27, 2011, 5:30am PDT

Summary: Polycom’s UC Board is supposed to bring the whiteboard to video conferencing screens without the glare.

Standard whiteboards aren’t cutting it anymore in an age where everyone in enterprise is concerned with sharing and collaborating over projects via the cloud from anywhere, anytime. Additionally, content on whiteboards don’t typically show up very well when in video conferencing mode.

Polycom is trying to meet both of these challenges with the introduction of the Polycom UC Board, which basically shares content written on the whiteboard to all screens and mobile devices that are connected to the video meeting.

Along with sharing presentations, the UC Board software enables conference participants to use the UC Board to write, annotate or highlight key points directly on top of the shared content in real-time.

The UC Board solution is comprised of a compact infrared sensor that attaches to a whiteboard or LCD screen, along with a wireless stylus that meeting hosts can use to write and sketch with just like any regular pen or marker.

Such a solution is especially targeted at students and professors, doctors, architects, and marketing departments.

Naturally, there is a catch. Anyone who wants to use this product must already have a Polycom HDX series video communications system already set up. At that point, it should be relatively simple to use (in theory) as it is touted as a USB plug-and-play configuration.

The Polycom UC Board solution is available starting today for $1,999.

Earlier this month, Polycom also unveiled what it boasted as the “first” enterprise-class HD telepresence software solution. Polycom RealPresence Mobile is meant to extend the use of high-quality and secure video conferencing across an organization via tablets, laptops and desktop computers. It will initially be supported on the Apple iPad 2, Motorola Xoom and Samsung Galaxy Tab.

Related:

Kick off your day with ZDNet's daily e-mail newsletter. It's the freshest tech news and opinion, served hot. Get it.

Topics

Rachel King is a staff writer for ZDNet based in San Francisco.

Disclosure

Rachel King

Rachel King has no business relationships, affiliations, investments, or other potential conflicts of interest relating to the content posted in this blog.

Biography

Rachel King

Rachel King is a staff writer for CBS Interactive in San Francisco. Before serving as a contributing editor at ZDNet in New York City for two years, she previously worked for The Business Insider, FastCompany.com, CNN's San Francisco bureau and the U.S. Department of State. Rachel has also written for MainStreet.com, Irish America Magazine and the New York Daily News, among others. Rachel has a B.A. in Mass Communications and History from the University of California, Berkeley and a M.S. in Journalism from Columbia University, where she served as art director for the student magazine, Plated.

6
Comments

Join the conversation!

Just In

RE: Polycom intros 'world's first' whiteboard tool for collaboration, video
ugarzdnet 27th Oct
Interesting... Is anyone actually using these products? From what I've heard, this is like Microsoft announcing Mobile Lync or OCS two years ago (and it's showing up just now). The only reason I'm cynical is because the timing of Polycom's press releases coincides with real products that are available and making inroads. I've heard Cisco has some solution that has had sales wins over Polycom, and Microsoft is opening up their doors as they provide a software solution, so anyone can work with them to get their hardware solution working on Lync. Plus, Damaka (a startup in Texas), has apps on both Android and iPhone/iPad/iOS you can buy/download today to do this on mobile [basically extend Lync or Cisco Tandberg to mobile devices]...
0 Votes
+ -
Not First
m0o0o0o0o 27th Oct
Unless I am completely senile, I believe I remember conducting whiteboard videoconferences almost 20 years ago. I don't remember the name of the company that made the whiteboard, but the idea was very similar.
0 Votes
+ -
Softboard
Madwolf Software 27th Oct
SoftBoard by Microfield Graphics, Inc. I seem to remember Polycom may have bought them. That stylus sure looks like a modernized version of the stylus for the 400 series SoftBoards anyway.
We???ve seen over and over again from customers in all industries ??? from film studies to teachers ??? what a positive impact interactive whiteboard technology can have on engagement and productivity. We are thrilled at Luidia to work with a leader like Polycom to help make a real difference to organizations struggling with the collaboration question.
Interesting... Is anyone actually using these products? From what I've heard, this is like Microsoft announcing Mobile Lync or OCS two years ago (and it's showing up just now). The only reason I'm cynical is because the timing of Polycom's press releases coincides with real products that are available and making inroads. I've heard Cisco has some solution that has had sales wins over Polycom, and Microsoft is opening up their doors as they provide a software solution, so anyone can work with them to get their hardware solution working on Lync. Plus, Damaka (a startup in Texas), has apps on both Android and iPhone/iPad/iOS you can buy/download today to do this on mobile [basically extend Lync or Cisco Tandberg to mobile devices]...

Join the conversation!

Formatting +
BB Codes - Note: HTML is not supported in forums
  • [b] Bold [/b]
  • [i] Italic [/i]
  • [u] Underline [/u]
  • [s] Strikethrough [/s]
  • [q] "Quote" [/q]
  • [ol][*] 1. Ordered List [/ol]
  • [ul][*] · Unordered List [/ul]
  • [pre] Preformat [/pre]
  • [quote] "Blockquote" [/quote]
ie8 fix

The best of ZDNet, delivered

ZDNet Newsletters

Get the best of ZDNet delivered straight to your inbox

Facebook Activity

White Papers, Webcasts, & Resources
ie8 fix