At $599, Cisco’s Umi Telepresence Is a Non-Starter: Video «

At $599, Cisco’s Umi Telepresence Is a Non-Starter: Video «

Cisco rolled out its consumer telepresence offering this morning, unveiled under the Umi brand. The offering, which can be used with existing HDTVs, is available for pre-order today, but a price tag of $599 will probably be a little out of reach for Umi’s target market.

There are four pieces to the Cisco Umi solution: a video camera that sits on top of your HDTV, a set-top box that connects to the user’s broadband connection, a remote control for navigating the interface and making calls, and a cloud service that routes calls. The offering can deliver up to 1080p video, and connects via Wi-Fi or Ethernet.

The Umi solution is everything you might expect from a Cisco telepresence offering; the video is beautiful, of course, but the offering is pricey. The hardware costs $599, and the solution comes with an additional $24.99 monthly charge for unlimited calls.