Polycom updates RealPresence app for Android tablets

Polycom has updated their RealPresence application for Android, bringing support for even more tablets, and new features like smart pairing technology, content sharing, and SVC (Scalable Video Coding) format support. Before you click the link to install this one, take a few minutes to see exactly what the RealPresence app is.

Android Central at Mobile World Congress

This isn't regular video chat where you goof off with your friends or talk dirty to each other. RealPresence is an enterprise video conferencing solution, and it requires and it requires the proper infrastructure to run on. It's designed for professionals who need to speak with each other, in real-time, securely. As the video you'll find after the break explains, industries from healthcare to construction have a need to conference remotely, and when video is involved things are more efficient. When things get more efficient, we all benefit.

Android adoption for the enterprise has always paled when compared to the consumer space, or to Apple's iOS. Applications like RealPresence can change that, and expand the choices made when it's time to buy equipment. Jump past the break to see the mentioned video, and read the press release.

Polycom Releases RealPresence® Mobile 2.2 App to Bring the Power and Productivity of Secure HD Video Collaboration, Content Sharing and SmartPairing™ Technology to More Smartphones and Tablets

Mobile World Congress 2013

BARCELONA, Spain & SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mobile World Congress 2013 – Polycom, Inc. (Nasdaq: PLCM), the global leader in open, standards-based unified communications and collaboration (UC&C), today announced the worldwide availability of Polycom® RealPresence® Mobile 2.2, a software update for the award-winning app that lets customers securely extend video collaboration beyond the conference room to tablets and smartphones. The upgrade includes Polycom® SmartPairing™ technology, content sharing, and SVC support for Android devices, as well as new support for the Apple iPad mini and Apple iPhone 5.

“As a result of the innovation of Polycom’s engineering team, we’re proud to offer the most interoperable, reliable and secure solution for video collaboration that supports BYOD in a mobile world and enables dispersed workers to get business done faster.”

Polycom RealPresence Mobile 2.2 provides a simple and intuitive video collaboration experience when users are on-the-go, traveling or working remotely. The upgrades for the software include:

  • Polycom SmartPairing™ technology with unique ability to control Polycom room systems now supports Android tablets – first announced in October 2012 for Apple tablets running iOS, Polycom SmartPairing technology is a unique innovation from Polycom that wirelessly pairs tablets to Polycom’s video conferencing systems. Users can control video meeting functions such as volume, mute and start/stop with their tablets, and they can walk into a conference room while on a live mobile video call and transfer that call from tablet to big screen with the swipe of a finger.
  • Radically lower TCO with 3X HD video capacity – Polycom RealPresence Mobile, powered by the Polycom® RealPresence® Platform – the most interoperable and comprehensive software infrastructure for universal video collaboration – supports open standards-based Scalable Video Coding (SVC) technology, which delivers 3X the previous capacity for HD multipoint video calls for greater scalability, dramatically lower TCO, superior performance, and backwards- and forwards-compatibility to protect customer investments (see the related press release). SVC support delivers affordable scalability for businesses expanding their video networks to include more devices such as tablets and smartphones.
  • Content sharing from a tablet during a video conference – Tablet users can send content to all other video meeting participants, regardless of whether the other users join from a group video conferencing system or mobile device.

Polycom offers support across more than a dozen devices including tablets and smartphones from Apple, Motorola, Samsung, and HTC, among others. Polycom helps companies embrace the BYOD trend so that employees can experience high-quality mobile video collaboration solutions on their device of choice from anywhere without sacrificing quality, security, or reliability.

“When we unveiled RealPresence Mobile in October 2011, we knew we were at the beginning of a wave of use cases for mobile video. Since then, we’ve seen fast adoption of RealPresence Mobile among businesses, as well as vertical industries such as healthcare, education and financial services. When people travel for work, or are mobile, they still want a secure, HD-quality solution for connecting face-to-face with their colleagues, partners and customers,” said A.E. Natarajan, Senior Vice President of Worldwide Engineering, Polycom. “As a result of the innovation of Polycom’s engineering team, we’re proud to offer the most interoperable, reliable and secure solution for video collaboration that supports BYOD in a mobile world and enables dispersed workers to get business done faster.”

“Polycom video conferencing has significantly changed the way we work by opening the lines of communication,” said Simon Quintin, Director, Workplace Services, Smiths Group PLC. “The ability to actually see someone directly makes the whole communication more personal and efficient, so the adoption of Polycom video has spread across the company quickly. Right now, about 250 of our employees are using the RealPresence Mobile app, and it’s proving to be a great way for us to extend video collaboration beyond the office to virtually anywhere.”

As more organizations around the world adopt video to improve collaboration and productivity, companies of all sizes and across all industries rely on Polycom solutions for the highest quality audio, video, and content-sharing capabilities. Polycom RealPresence Mobile, when powered by the Polycom RealPresence Platform, lets mobile device users search corporate directories, share content, and traverse secure firewalls.

Availability

The RealPresence Mobile 2.2 software application for smartphones and tablets is available today as a free download from the Apple AppStore™ and from Google Play. Support for Polycom SmartPairing is available for the iPad mini, iPad 2, iPad with Retina display and Android OS-based tablets, and connects with Polycom® HDX® systems running software version 3.2 as well as Polycom Group Series systems running software version 4.0.2. All components of the Polycom RealPresence Platform are available through Polycom's certified channel partners. For more information on RealPresence Mobile or the RealPresence Platform, visit polycom.com or call 1-800 POLYCOM.

Demonstrations

Polycom will demonstrate Polycom RealPresence Mobile in Hall 5, Meeting Rooms 5MR52 and 5MR14, and at the Ericsson Booth in Hall 2, Stand 2DH140, at Mobile World Congress from February 25-28, 2013, in Barcelona.

About Polycom

Polycom is the global leader in open, standards-based unified communications and collaboration (UC&C) solutions for voice and video collaboration, trusted by more than 415,000 customers around the world. Polycom solutions are powered by the Polycom® RealPresence® Platform, comprehensive software infrastructure and rich APIs that interoperate with the broadest set of communication, business, mobile, and cloud applications and devices to deliver secure face-to-face video collaboration in any environment. Polycom and its ecosystem of over 7,000 partners provide truly unified communications solutions that deliver the best user experience, highest multi-vendor interoperability, and lowest TCO. Visit www.polycom.com or connect with us on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to learn how we’re pushing the greatness of human collaboration forward.

NOTE: The product plans, specifications, and descriptions herein are provided for information only and subject to change without notice, and are provided without warranty of any kind, express or implied. Polycom reserves the right to modify future product plans at any time. Products and related specifications referenced herein are not guaranteed and will be delivered on a when and if available basis.

© 2013 Polycom, Inc. All rights reserved. POLYCOM®, the Polycom logo, and the names and marks associated with Polycom’s products are trademarks and/or service marks of Polycom, Inc. and are registered and/or common law marks in the United States and various other countries. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.

Jerry Hildenbrand
Senior Editor — Google Ecosystem

Jerry is an amateur woodworker and struggling shade tree mechanic. There's nothing he can't take apart, but many things he can't reassemble. You'll find him writing and speaking his loud opinion on Android Central and occasionally on Twitter.