Luxist Giveaway: Win A Pair of Cisco's Umi Telepresence Units

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed)
Dec 6th 2010 at 10:02AM

It's not hyperbole to call Cisco's new umi telepresence system a revelation. Indications are that it will completely change the way we communicate long distance. We blogged about this new product a few weeks ago but now we get to give away two Cisco umi telepresence units complete with a year of service. If you have loved ones far away you really want to win this.The Cisco umi (pronounced: You-Me) helps family and friends be together in real time and high definition, whether they are around the corner or across the country. It connects to any existing HD television and broadband internet to deliver a real video communications experience through the TV that is so clear, natural and lifelike, users will see and hear their loved ones as if they are in the same room. The system lets you pan the room, zoom in or pull back. Privacy features like call screening and blocking, and a camera shutter that closes, keep users in control of their privacy. Video calls can be placed and received on any computer with a webcam and Google video chat.Cisco umi videos can be created and then shared on Facebook, YouTube, or email and you can check your video messages on-the-go with a laptop (new video message notices arrive via text on a mobile phone).

The product is available to demo and purchase ($599) in all Best Buy/Magnolia Home Theater stores across the country and ūmi is already being used on The Oprah Winfrey show to bring guests into her studio virtually. Within Magnolia Home Theatre stores, consumers will be able to experience Cisco ūmi, get expert advice on the product and required broadband, as well as purchase Cisco umi, with installation and support provided by Best Buy's famous Geek Squad.

Our giveaway includes two Cisco umi telepresence units plus a year of service, a total value of $1798. To enter just tell us who you want on the other end of that call.

* To enter, leave a confirmed comment below letting us know who you'll be sharing your Cisco umi telepresence with.
* The comment must be left and confirmed before December 13. 2010 at 5:00PM Eastern Time.
* You may only enter once.
* One winner will be selected in a random drawing.
* One winner will receive a pair of Cisco umi telepresence units and a year of service, a value of $1798.
* Open to legal residents of the continental United States (no Alaska or Hawaii) and the District of Columbia.

See complete giveaway rules here.

This contest is now closed. Thank you for your participation.

Tags: Cisco Umi, Cisco umi Telepresence, luxist giveaway, Telepresence

Filed under: Gadgets

Subscribe to these comments

Reader Comments (Page 3 of 12)

TomJ Dec 6th 2010 1:12PM

I'd be sharing with my elderly parents in Portland who are retired and don't get to see their fast growing grandchildren. We tried to use a PC and Skype but that was too much technology for them to maintain, but the Cisco umi solution sounds easier to use and more like being there (could actually have eye contact).

julian.rinaldi Dec 6th 2010 12:40PM

I would use to communicate with my parents.

julian.rinaldi Dec 6th 2010 12:41PM

I would use it to talk to my parents.

Adam Dec 6th 2010 1:52PM

I would give it to my Dad's girlfriend. Her father has alzheimers and this woulod allow her to talk/see him everday.

Andrew K Dec 6th 2010 1:19PM

I would give one to my girlfriend that lives in Boston

webeshafer Dec 6th 2010 1:35PM

I would be using it to keep in touch with my sister as she battles cancer, alone, 1,000 miles away.

june Dec 6th 2010 1:30PM

this would be great for me to keep in touch with my parents who are in taiwan!

Kamran Dec 6th 2010 1:32PM

With my fiance when I am in Dubai.

ericrs Dec 6th 2010 2:14PM

We're in Northern California with another baby on the way and my folks are in Hawaii. Needless to say, they want to see the grandbabies as much as possible.

TZ Dec 6th 2010 1:42PM

I would give the other one to my parents and buy an extra one for my girlfriend who travels around the world.

brian Dec 6th 2010 1:45PM

my wife and I are preparing to give birth to twins in late February (OK more like she's preparing to give birth and I'm painting the room/putting together furniture). We would LOVE to be able to set this up to show the baby girls grandparents what's going on with them on a regular basis!

Mary McCabe Dec 6th 2010 1:50PM

I would love to connect with my son who is a freshman in college.

sbadon Dec 6th 2010 1:48PM

We'd use it to communicated with a family member who is housebound!

mr. Sanderberg Dec 6th 2010 1:53PM

MY girlfriend who is in Dubai would be the other person to use the umi. She attended the Cisco conference in which they were all given blackberry torches to follow the daily calendar for of events and seminars.
I am sure whomever wins this gift, they will really enjoy it.

Bunny Dec 6th 2010 1:56PM

I would give the other to my sister in Paris. The $1000 plane ride is getting real old, real quick

David Dec 6th 2010 2:02PM

I am certainly interested in trying this out with my in-laws currently living in South Korea. . We've been using iChat so far, and it's been okay, but my non-technical family still has some issues with the simplicity of iChat. . as well I am really curious to see how the units work in low-light, normal living room environments. The always-on nature of the thing is also attractive as the normal MO is to call on the phone first, "Hey start your iChat," and then proceed. Granted, the iChat experience on Apple hardware is superb compared to the quality of Skype (mainly due to Apple using superior quality cameras and having well designed speakers and mics in their laptops) but it still is 640x480, and running full screen means ugly stretched sides due to the 4:3 versus 16:10 ratio difference.

I am really shocked at people balking at the price of these units. . seriously, it's an HD telepresence system with a multi-element lens pan and zoom camera. Most of the Skype type units have a fixed focus cheapie camera which is probably of much lower quality than this unit. With a Skype system (built into the TV) you have one view, and that's that. With this Umi system you can pan and zoom in depending on if you have one person (zoomed in to a tight shot) or the whole family (at wide angle). I really think Cisco must be selling these at cost or nearly at cost and making it up in the subscription fees. You can't touch this level of sophistication for under 10K (Lifesize express) normally.

I'm also interested to see if part of the monthly fee is also including some sort of premium routing, meaning I can be on my residential broadband connection (which may not have really great international peering) and ride over Cisco's network to, say, Hong Kong (which also doesn't have great international connectivity for residential users). This would improve the utility greatly over such services as Skype or iChat which just use the "open internet" and all of its ISPs cost cutting in purchasing transit.

If the Cisco service can really make a 2-3.5Mbps call happen internationally, then I think it's actually quite a good value.

Lawrence Dec 6th 2010 3:36PM

talkin with my brother in china.

TERESA ATKINSON Dec 6th 2010 2:14PM

MY HUSBAND'S MOTHER LIVES FAR FROM US. AND NOW THAT SHE'S GETTING OLDER, WE REALLY DON'T GET TO SEE EACH OTHER AS MUCH. WE REALLY MISS HER AND HER DAUGHTERS. ( MY HUSBAND'S SISTERS. WHAT AN AMAZING WAY TO STAY CONNECTED.......... WE MISS THEM SO MUCH, ESPECIALLY AROUND THE HOLIDAYS.

saxon Dec 6th 2010 2:18PM

Our Closest relatives live about 300 miles away, so it's hard to see my two grandparents. Also, we've been hit real hard this year, and have become poor, so any gifts this year are a real blessing.

Rebecca Dec 6th 2010 2:28PM

I'm very close with my family, though I live five hours away from home. I'm also on the academic job market with little choice in where I get offered a job, so I'm likely to be moving even farther away this summer (perhaps even to Alaska). I'd love to push a button and see my parents and sisters in HD. Skype is cool, but nowhere near as good in quality. This is the next best thing to being there.

Previous 20 Comments | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Most Recent | Next 20 Comments