Facebook Is Working On a Video Chat Device (bloomberg.com)

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Bloomberg: Facebook Inc. is working on a video chat device for the home -- the first major hardware product from its experimental Building 8 lab. Featuring a laptop-sized touchscreen, the device represents a new product category and could be announced as soon as next spring's F8 developer conference, according to people familiar with the matter. They say the large screen and smart camera technology could help farflung people feel like they're in the same room, which aligns with Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg's mission of bringing Facebook users closer together. The device is in the prototype phase but is already being tested in people's homes. Geared to the living room, the video chat device will feature a wide-angle camera lens, microphones and speakers that are all powered by artificial intelligence to boost performance, the people said. A version of the device in testing includes a thin, vertical stand that holds a large touchscreen measuring between 13 and 15 inches diagonally, the people said. Facebook has considered running a version of the Android operating system on its device instead of building its own core operating system, according to the people. Facebook is testing a feature that would allow the camera to automatically scan for people in its range and lock onto them, one of the people said. Facebook is also working on a standalone smart speaker to compete with the Amazon Echo and Google Home, reports Bloomberg. The social media giant is "hiring Apple veterans to help create a Siri-style voice assistant that would run on both devices."

Comments

I don't even want

[bobstreo]

To talk to people on the phone. Videoconferencing is even more annoying.

Facebook video conferencing devices will be just another footnote in failure.

Re:I don't even want

[BarbaraHudson]

People have been trying to sell videophones for decades. They all failed for one reason - they're damn inconvenient. A videophone for the home - great - now I have to get dressed before I answer a call. No thanks. Also, do you really want your phone spying on you even more than it does now?

What next - companies demanding that you have a Facebook account and leave Facebook video chat open when you're working from home? Even though studies show that people working from home tend to work more hours than they do in the office? And are generally more efficient because they aren't interrupted by office bs, and when they need a break to think or plan, they don't have to "look busy"?

"Geared to the Living Room" ?

[RobotRunAmok]

That'd be great, if this was 1997. But given the digital diaspora of small screens and the websites, games and apps created to accommodate these, families don't gravitate to the living room anymore. That's where my dogs go, because it has the cushiest chairs...

Re:"Geared to the Living Room" ?

[Gavagai80]

That's what this is really for: video-chatting with your dogs while you're at work.

Re:"Geared to the Living Room" ?

[RobotRunAmok]

Damn! I'm there! Sold!!

Willful Ignorance

[geekmux]

I'm certain that this won't be turned into yet another always listening device in the home, complete with the always watching bonus feature, right?

Sometimes I wonder if vendors make products just to test the ignorance level of the masses.

Then I remember that consumers don't care about privacy anymore, and somehow I feel better knowing it's willful ignorance.

Not a tablet?

[cervesaebraciator]

So, they're building a tablet but one intended to have fewer capabilities?

Re:Not a tablet?

[ljw1004]

I would pay $250 for a video-chat appliance in my house.

Currently we Skype with grandparents on an ipad in protective kid case, or on our phones. My toddlers love to see them but fight over it, and paw at the screen pressing all the buttons and all the touch gestures, and they particularly love the red hang-up button. I have to spend an hour holding the thing up with one hand out of reach. I think it'd be better parenting to create an environment that gives them more independence, and makes it so their failure opportunities are triggered by things that they're in control of at their current age, vs things that are beyond their scope.

If I could get Skype or Messenger working on FireTV that'd be great. But that doesn't seem possible. (apparently you can screenshare your phone's video display to the FireTV, but that way you don't get video or microphone).

I want something that looks like a piece of furniture, hung up on the wall, so its physical nature makes it clear it's not for toddler hands to grab hold of. I want it to have a camera that can take in enough of the room to focus on the kids as they wander around so I don't have to keep pointing it in the right direction. I want it big enough so that it's out-of-height positioning doesn't make it too small.

Failing that, I'd pay $25 for an ipad video-chat app which isn't so touch-enabled that toddlers mess it up. There should be a difficult touch-gesture (e.g. ten fingers stretched over the screen and held there for five seconds) to unlock the controls.

Re:Not a tablet?

[pnutjam]

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008...

Although it might fail on the "not attractive to toddlers" front.

ChromeBook? FaceTimeBook?

[randomErr]

It sounds like a Chromebook with a touche screen. Can't you get a Windows 10 or Android tablet now that does that? Are they just re-inventing the 'internet appliance for the late 80's to early 90's'? I'm getting so tired of rehashing the same old concepts.

Did /. break?

[rsilvergun]

is it posting stories from 1999?