With the popularity of VoIP services and mobile applications, video calling has become the best way to connect with a loved one living far away. Thanks to telepresence, you can now have family get-togethers, witness a child’s first steps, and even watch a friend’s wedding online. Several companies are also on a mission to make video-calling a lot more convenient. Here are some new video-calling gadgets worth checking out:
KUBI – The Robot that Saves the World from Awkward Video Calls
If you have a big group of friends or a large family, then jockeying for position in front of your PC or mobile device during a video-call should be a familiar situation for you. San Francisco start-up company Revolve Robotics aims to do away with the awkwardness of the situation with KUBI, a robot tablet mount that can pivot and rotate, so it can catch everything that’s happening during a video call. KUBI, “neck” in Japanese, is a motorized stand designed for any tablet equipped with Bluetooth 4.0. You can orient your tablet in landscape or portrait mode and have KUBI tilt up to 90 degrees and pan up to 300 degrees around the room. To lead KUBI in the right direction, give it commands using intuitive remote controls over the web. You can even use your smartphone to log in to the KUBI Kontroller website and control the motion of your KUBI. Created by Ilya Polyakov and Marcus Rosenthal, KUBI lets you focus on the conversation, follow the action, and makes video calling a more natural experience. Preorder KUBI on Indiegogo.
telyHD – Delivers video calls on your HD TV
Startup company, Tele Labs promises to bring HD video calling to your living room through telyHD. The device is for Skype users and works with any TV with an HDMI port. The innovative gadget can be set-up in less than ten minutes. Simply attach it on your TV, plug it in, connect to your router, and log in to your Skype account. Upon installation, you’ll instantly get to converse with any Skype user on 720p HD video and high-quality audio. What’s even better is that you wouldn’t need a computer, nor would you need to pay monthly fees for the service; It allows you to share photos and receive video mail during a video call. Unfortunately, telyHD does not support Skype’s group calling feature yet, but let’s hope that it does soon. You’d also have to be prepared to shell out USD249 if you want it.
Logitech TV Cam HD – The Natural Way to Bring Skype to Life on Your TV
Similar to the telyHD is Logitech’s latest gadget. This TV Cam plugs right into your HD big screen TV’s HDMI port and works with any brand. It’s also unobtrusive enough to mount on your wall or on top of your big screen TV. Once the TV is connected to the Internet, you can now use it to log into your Skype account and make calls. You don’t have to worry about missing a call, since you can enable the voicemail feature on your Skype account. The Logitech TV Cam HD comes with four high-quality microphones and is currently the only TV cam using Carl Zeiss optics. Get it for USD 199.99.
There are a lot of options nowadays for video calling services. While these three choices aren’t free, the convenience they bring makes them worth the expense.
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