When I first sat down to write this article, I struggled. A lot. Like so many other folks, I had read about Cambridge Analytica and the other ways the social media giant misused user data. But the headlines surrounding Facebook are still pretty bleak.
Share this story
The antireview
Your question might be answered by sellers, manufacturers, or customers who bought this product. Please make sure that you are posting in the form of a question. Please enter a question.
Makes video calls with Messenger and WhatsApp
These are essentially video-calling devices that use Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp to call or message friends, family and colleagues. Facebook Portal is a video communication device from Facebook. These are devices that are styled to look like digital photo frames and to sit nicely in your home as a beautiful and intelligent display until the time comes to place or receive a call. The focus of these devices is very much on video calling and "putting people at the centre". Facebook hopes the Portal range of smart displays will help connect more people in your life more easily. They each have different designs aesthetics, but they're both focused on video chatting and meant to make it feel like you're in the same room with the person on the other end of the call. As we mentioned, calls can also be placed via Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp, so end-to-end encryption is an option. This tech enables the cameras to recognise people and then follow them around the room and automatically pan and zoom while also minimising background noise and enhancing the voice of whoever is calling. With a wide-angle lens built-in, this also means that the Portal devices can pick-up multiple people in the room and track them as they move about.
James McConnell didn't know much about Facebook's Portal until Nan Owen, his year-old neighbor, needed help setting up her video chat device last month as the UK locked down to combat the coronavirus. Owen's active social life -- friends and family would stop by her London home every day for a glass of wine or two -- had come to a halt, leaving her lonely. After she turned to WhatsApp, a Facebook messaging app, to stay in touch, her son sent her a Portal because the social network's video chat device works with the service. The only problem: Owen couldn't figure out how to use it. That's how McConnell, who runs a home automation company called Homesmart Solutions, got involved. Maintaining social distance, the year-old walked Owen through the instructions for using the Portal. He wore gloves and a mask as he gave a quick demo. As people stay at home to slow the spread of the virus, Facebook Portal is finding an audience among older adults, like Owen.
