Zoom announced a new product category aimed at making it easier for people working from home to use its videoconferencing and VoIP services. The first product, called Zoom for Home, includes a 27-inch display, three video cameras, eight microphones, and a touch display, for $599.
The first Zoom for Home device is the Zoom for Home – DTEN ME, an all-in-one personal collaboration device. Zoom Meetings and Zoom Phone users can easily log in to the Zoom for Home – DTEN ME for one-touch video meetings, crystal clear phone calls, seamless content sharing, interactive whiteboarding, and co-annotation. The 27-inch, all-in-one device includes 3 built-in smart cameras for video, an 8-microphone array, and an ultra-responsive touch display that can also serve as a second monitor. Setup is simple, and it works right out of the box to create an immersive and productive workspace. Zoom for Home – DTEN ME is available for pre-order today and is expected to ship in the U.S. in August 2020.
The new product shows how Zoom, which prior to the Covid-19 pandemic had sold mostly to large companies, is shifting its business to target the millions of people who are working from home. It also comes a week after Microsoft unveiled a similar hardware product that works with its Teams collaboration software.
Zoom doesn’t design its own hardware–the device is made by a company called DTEN–so one question is whether it can nail the software integration in a way that takes even more hassle out of videoconferencing. If so, Zoom will have a chance to extend its reach into the home office, which looks likely to continue growing as a market segment.
