Facebook wants you to trust Portal into your personal space
Release comes a week after reveal of security hack
After building itself into a portal for all kinds of social connections online, Facebook now wants to provide a portal for people to easily make video calls with each other. And with that, the company is rolling out the appropriately named Portal.
Facebook took the wraps off the combination videocalling and smart-speaker devices Monday, with two versions of what is the company’s first hardware product to carry the company’s name. The device comes in two models: The standard Portal has a 10-inch screen, sits in landscape mode on a built-in stand, and costs $199, while the Portal+ comes with a 15inch screen that is attached to a stand that allows for the device to be rotated, and costs $349. Facebook is also offering $100 off the purchase of any two Portal devices at the same time.
Among the features of Portal is the ability to zoom in on a particular person during a call and follow that person around a room, the idea being that such a feature will add to the feeling of being in the same room with someone during a video call. Portal also comes with augmented reality technology that lets a caller add images to their face during a call, interactive animated features for reading stories, and the ability to stream music from Pandora and Spotify so callers can listen to the same song simultaneously during a call.
In addition to being able to make calls directly between Portal devices, calls can also be made to and from smartphones and tablets via Facebook’s Messenger app. Facebook has partnered with Amazon to use its Alexa voice-command technology to enable Portal’s services. A call can be initiated by saying the command, “Hey, Portal.”
The release of Portal comes barely a week after Facebook acknowledged a hack of its security systems that exposed the personal information of 50 million users. As part of the Portal’s debut, Face-
book stressed the security features on the devices, including
the ability to disable Portal’s camera with a tap on its screen and a cover that can be used to block the camera while still making calls.
Facebook also said Portal’s
cameras don’t use facial recognition technology, and its smart camera and smart sound features use artificial intelligence technology that runs just on the device and isn’t stored
on Facebook’s servers.
Facebook said pre-orders for Portal can be made at portal.facebook.com, as well as from Amazon and Best Buy. The devices will start shipping in November.