How to Use BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 Video Chat for Business

Luke Reimer — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 16:19:15 +0000

I’ve had the chance to use the internal beta of the BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet OS 2.0 for some time now both as a personal device and a work tool. Reflecting back on how it has found its way into countless areas of my life and usage scenarios, I must say that the Video Chat functionality on the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet surprised me in its ability to improve business communications. Sure, I have the ability to connect with friends across the country to stay in touch – but I also have the ability to have a face-to-face conversation with anyone in the company, which is something that’s proven extremely valuable to my work. If you can find me, it’ll be at my desk, in a meeting, in another building altogether, at home, or on the road – and I know that many others operate in a similar fashion. Video Chat included in the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet – as well as the enhancements made with the BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 software update – has the potential to take your business communication to a new level.

What is BlackBerry PlayBook Video Chat?

The BlackBerry PlayBook tablet Video Chat application allows you to communicate with another BlackBerry PlayBook tablet owner using the HD video cameras and stereo speakers equipped on the device. If you set your status as available, individuals can place a video call to your device, which will notify you of the incoming call and allow you to instantly connect.

What’s New?

Several areas of BlackBerry PlayBook Video Chat have been improved with BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0, making it an even easier app to use for collaborating and communicating with friends and colleagues. Check out the new enhancements below:

Improved user interface, which is now designed to provide an experience similar to that of the built-in Contacts application
Filtering within the Contacts application to display only contacts with access to the BlackBerry PlayBook Video Chat. Existing Video Chat contacts are merged into the new Contacts application
The contact’s availability is now displayed: see who is online and start a conversation right from within the Contacts application
Invite based on PIN, in addition to BlackBerry® ID email addresses
Leverage Presenter Mode while inside Video Chat to display the conversation feed on an external screen through the HDMI connection. This allows you to run another app on your BlackBerry PlayBook tablet while continuing the video conversation on a monitor or projector.

Use Cases of Video Chat for Business

I’ve explored a few use cases for BlackBerry PlayBook Video Chat in business already, but I’m sure that you can think of more (and please share them in the comments!). With the BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0, I’ve made sure to stay reachable and online within the application. Sure enough, I’ve had my share of video calls from colleagues to discuss work-related issues.

The Video Chat app is designed to enable rich communication for remote workers. Many of my Video Chat calls have taken place while I was working from home, and it felt like we were talking face to face. With the ability to see facial expressions the conversation becomes more personal and improves immeasurably. In short, collaborating becomes much more intuitive.

Remote workers may often be on one end of the conversation, but on the other end, the boardroom meeting benefits from the technology as well. An individual who can’t make it to the meeting can still take a virtual seat in the room and contribute to the conversation while the meeting is being displayed on a BlackBerry PlayBook tablet or HDMI monitor/projector.

Tips and Tricks

When you’re available to chat, set your status to “Online” to let your friends and colleagues know you’re reachable.
Make use of a BlackBerry PlayBook tablet docking station while at your desk, which you can position to be situated in ideal range for a video conversation.
Rather than a conference call, schedule a BlackBerry PlayBook tablet Video Chat with an individual who isn’t at your location. The video aspect enhances the communication experience and allows you to maintain and build relationships with colleagues at a more personal level.
Heading out on the road for a sales call or a business trip? Use BlackBerry PlayBook tablet Video Chat to stay in touch with friends and loved ones who are back at home, without being tied to a laptop or PC.

Have you used the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet’s Video Chat for business? Which feature enhancement with BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 are you enjoying the most? Share in the comments!

Paul’s Challenge, BlackBerry PlayBook Edition – Mobile Office Collaboration

Paul S. — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 14:48:13 +0000

So far I’ve covered setting up my mobile office and how I use the BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet for presentations, but another powerful use case of the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet is to support collaboration.

The first in my arsenal of collaboration tools is Adobe® Connect. Simply attending a hosted Adobe Connect meeting isn’t the only thing you can do; it also allows for a variety of other features. If allowed by the host, you can turn on video and audio and utilize the camera to attend the meeting via video and audio. I’m also able to chat with anyone that is in attendance. You can send a message to the host, presenters or attendees, and if you touch and hold on an attendee’s name, you can start a private chat.

Wait, did the host just ask a polling question? No problem – the polling feature works from your BlackBerry PlayBook tablet and even displays the results. I’m also able to utilize pinch to zoom on the slides if I want to focus in on some text or a picture. As you can see above, it is nicely set up into quadrants with the ability to bring each function to the full screen.

Another essential application in collaboration is Video Chat. With my team spread out over most of the United States and Canada, I’ve started to utilize Video Chat for my team’s 1×1 meetings. Being remote doesn’t always offer the good face to face time that is sometimes needed, so I find that Video Chat helps to close that distance.

Video Chat on the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet is very easy to set up so that you can connect with your fellow coworkers who are BlackBerry PlayBook tablet users. Besides the standard features, I can switch which camera is being used by tapping on the screen and selecting the camera icon in the lower left corner (1). You can also change the position of your video box by touching the box and swiping it to the desired corner (2).

However, there are times when you need a little “me” time, and because you don’t need the Video Chat application running to receive a call, you can hit the “Do not disturb” button at the top of the screen.

Talking about ideas and projects is only one part of collaboration – sometimes you need the ability to work on something of a more visual nature. When it comes to that type of sharing, I turn to Shared Board, which provides a shared white board for collaboration. Essentially a shared white board, it allows me to open a group room so anyone who is invited to that group can contribute their suggestions visually on the white board screen. Each user who attends the group has the ability to mark up the screen as well as send chat messages. With a swipe down motion on the screen, you are able to select your marker color, sponge (erase) and add text. Like SketchBook, you can add an image or take a photo and use it as the background image on the screen. Once you are finished, everyone can save the board as an image on their BlackBerry PlayBook tablets.

So, how are you collaborating with the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet? I’m very interested to hear what you use today, or if you would like to comment on a “wish list” item!