Jabra and Lenovo collaborate on integrated video conferencing meeting room solution

 Jabra has teamed up with Lenovo to offer an end-customer solution delivering intuitive, fast and seamless video conferencing solutions for meeting rooms at the touch of a button.

The solution includes Jabra’s innovative 180° panoramic 4K plug-and-play video solution PanaCast 50 and Lenovo’s ThinkSmart Hub. This is made up of ThinkSmart Hub, which is optimised for business productivity and collaboration, as well as being pre-loaded with Microsoft Teams Rooms to help employees connect and share wherever they are, and the ThinkSmart Hub, 10-point touch HD display that allows users to initiate and control meetings, as well as share content and work with colleagues working remotely.

 

Initially available in the EMEA region, the Jabra PanaCast 50 & Lenovo ThinkSmart Hub brings together the best technology from two of the biggest names in digital collaboration and creates a new standard in meeting room set-ups. Video conferencing and collaboration will be effortless courtesy of the most superior video and audio equipment in one, easy-to-use package.

 

A new standard in video conferencing solutions

This suite of products promises to deliver a new standard in video conferencing and is the ideal solution for flexible working and the modern meeting room. Users can collaborate with their team at the touch of a button, whether they’re working from home, the office or anywhere else in between.

 

The Jabra PanaCast 50 is engineered to be the world’s first new-normal-ready intelligent video bar. Its 180° field of view allows for social distancing in meeting rooms so you no longer have to worry about huddling closely in confined spaces. Also, it effectively takes on the role of the ‘director’ of your meeting – intelligently adjusting the video stream to follow the action in the meeting.

 

Lenovo’s purpose built ThinkSmart Hub is powered by an 8^th Generation Intel^® Core™ i5-8365U vPro® processor and delivers connectivity to support any meeting room configuration. Its understated yet stylish design means it can be placed discreetly, and it has ports to support multiple audio and visual accessories, and integrated cable management.

 

Its easy-to-use Microsoft Teams interface makes it ideal for meetings and collaboration. Users can easily initiate and control meetings as well as share content, making it easy to collaborate with colleagues wherever they are working. It even has Integrated Infrared sensors that detect when participants enter the room and automatically turns the system on and off.

 

Joel Hamon, President EMEA & CALA at Jabra: “We are thrilled to be collaborating with Lenovo and the launch of the Jabra PanaCast 50 & Lenovo ThinkSmart hub solutions is an exciting step in delivering intelligent and secure meeting room solutions. With hybrid working the new normal, businesses everywhere are thinking about how best to collaborate and offer the most advanced meeting room set-ups with minimal technical input required. We are confident that this solution will help businesses take their conferencing and collaboration capabilities to new heights.” 

 

Andrea Recupero, Head of EMEA Smart Collaboration at Lenovo: “We are very excited about the features and capabilities of our ThinkSmart Hub solution in conjunction with Jabra’s PanaCast 50 as this will further drive transformation towards smarter working environments. It is crucial that customers have access to technology that empowers greater agility, creativity and engagement. With video conferencing at an all-time high, we continue to strive to deliver solutions that enable improved collaboration around the world.”

 

Availability

The Jabra PanaCast and Lenovo ThinkSmart Hub solution will be available in EMEA from select distributors

Jabra PanaCast real-time intelligent video solution Certified for Microsoft Teams

Jabra has launched the Jabra PanaCast, engineered to be the world’s first smart Panoramic-4K Plug-and-Play video solution Certified for Microsoft Teams. With this, Jabra strengthens its foothold in solutions for office huddle rooms. This real-time immersive intelligent vision system offers 180-degree panoramic vision which ensures everyone in the room is seen. Jabra PanaCast provides unique value for huddle rooms and spaces, delivering wall-to-wall video, audio and data, which is critical for modern video collaboration. 

Jabra’s portfolio has always focused on solutions that enhance productivity through improved concentration, conversation and collaboration. With Jabra PanaCast, Jabra will be combining its 150-year expertise in sound with industry-first video technology to deliver the most collaborative huddle room experience to date.

Jabra PanaCast is the world's first intelligent panoramic video collaboration device with three 13-megapixel cameras, working together as one via core technology embedded in the built-in Jabra PanaCast Vision Processor. The multi-camera array solution offers a full 180-degree panoramic field of view delivering a naturally immersive experience – a key element in building trust, driving higher engagement and ultimately achieving better business outcomes faster. The panoramic video gives everyone in the room equal participation, fostering healthy discussion and true collaboration – despite not being in the same room.

Wall-to-wall coverage

Jabra PanaCast’s leading-edge cameras and microphones, fourth-generation stitching technology and Intelligent Vision software work as one to ensure optimal performance. Now any room can be used to video conference with wall-to-wall coverage in Panoramic-4K video. Jabra PanaCast enables companies to make use of their full meeting spaces, eliminating the approximately 40 per cent room wastage seen with conventional camera solutions.

