Videoconferencing gear maker Polycom (PLCM) is bringing mobile video communications to consumer tablets for business customers.Pleasanton-based Polycom says its tablet software — which is aimed at big businesses — will help workers hold videoconferences while on the go.
“Polycom,” company CEO Andrew Miller said, is “extending video collaboration beyond the traditional boundaries of the conference room and desktop.”
- Polycom engineer Sam Kennedy demonstrates the company’s newly unveiled business-grade video conferencing application on the iPad 2 and android tablets
With Polycom’s HD video technology on a tablet, users can connect simultaneously to other standards-based video systems, including immersive video rooms, group/desktop systems, and laptops. Launched today, the RealPresence Mobile software application, powered by the Polycom(R) RealPresence(TM) Platform, extends Polycom’s HD video collaboration technology to deliver to tablets the same high-quality, secure, reliable video experience customers are accustomed to inside the office. The RealPresence Mobile software application is available via a free download from Android Market(TM) beginning today and Motorola will become the first company to offer the RealPresence Mobile application pre-loaded on its tablet devices, starting in Q4 201.
Polycom cites a number of practical applications: A physician could use a tablet to collaborate with medical experts through a video link. Students could remain connected to professors from anywhere, including their homes. Factory operators could monitor the plantfloor. Emergency workers could share and analyze on-site information in real time.
Unlike rivals Avaya and Cisco Systems (CISCO), Polycom isn’t building its own tablets but instead will enable video communications on third-party tablets.
