Umi videoconferencing is not limited to Umi users. Cisco has partnered with Google so that people can use Google’s video chat service on their computers to chat with Umi users, Cisco said during a morning press conference in San Francisco.

“Video is the most powerful medium of all, and if the experience is right it changes behavior and it changes the way people live, play and learn,” said Marthin De Beer, Cisco’s senior vice president of emerging technologies. “Umi telepresence is about you and me connecting in new ways on your television.”

Video conferencing became popularized in the 2000s when the feature became available in instant-messaging clients in the 2000s. In recent years, tech manufacturers have been pushing the technology beyond computers onto devices like smartphones and the television. The iPhone 4, for example, includes a front-facing camera for “FaceTime” video chatting anywhere you have a Wi-Fi connection. TV-based videoconferencing is catered to group video chats for business meetings, for example, or connecting with family members.

Gina Clark, vice president of the Umi Telepresence product group, said that the Umi will be extremely easy for any type of user to set up, and with the press of a few buttons videoconferencing can be turned on.

“The natural behavior and sense of being able to roam around that living room and really enjoy each other is the difference with Umi Telepresence versus competing products,” Clark said.

The Umi is shipping November 14, available at Best Buy and Magnolia Home Theater retail stores. Pre-orders begin today.

Product page [Cisco]

See Also:

• Apple Unveils High-Resolution, Videoconferencing iPhone 4
• Nyoombl Uses the TV for Video Conferencing
• Asus Announces World’s First Skype Video Phone

Authors: Brian X. Chen

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