Intelligent resource management

Jabra PanaCast’s built-in people detection technologies will provide the possibility of system-wide business intelligence by capturing accurate usage and occupancy information. As AV and IT become more and more integrated, the need for accurate data and metrics increases. The upcoming Jabra PanaCast API will enable developers and partners to query the system for real-time information, such as people count data.

The advanced AI utilizes a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) to count the number of people in the field of view, up to 12m away, and provide numeric data which organisations can use to inform decisions on calendar management, room utilisation and resource management, or to automate facility assets’ power management, such as TV monitors, lights, videoconferencing equipment and more. The technology will be available through the Jabra PanaCast API built for the Windows operating system and can be used for large areas like classrooms, auditoriums and general gatherings.

Dr. Amitesh Punhani, Country Marketing Manager, India & SAARC, Jabra said: “We understand the needs of our consumers and always strive towards delivering products that are at par with changing technology. Jabra PanaCast will help our enterprise customers attain optimal workplace productivity and collaboration through both audio and video technology.”

Peter Jayaseelan, Managing Director, South Asia said “India is a key market for us and we are dedicated to help our customers enhance their productivity by communicating and collaborating more effectively. The recent acquisition of Altia Systems allows us to expand as an integrated audio and video communication solutions provider. Jabra PanaCast video solution will strengthen our enterprise portfolio. It’s unique 180 degrees panoramic-4K plug and play video solution will help us deliver superlative experience in easy to use video conferencing and fully utilize the huddle spaces.”

Bringing the huddle room to life

Jabra’s leading conference speakerphone series “Speak” can be integrated with PanaCast to further optimise the UC experience, enabling users to hold meetings wherever they may be without having to compromise on clear audio quality. Jabra’s unique technology boasts an omni-directional microphone and HD Voice – providing 360-degree coverage and picking up sounds from any angle.

Jabra PanaCast provides unique value for huddle rooms and spaces, ticking all the boxes critical for modern video collaboration. It easily mounts on a digital display or on a wall with available mounting hardware. The USB based connection allows connection to any compatible device for instant setup and mobile meeting capability.

The solution is compatible with popular cloud-based solutions including Microsoft Teams, Skype, Zoom, Cisco WebEx, Slack, Google Hangouts, GoToMeeting, Unify Circuit, BlueJeans and more, so people can plug-and-play in seconds with their existing collaboration services by simply plugging the device into the computer USB port.

Key features and specifications: 

• Simple plug-and-play operation with no software required via a single USB cable
• 180-degree panoramic view seamlessly integrates video from three cameras with real-time dynamic stitching embedded in the onboard Jabra PanaCast Vision Processor
• Certified for Microsoft Teams
• Naturally inclusive and immersive experience gives everyone equal participation
• Crystal clear sound that picks up every voice in the room w. Jabra Speak series
• 0% wasted space with industry-first multi-camera array system
• Intelligent Vision (AI) products sense, anticipate and adjust automatically so people can focus on their meeting and discussion
• Industry-first Intelligent Zoom autonomously and continuously optimises the field of view to include everyone in the conversation
• Jabra PanaCast Vivid 2.0 automatically adjusts the video properties to optimise the video experience under varying light conditions
• The upcoming open and standards-based API provides data for companies and ecosystem partners to build value added services that can help optimise workflows, automate room/calendar management, enable green energy initiatives like automatically turning off unused equipment (smart building capabilities enablement)

Pricing and availability:

Jabra PanaCast will be available at all Jabra authorized resellers from Sept 2019 at USD 895 ex-works.

Jabra ships Elite 85h headphones with SmartSound

Announced at CES 2019, Jabra is now shipping the newest addition to their Elite range of headsets: the Elite 85h headphones. The new headphones are engineered with Jabra SmartSound, based on audEERING context intelligence technology and include Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) and Jabra’s HearThrough technology, which enables users to decide how much of the outside world penetrates through to the listener. Whether you are commuting, need to concentrate or are in a crowded place, SmartSound ensures the audio of the Elite 85h automatically adjusts to your surroundings to offer the best calls and music experience.

The Elite 85h headphones set new standards across the board, with 36-hour battery life (with ANC activated), crystal-clear sound with advanced 6-microphone call technology, 40mm custom-engineered speakers for top-quality acoustic experience and industry-leading durability. Together with SmartSound and intuitive Voice Assistant Control – the Elite 85h are the smartest ANC headphones on the market.

Like every Jabra device, the Elite 85h has been engineered to meet the challenges that users face in the real world. In today’s digitally-connected society, noise overload is considered one of the key factors affecting personal wellbeing². Jabra’s SmartSound technology tackles noise pollution in a way like never before. Jabra has an exclusive part ownership of intelligent audio analysis company audEERING, the world leader in audio AI technology. The relationship allows Jabra to include environmental adaptation into the new Elite 85h headphones, creating a personalized audio experience that goes beyond current Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) solutions available in the market.

