Microsoft Teams might have been one of the most essential apps of 2020 (for both business and socialising if you ask Microsoft) but let’s be real for a second: Do we really need a dedicated button to pop in and out of the app? Dell seems to think such a shortcut is exactly what consumers require.
Launching next month, Dell’s new range of monitors (three new units in total) will feature a button dedicated to accessing Microsoft Teams. Instead of clicking the icon on your taskbar, you can just poke a button on the screen. Kinda feels like solving something that wasn’t really a problem in the first place…
Dell’s new monitors will be the “…world’s first video conferencing monitors certified for Microsoft Teams”. If anything it’s the biggest deal for Microsoft, which announced that it would begin certifying gadgets for Teams use last year. Saying you’re the first company in the world with Microsoft Teams-certified monitors kinda feels like taking the badge you earned for pottery in Cub Scouts and showing it off at your office. Sure, everyone recognises that you did something but that won’t make them care about it.
Microsoft Teamswork
Okay, we’re being mean. There’s more to it than that but functionally it’s pretty basic. Pressing the button will simply activate Microsoft Teams and the rest of the process is then managed by hands-free commands through the power of Cortana. In terms of hardware, Dell’s new range of videoconferencing monitors also include a 5MP infrared pop-up camera which supports facial recogniation software that ties into Windows Hello. In case you don’t know, Windows Hello is Microsoft’s biometric security solution for personal computers. Basically, you could scan your face and unlock your device that way, which is pretty neat. Yes, just like Apple.
Oh, the monitors also include a noise-cancelling microphone and 5-watt integrated speakers to further reinforce that these machines are made with the express purpose of video conferencing.
All three monitors, which include a 24-inch (FHD) version, a 27-inch (QHD) model and a curved 34-inch (WQHD) version, will launch on February 16. We’ll be sure to update you as soon as we get word on local availability and pricing.
(Source: The Verge)