Zoom is marketing a new product to power users of its video conferencing service: a 27-inch display devoted to facilitating Zoom calls.
Called the “Dten Me,” the $599 display will go on sale next month as a way to enhance your Zoom meetings. The product includes touch-screen functionality, three built-in wide angle cameras, and eight microphones to capture audio. Once you plug it in, the device will load up the Zoom interface and let you log into your account.
Zoom designed the product in partnership with San Jose-based electronics vendor Dten, which is already accepting pre-orders for the device. According the tech specs, the 14-pound display has a 1080p resolution, integrated stereo speakers, Wi-Fi and Ethernet functionality, and a single HDMI port, allowing it to become a second monitor.
The hardware is part of a new product category Zoom is launching today called "Zoom for Home." The ongoing pandemic has turned millions of business employees into remote workers. So in response, the company is trying to come up with new software and hardware solutions to upgrade the home office experience.
“After experiencing remote work ourselves for the past several months, it was clear that we needed to innovate a new category dedicated to remote workers,” Zoom CEO Eric Yuan said in today’s announcement.
(Credit: Dten)
The $599 product probably won’t appeal to people already fatigued by Zoom meetings. But the company sees a market with users who are required to conduct multiple video calls per day, including business professionals, IT administrators, and teachers.
Zoom told PCMag the display will only natively support Zoom applications. So to run other content, you'll have to rely on the hardware's HDMI port. (The display itself runs Dten's custom OS.) Perks include “interactive whiteboarding” through the display’s touch screen, and the ability to make and receive phone calls (if you subscribe to Zoom’s phone call program.)
If you need an even bigger screen, the company has partnered with Dten to sell a 55-inch display to facilitate Zoom calls. But it’ll cost you $2,999.
Further Reading
- Google Meet Adds 'Zoom-Bombing' Protection for Educators
- Zoom Launches Hardware-as-a-Service Products
- Zoom Extends End-to-End Encryption to Free Users—If They Give a Phone Number
- Microsoft Teams Finally Lets You Easily Add Custom Background Images
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