SmartSound, driven by AI technology   

Jabra SmartSound is based on audEERING’s context intelligence technology, which uses real-time acoustic scene analysis of environmental sounds. The technology can detect more than 6,000 unique sound characteristics and uses this to adapt audio output to each specific context. This means that when moving from a noisy train station into a quiet train carriage, the context intelligence technology will take notice and will automatically adjust the audio to the changed surroundings. It will select one of the three moments: ‘Commute’, ‘In Public’ or ‘In Private’ to guarantee a consistent quality for your audio experience. Users can personalize their calls and music settings even further through Jabra’s Sound+ app, which will remember your preferred settings within the mode for future similar situations.

Dagmar Schuller, CEO at audEERING said: “audEERING's AI based audio context intelligence technology empowers the new Elite 85h headphones by Jabra to deliver the best call and music experience on the market. Users can be sure to get the most sophisticated product there is with reliable and innovative AI technology made in Germany.”

The microphone solution combined with the Jabra Sound+ app creates a quick Voice Assistant access experience. Users only need to touch a button on the headphones to interact with Alexa, Siri® or Google Assistant™.

Dr. Amitesh Punhani, Country Marketing Manager, India & SAARC “At Jabra, we always strive towards delivering products inspired by the future. We have always been fascinated by sound and wanted to make life sound better by discovering new technologies. We developed SmartSound – audio that automatically adapts to the surroundings, to ensure our consumers get a consistent and superior experience of voice, audio and music in every environment. Our Elite range of products are built to deliver best in class sound technology for calls and music. Aligned with that, the Elite 85h is a revolutionary headset that will change the way we experience sound and cope with noise in the future.

Key features of the Jabra Elite 85h:  

·         SmartSound: Audio that automatically adapts to your surroundings

·         One-click access: Voice Assistant access at the push of a button

·         Four colour variations: Black, Titanium Black, Gold Beige and Navy

·         Battery: Up to 36-hour battery with ANC activated and 41 hours without ANC

·         Microphones: 8 microphones in total. 6 dedicated for calls, 4 for ANC and 2 hybrid mics for both calls and ANC.

·         Speakers: 40 mm custom-engineered speakers

·         Durability: Unique IP52 dust and rain resistance, backed by a 2-year warranty against water and dust

·         Personalize: Jabra Sound+ app for SmartSound features, including customized settings

Availability & pricing  

The headset will be available in four colors (Black, Titanium Black, Gold Beige and Navy). Available at the MRP of INR 28,999 from 25^th May, 2019 at Amazon, Croma and Jabra authorized resellers. Find out more about the Jabra Elite 85h and SmartSound at: https://www.jabra.in/elite85h

Jabra Launches New Mono Bluetooth Headset Jabra Talk 2

Jabra, the leading manufacturer of innovative sound solutions has introduced a new easy-to-use Bluetooth headset, Jabra Talk 2. This marks the next generation of Jabra Talk – one of the leading and best-selling headsets from Jabra. The state-of-the-art mono headset, builds on the success of Jabra Talk and has been developed using Jabra’s unique heritage and unrivalled R&D expertise within optimal solutions for mobile. 

Every call made or received via Jabra Talk 2, comes through in excellent HD quality. A crisp, clear sound, with no disruptions – which delivers a better call experience for users – anywhere, anytime. The headset also benefits from a useful noise filtering mic, which cancels out annoying background sounds. This improves call clarity and ensures the other party hears only your voice, which makes it suited for conference calls and conversations. What’s more, it is compatible with any Bluetooth enabled device.

Helping to improve productivity and call efficiency – Jabra Talk 2 permits all day use when in the car or on-the-go. Its dependable battery capabilities allows up to 9 hours of talk/music time on a single charge and up to 9 days standby time. Get more from your Jabra Talk 2 by using the smartphone app, Jabra Assist. Available to download on iOS and Android, it comes loaded with extra features and boasts setup guidance which offers step-by-step instructions on the pairing process. It helps you keep track of the remaining talk time left on your device too, by providing a useful, visual indicator.

Features and Specifications:
•    Bluetooth version 4.0
•    HD Voice for clearer conversations
•    Secure and comfortable fit with flexible eargels
•    Up to nine hours battery time and nine days standby time
•    Voice Guidance
•    Access to Siri and Google Now
•    Intuitive usability with on/off button and dedicated battery / Bluetooth symbols
•    Wireless stereo sound (A2DP)
•    BT Class 2
•    Setup guidance and Find My Jabra features with Jabra Assist app

Jabra Talk 2 will be available in all channels including Amazon beginning March 2017, at an MRP of Rs 2099.