Zoom unveils home communications kit for $599
Yahoo Finance’s Dan Howley joins Kristin Myers to discuss Zoom’s all-in-one home communications appliance for $599.
Video Transcript
KRISTIN MYERS: And Zoom, they want to make it easier for us all to work from home. That stock in the red today, down over 2%. Our resident tech-pert Dan Howley is here with more details. Hey, Dan.
DAN HOWLEY: Hey. Yes, they have launched something called Zoom for Home and the DTEN ME-- or DTEN ME, however you want to pronounce it. It's a new 27-inch display touchscreen that's designed specifically for use with Zoom calls. It has three wide-angle cameras, an eight-microphone array. And they say that when you use it for the touchscreen aspect, you'll be able to use things like whiteboard applications in Zoom. This is part of Zoom's larger push to ensure that as many people as possible can use the platform if they don't have a smartphone or perhaps a laptop that they're able to get on Zoom with.
But this is an expensive piece of equipment. It's not cheap. It is $599. So we're looking at an incredibly expensive device for accessing Zoom. I don't know how many people are actually going to purchase this. Perhaps it's more for the business side of things. But again, you can still get on Zoom with your, you know, laptop or your phone or any other device that may connect to the internet.
So I'm not sure what the appetite is for a product like this. Presumably, Zoom will come out with more devices or partner with other companies to provide cheaper devices that are Zoom specific. But this is kind of a hard sell for me.
KRISTIN MYERS: So you mean rivaling Facebook with that camera that they wanted us all to have in our home so we could chat with friends? Is what's coming next for Zoom?
DAN HOWLEY: I mean, Portal is a lot cheaper than this DTEN ME. I don't really know how many people are going to buy this. Portal, you know, depending on your feelings on Facebook and their privacy issues, maybe having their camera in your home isn't the best thing to do. They still have your phone, of course. But I think that this is going to be a product that few people really decide to dive into.
KRISTIN MYERS: All right, we'll need you to get your hands on it and report back to us on that. Thanks so much, Dan.
