Here's How The New Portal Go Can Bring The Whole Family Together This Christmas
New variants may keep us apart, but the new portable Portal Go is focused on ensuring we don't miss a moment this Christmas. Here's how.
With Omicron jingling into town in time for the festive season, once again we're left wondering just how normal a Christmas we will be having this year. For now at least, and comparatively to last year, the usual yuletide frivolities are back on the menu - but once again, we're likely to be separated once more from loved ones living a little further afield or older generations where it simply isn't worth the risk. Not exactly a textbook set up for a holly jolly good time, but with new innovations coming out every day designed to keep us connected to those we hold dear, we'll still be able to make it a Christmas to remember.
Video calling really changed the game for communication over lockdown, from office parties hosted on Zoom to Facetime (rather poorly) propped up on a mobile phone during dinner. But this year, doing social-distancing digitally is better - and easier - than ever. Enter then, Portal Go - the new tablet device from Portal that puts video calling front and center which, for a Christmas spent dialing in, is a worthy investment.
View all sizesBuilding on the promising concept of the original Portal, the new Portal Go also addresses its predecessor's biggest pitfall: moveability. Now we are mobile once more, the static nature of the first Portal is perhaps more restrictive than we now need. So the Portal Go was born: a 10" screen with all the capabilities of the original but now with a battery and chargeable dock that allows the user to take it wherever they please. The result is the best video calling experience yet, and a real feeling of someone being close to the action when they're in fact far away. With tablets proving a serious popular Christmas gift, here's why we at Port believe this one, in particular, should be top of your list this year.
As mentioned, one of the biggest improvements to the previous Portal is the new ability to move away from a plug point. With a built-in battery, Portal Go adapts to your life style - and whatever room the tiniest member of the family decides to dart into next.
We all know the importance of watching a small child slowly open their hundredth present of the day, and this nifty tablet makes it easy even if they don't have Portal Go thanks to its seamless integration with both WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger - two apps that nearly everyone of any age is familiar with. You can also bring up to six other devices into a group call - perfect for that big fat quiz of the year you’ve got booked in.
Where Portal Go really comes into play is with its advanced Smart Camera that pans, widens and adjusts its focus to keep the speaker in frame at all times - accompanied by Smart Sound that cuts background chatter to amplify the speaker's voice. So if parsnips are burning in the oven whilst you're mid conversation with Nana, you won't even need to break your flow. Better still, it will adjust its focus every time a new person enters the room so you can see and hear everyone like they're stood right in front of you.
From creating festive family playlists to drown out the chaos to settling disputes between relatives (if you're lucky enough to be surrounded by your nearest and dearest this Christmas Day), call out her name with a request and Alexa will surely deliver.
As well as having Alexa built-in as standard, so you can ask questions, set timers, create shopping lists, control your smart home or listen to your favourite Spotify playlist at any moment - there's more. You can also enjoy music, videos, news, games, and more from the likes of Pandora, heart Radio, YouTube, CNN, and the Food Network, and enjoy a host of seamless work calls when you return in the new year with Zoom, Workspace, and more.
Portal comes in four versions: the classic 10”, the Portal Go, or supersize 15.6” Portal+ tablets as well as a no-screen TV webcam fixture, meaning there really is a Portal for every personality. Better still, it means there’s a Portal for every budget too, with prices starting from just £149.
Find out moreThis article was created in partnership with the brand, but all views and opinions are our own.
November 15 2021 by Camilla Hunt