Zoom wants you to buy a $600 second screen to use exclusively for videoconferencing

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Zoom wants you to buy a $600 second screen to use exclusively for videoconferencing
Zoom
  • Zoom, the ultra-popular videoconferencing platform, is launching a line of work-from-home products.
  • The first is a standalone screen priced at $599 designed to be a one-stop-shop for all your video conferencing needs, with eight microphones and a touchscreen for easy annotation in real-time.
  • You can use the screen with any type of account, including the basic, free version.
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Zoom, the video conferencing platform that's experienced a surge in business during the COVID-19 pandemic, is delving into hardware.

It's launching a line of "Zoom for Home" products designed to make work easier for remote employees. For its first product, it's partnering with San Jose-based company DTEN to offer a standalone screen priced at $599 that will serve as a souped-up version of your standard videoconferencing tool.

The DTEN ME is a 27-inch touchscreen with three wide-angle cameras and an 8-microphone array, which improves sound quality. Its touchscreen capabilities also mean you can use it as a real-time, interactive whiteboard during presentations.

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You sign in with your Zoom account, regardless of if you have a basic or premium type, and your calendar and settings sync automatically. The product is geared more toward business professionals, but consumers can use it too, according to the company. The Zoom for Home DTEN ME is available now for pre-order, and only for customers in the US.

Zoom isn't the only one attempting to cash in on a widespread migration to remote work. Other products are in the works or have already landed on the market in response to a growing need for gadgets that simplify working from home.

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Ex-Evernote CEO Phil Libin is behind a virtual app, dubbed Mmhmm, that will eventually allow people to share their screen with others in a video call while also remaining in the picture. The result would be akin to Saturday Night Live's Weekend Update segment.

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