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Meta pulls the plug on its Portal smart display business

This summer news broke that Facebook parent company Meta was planning to shift the focus of its smart display division to enterprise products rather than continuing to focus on consumer devices like the Meta Portal lineup. Now it looks like Meta is exiting the smart display business altogether. The company announced it was laying off […]

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Use Meta Portal smart displays as a second screen with Duet Display app

Rumor has it that Facebook’s parent company Meta has been rethinking its smart display strategy. While the company’s Portal line of displays were originally positioned as Alexa-enabled consumer devices for making Facebook Messenger video calls without a PC, the future of the lineup could be enterprise tools for video conferencing. But that doesn’t mean that Meta […]

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Lilbits: Xbox Cloud Gaming coming to Samsung Smart TVs, Meta scraps a smartwatch (and scales back its smart displays)

Last year Microsoft announced plans to develop a game streaming device that would allow you to play games on any screen without buying a full-fledged console or gaming PC. All you’d need is an internet connection and a game controller. But in May we learned that Microsoft may have discontinued work on that device… instead […]

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Facebook Portal Go is a 10 inch smart display with a battery for use anywhere

Facebook’s new Portal Go is a smart display with a 10 inch HD display, support for Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant, and a 12MP wide-angle smart camera for video calls. It’s also one of the first smart displays to feature a built-in battery, which means you aren’t tethered to one location. You can pick up the […]

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Lilbits: Trade-in site Gazelle is doing trade-ins again, Facebook Portal TV does Zoom, and more

Gazelle made a name for itself as a go-to site for buying and selling used smartphones and other gadgets. About two months ago the company removed the selling part. Now it’s back. Maybe ending the thing you’re best known for isn’t always the best business move? Meanwhile Lenovo’s next ThinkBook 14 is on sale… in […]

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Facebook launches 3 new Portal video-calling devices with prices starting at $129

As promised earlier this year, Facebook is launching its Portal line of video-calling smart displays in more countries and adding support for WhatsApp video calls as well as Facebook Messenger. But the company is also launching three new Portal devices, all of which are cheaper than the original models Facebook launched last year. The new Portal […]

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Facebook Portal smart display is going international, gaining WhatsApp support

Facebook’s Portal line of smart displays/video chat devices are getting support for new apps and features… and they’re going to new places. Less than a year after Facebook launched the 10 inch Portal and 15 inch Portal+ devices in the United States, the company says they’re heading to Canada in June and they’ll be available […]

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Facebook introduces Portal: A video chat device for $199 and up

Facebook’s smart display is here… but the Facebook Portal isn’t really the Amazon Echo competitor many folks had been expecting. In fact, Facebook is using Amazon’s Alexa digital assistant to power voice controls — so this is more of a collaboration with Amazon than a competition. You can talk to the device by saying “Hey […]

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Report: Facebook will announce a smart speaker/display next week

Amazon unveiled a whole bunch of new Alexa-enabled smart speakers and gadgets this week. Next week it may be Facebook’s turn. According to Cheddar, Facebook plans to introduce a set of smart displays that work a lot like Amazon’s Echo Show. You’ll be able to interact with it by voice and use the smart display […]