3 ms·

My real question is who need that? We all have smartphone or computers or tablets with video calling apps built in. What is market who need a device for video c

• m12k 8y ago
  There might be a niche for an 'always on' (more or less) video service. It feels very awkward to 'be quiet together' on most current voice and video call services and that causes people to end the conversation faster than they would if they were there physically (it's one of the reasons why I like gaming with my long-distance friends, because you can chat, then focus on the game for a bit, then go back to chatting - it feel more like hanging out, and less like a focused exchange of information). As another example, Snapchat is strictly worse than normal messaging from a purely technical perspective (there's no history!), but in reality it causes people to communicate in a different way, and share things that might be too small or inconsequential to add to your permanent message record - it makes it feel like you're sharing your day and the small things in it with someone even if they're not there physically. So in a similar vein, Portal might feel like a different medium just from being on more often, and nudging people toward just leaving it on while cooking dinner. It might also not - I certainly don't want more Facebook in my life, but the point is, details in implementation and framing can make the same technology feel like a different medium that enables different kinds of communication.