Amazon Launches Call and Video Conferencing Platform 'Chime'

[MacRumors]

Amazon's push into the services space continued today with the launch of Chime, a new online VoIP call and video messaging platform aimed at business users.

Apart from video conferencing and chat messaging, Amazon Chime allows users to host or join virtual meetings with a single click, and share content and screens across multiple platforms, including Mac, Windows, iOS and Android devices.

Amazon is pitching Chime as a more reliable, higher quality alternative to existing VoIP services like Microsoft's Skype, with a focus on making core communications services - voice calls, video conferencing, screen sharing, and instant messaging - easily accessible within a unified interface.

"It's pretty hard to find people who actually like the technology they use for meetings today," said Gene Farrell, Vice President, Enterprise Applications at AWS in a press release. "Most meeting applications or services are hard to use, deliver bad audio and video, require constant switching between multiple tools to do everything they want, and are way too expensive."

Amazon Chime is available for free in a basic version, which includes video calls for up to two people. Price plans for Chime start at $2.50 per month, with a higher tier plan of $15 per user for the addition of video and screen-sharing, among other features.

Amazon will hope that its new VoIP service can replicate the company's success in the cloud services space, but challenges lie ahead. Whereas AWS built its dominance early on in a relatively nascent market, Chime goes up against established players from day one. Chime for Mac and iOS are available to download here.

Article Link: Amazon Launches Call and Video Conferencing Platform 'Chime'

 

[farewelwilliams]

yeah...this tech bubble seems to be getting bigger and bigger by the day.

 

[Robert.Walter]

Apple should have been all over this with FaceTime a long time ago.

Conference calling would help to expand sales of Apple products.

That I can't even call an Apple store or Apple care using FaceTime is really amazing.

Instead for 3way calls (or linking voip calls and traditional calls together - does anybody offer this?) we have to rely on 3rd party software.

 

[RightMACatU]

Meanwhile on the top right of your screen... "12 people are looking at these shoes. Buy now!"

 

[skinned66]

Aww, and we just bought 33 Surface Hubs.

 

[BeefCake 15]

How does privacy/security/encryption work in this platform...Amazon hasn't necessarily made privacy a concern or echoed the industry concern on it (pun intended)

 

[iCyprus]

We have Skype, oovoo, viber, facebook messenger, facetime (which i think apple misses the opportunity to expand the platform) and now chime? Oh god....

 

[FelixDerKater]

No one wants an Amazon phone, messenger, or video calling platform.

 

[BeefCake 15]

Signal app has a video conferencing feature currently in Beta

 

[nutmac]

Apple should have been all over this with FaceTime a long time ago.

Conference calling would help to expand sales of Apple products.

That I can't even call an Apple store or Apple care using FaceTime is really amazing.

Instead for 3way calls (or linking voip calls and traditional calls together - does anybody offer this?) we have to rely on 3rd party software.

I am all for conference call and screen sharing on FaceTime, but I fail to understand how these features will expand sales of Apple products. As you pointed out, these features are widely available through many 3rd party apps, many of which are free to boot.

 

[BeefCake 15]

I am all for conference call and screen sharing on FaceTime, but I fail to understand how these features will expand sales of Apple products. As you pointed out, these features are widely available through many 3rd party apps, many of which are free to boot.

Improved functionality and customer satisfaction.

 

[nutmac]

Improved functionality and customer satisfaction.

That sounds like a marketing line to me.

I am not discounting the value of FaceTime app gaining conference call and screen share capabilities (both which are widely rumored to be in development for iOS 11 and macOS 10.13). But to suggest lack of these features are hampering sales of Apple products is an overstretch.

Let's not forget that Apple support team can already use screen sharing on Mac and iOS devices to troubleshoot remotely. I am frankly not sure what the values of video conferencing for tech support is.

 

[BeefCake 15]

That sounds like a marketing line to me.

I am not discounting the value of FaceTime app gaining conference call and screen share capabilities (both which are widely rumored to be in development for iOS 11 and macOS 10.13). But to suggest lack of these features are hampering sales of Apple products is an overstretch.

Let's not forget that Apple support team can already use screen sharing on Mac and iOS devices to troubleshoot remotely. I am frankly not sure what the values of video conferencing for tech support is.

They're not deal breakers because it's not the core reason why people buy into iOS but still want the feature to be better. May not improve sales on its own but the little features put together go a long way at the end.

 

[macduke]

Amazon is a strange company. I have a love/hate relationship with them. This sounds interesting, but sometimes I just wish everything worked together. That fragmentation at my work alone is ridiculous.

 

[joy.757]

This seems to be primarily targeted at Business users. Don't really see any advantage for my own regular use over the prexisting apps like Skype/Messenger.

 

[AlliFlowers]

FaceTime is so much better than anything else. But every time my mother, daughter, and I want to talk, we have to go to Google Hangouts. The three of us chat regularly (we're all in different parts of the country), and it would be nice just to have FaceTime.