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Trunk calls
Keepers in the Elephant Eden Habitat at Noah’s Ark Zoo
Farm inWraxall, North Somerset are using smartphones
and text technology to manage their charges’ day-to-day
welfare. A simple command sent by smartphone can adjust
the temperature of the elephants’ accommodation and
control automated night-time feeds. In addition, text alerts
are sent automatically if the fire alarm is triggered, the 9,000
volt electric fence malfunctions, or the biomass boiler needs
refuelling. The recently opened 20-acre site is designed to
accommodate up to 10 elephants.
Blue Jeans Network rings the
changes
Blue Jeans Network has enhanced its cloud-based video
conferencing solution with new recording capabilities and
the ability to host meetings with up to 100 participants.
The new recording feature enables users to record video,
audio and web meetings for sharing with colleagues, partners
and customers. In a recent survey, 98% of professionals said
they would record meetings if given the option.
Blue Jeans has also increased the maximum number of
fully active meeting participants from 25 to 100, enabling
more employees, partners and/or customers to take part in
live meetings via audio and video.
To facilitate larger meetings, Blue Jeans Network has
introduced a number of audio enhancements and moderator
controls, including the auto-muting of participants as they
join a meeting so that others aren’t disturbed.
VC for the SME
New from Aver, the compact EVC130p
is a full HD (1080p) video-conferencing
endpoint for SMBs and education and
healthcare providers. It is supplied with a
2MP Point-Tilt-Zoom camera, featuring
a 16x optical zoom and a 67 degree
field of vision. High image quality is
assured with 1080p resolution for main
video and 720p for content sharing.
A microphone array housing three
individual receivers provides crystal clear
audio quality.
Smarter meetings
SMART Technologies, renowned for
its interactive SMARTboards, has
developed a new line of wireless
digital capture boards that let you
save handwritten notes and drawings,
convert them to PDF and send them
to anyone, anywhere instantly. SMART
kapp offers all the benefits of a dry
erase board and dry erase inks but
with the added ability to display
handwritten notes on the screens of
connected smartphones, tablets and
computers, as they are written.
Go mobile to avoid
queues
Marriott Hotels has extended mobile
check-in and check-out facilities
to nearly 500 hotels worldwide.
Introduced to the US and Canada
last year, the system enables
Marriott Rewards members to avoid
queues at reception by checking
in and out using a Marriott Mobile
smartphone app.
Users receive a push notification
on their iPhone or Android device after
4pm on the day before their arrival,
alerting them that they can check-in,
followed by an automatic notification
when their room is ready. On arrival,
a pre-programmed key card will be
waiting at the mobile check-in desk.
At the end of their stays, guests
receive a push notification alerting
them that mobile checkout is available.
Upon completion, they will be
prompted to provide an email address
where their bill can be sent.
Paul Cahill, senior vice president
of brand management for Marriott
Hotels, said: “When we first began
testing mobility, we went straight to
the experts, our guests, who told us
they wanted the power to check-in
and check-out on their smartphones.
Among Millennials, nine out of ten who
tried mobile check-in and check-out for
the first time gave it high marks and
said they would use it again for their
next stay.”
Marriott Hotels is investigating
other applications of mobile
technology in 15 of its US hotels,
including the use of text messaging to
request additional towels, pillows, valet
service etc..
Shared connections
The new Jabra MOTION Office Bluetooth
headset is the last word in flexibility,
thanks to its ability to connect to mobile
phones, softphones and deskphones and
transfer calls from one to the other in
mid-call. Ideal for hot desking and shared
workspaces, the Jabra MOTION
Office base station can pair with
any Jabra MOTION headset.
