LONDON: Along with Windows 10, introducing innovation in the hardware domain, Microsoft launched Surface Hub – large-screen device to help teams in the workplace share, ideate and create together. The futuristic whiteboard features multi-touch and digital inking, along with built-in cameras, sensors and microphones.
Surface Hub can take advantage of Windows 10, Skype for Business and Office 365 to deliver an experience that makes every person — whether remote or onsite — feel as if they’re in the same collaborative space.
Specifically, the Surface Hub features state-of-the-art digital white boarding; instant remote conferencing; the ability for multiple people to share and edit content on the screen from a laptop, tablet or phone; and a trusted platform for large-screen apps. It will be available in two sizes — 55-inch and 84-inch.
Video calls are done using the built-in cameras, microphones, WiFi connectivity, and speakers on the device. It has also scores brownie points some cool features like the device sensing when the user picks up the pen or moves close to it. These little features are what will give Microsoft an edge over other vendors. But analysts at Forrester Research feel that Surface Hub isn’t in a new category; it’s a good example of a complete solution.
“Some digital whiteboards lack videoconferencing, can’t run different Windows applications, or don’t allow multiple participants to share content. Pure videoconferencing solutions miss on two of these points. Surface Hub does all three, but so have some other competitors for years — see theMondoPad, for instance,” say Forrester Research analysts in a blog.
Now companies looking at Microsoft for video collaboration have two options. “Microsoft’s reference architecture for Lync Room Systems (sold by Crestron, Polycom, and Smart) also combines digital whiteboards with videoconferencing.
Buyers will have to make the comparison between these purely Lync-optimized solutions and a more flexible Windows 10 experience in Surface Hub that can run multiple applications on the same screen,” analysts explain in the blog. There has been no announcement on pricing yet, but Forrester Research expects these devices will cost more than Lync Room Systems.
