The Portal TV is a small camera device that rests on top of or below your TV set, turning it into a videochatting device.
The features are roughly the same as the original Portal, but the big difference from the previous models is that instead of a giant device that sits on your countertop and just does Facebook videochatting, this is a smaller, cheaper device that sits on your TV, and hey, you already have a TV.
Portal TVs smart camera is extremely good and has a wide angle that can capture the entire living room so that two people can be on the chat without having to smash their heads together into frame. Even better than the countertop Portal, it allows you to sit on your couch in the living room and look at the TV screen to chat such a far superior experience that its ridiculous to think that weve ever accepted the hideous unflattering angles of FaceTime.
When Portal, a desktop videochatting device came out last year, the first question anyone asked was why on Earth would anyone let a Facebook video camera device into their home?
The device is designed for this exact use case: One of the features is a storytime mode where a grownup can read an AR-enhanced childrens book to the other person. One of the new features is an expanded library of childrens books to read, including ones from the popular Llama Llama and Pete the Cat series.
The only other significant difference in features with Portal TV is that you and someone with another Portal TV can watch Facebook Watch or CBS All Access content at the same time.
Facebook the social network is a success story of the network effect: You want to be on it instead of Myspace or Tumblr because thats where everyone you know is.
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