[Guyzer]

I am currently looking for a solution to our businesses conferencing needs. We are considering using the playbook due to its low price of hardware but have trouble finding any software solutions. Currently the Ipad combined with Skype can solve this issue but at a much higher price point. I am looking for anything that can be a cheaper solution specifically on the playbook hardware.

BASIC REQUIRMENTS
-5 conference rooms (ready to be equipped with playbooks)
-approx. 5-10 people need to connect over phone lines [listen only]

OPTIONAL
-would be nice to use the video feed
-also listening to what those on the phones have to share [no video needed]

Would be great if we could get them to dial in themselves but we can do work on our end if needed. No clue if playbook can handle something like this but know the options are available with Ipad/Skype combination. Skype can handle upto 25 lines in I believe.

Looking for any solutions that could help reduce the price even if its not playbook or ipad focused. I have advised them to wait on more news for the 7.8" ipad mini which if released should drop prices for the playbook and probably will be offered at a lower price point at the current ipad.

Apple Does Have a 7.85" iPad in their Labs - Mac Rumors

[Innovatology]

Check out Adobe Connect:

http://appworld.blackberry.com/webstore/content/36989
http://www.adobe.com/products/adobeconnect.html

I think they have dial-in too. Should do the trick.

[polytope]

I am currently looking for a solution to our businesses conferencing needs. We are considering using the playbook due to its low price of hardware but have trouble finding any software solutions. Currently the Ipad combined with Skype can solve this issue but at a much higher price point. I am looking for anything that can be a cheaper solution specifically on the playbook hardware.

BASIC REQUIRMENTS
-5 conference rooms (ready to be equipped with playbooks)
-approx. 5-10 people need to connect over phone lines [listen only]

OPTIONAL
-would be nice to use the video feed
-also listening to what those on the phones have to share [no video needed]

Would be great if we could get them to dial in themselves but we can do work on our end if needed. No clue if playbook can handle something like this but know the options are available with Ipad/Skype combination. Skype can handle upto 25 lines in I believe.

Looking for any solutions that could help reduce the price even if its not playbook or ipad focused. I have advised them to wait on more news for the 7.8" ipad mini which if released should drop prices for the playbook and probably will be offered at a lower price point at the current ipad.

Apple Does Have a 7.85" iPad in their Labs - Mac Rumors

The other day, I saw a gentleman testing video conferencing on PB using webconference.com. Not sure how good it really is though. They also sell servers so you don't have to use their hosting.

[F2]

I really don't know the in's and out's of ReelPortal but I recall it has "rooms."

[Guyzer]

Thanks for all your help. It appears adobe connect solves this problem quite nicely but i fear the fees for hosting a meeting might be out of our range. an estimate given runs $2,500 for the year for all 5 hosts.

Also the other team offering a solution has also switched to using samsung tablets with skype to reduce their cost. I feel I'm fighting an uphill battle.

[reelportal]

BASIC REQUIRMENTS
-5 conference rooms (ready to be equipped with playbooks)
-approx. 5-10 people need to connect over phone lines [listen only]

OPTIONAL
-would be nice to use the video feed
-also listening to what those on the phones have to share [no video needed]

Your requirements are close to what ReelPortal offers.

ReelPortal features:
- available on iOS/Android/Playbook/Browser/PC/Mac/Linux
- any number of conference rooms
- 6 participants per conference room
- participants in each room can broadcast their video/audio to an unlimited audience (listen only) Link
- ReelPortal server software is FREE

ReelPortal limits:
- can't work with regular phone systems
- must use headset on mobile devices to avoid echo (or plug in external speaker that's far enough from the mic)

I'm also working on a Record feature.

[pinkert11]

an estimate given runs $2,500 for the year for all 5 hosts.

Do you need a host at each Site? We use adobe connect at six sites with two hosts. Simply set up email accounts that are general use and share the host credentials. I know the contracts state a host is one person, but they can not track or stop it. Same with webex, just do it. My provider even quoted this way, order the number of hosts that you need active at a single time. Are you going to run 5 congruent online meetings? If not you don't need 5 hosts.

[Guyzer]

Are you going to run 5 congruent online meetings? If not you don't need 5 hosts.

we need 5 concurrent hosts for 10 different meetings. I was planning on only using 5 hosts for the 10 meetings which are throughout the week with different groups though 5 are twice a week at the same time.

I did an estimate also on conferencing charges which average 2 cents per minute per caller. if we have 5 callers for approx. 1-2 hours it can costs us $2 per caller $10 per meeting. 20 meetings per week that makes $200 per week X 52 = $10,400 per year.

I thought that adobe connect was expensive for 2500 for the 5 concurrent hosts needed. This puts us over +10k for the year.

I have to be doing this wrong. This ends up being $16-20 per person per month. We might as well have a seperate cell phone for these people with three-way calling and just call each other.

[pinkert11]

Wow, the 2 cents per minute is crazy when you work it out. We moved even to ip phones over a year ago and this eliminated all interested office phone charges. It is also nice that each phone can handle a 5 way conference call and you can string them together. So 2 phones strung together can handle an 8 way conference.

We also use the built in Web audio frequently, you could have users connect via their computers as opposed to just phones. Alternatively they could use a smart phone depending what the data plans are or if wifi is available to them. The built in audio is crystal clear 99% of the time and works with the playbook as well.

It may not be part of the plan, but you may want to look at the move to ip phones, or a hosted ip phone solution if your inter-company calls are getting that high.

I noticed your in Canada, pm me and I can pass you some contacts and info that may be able to help you out a bit.

[Innovatology]

Keep things in perspective! 2 cents per minute = $1.20 per hour. Now what's the total of the hourly rates of all the people in the meeting...? You may be spending 10K per year on the conferencing solution, but you're probably spending 1M per year on the people.

Conferencing is one of those areas where I wouldn't skimp on investing. With many people in a meeting, delays due to technical issues get really expensive really fast. Having to battle with latency, to think about technology (which distracts from the topic) or to otherwise work under sub-optimal conditions during a meeting would make me wish I'd spent that $0.02 per minute...

[Guyzer]

Now what's the total of the hourly rates of all the people in the meeting...?

sub-optimal conditions during a meeting would make me wish I'd spent that $0.02 per minute...

It is 2c per minute per caller but your completely right. We need to have the quality and consistency to ensure our meetings are uninterrupted and progress smoothly. Nothing worse than trying to troubleshoot during a meeting.

Its just trying to find the best solution now. I've been trying to think out of the box now and noticed a website talking about magicjack conferencing. I imagine this would be a low cost alternative but in Canada I have friends who have had intermittent success with this device. I'm wondering if anyone can say different which would make me re-evaluate magicjack as an option.

You know whats interesting is the cost of conferencing (+10k) for the 50 people who need it is higher than the cost of 50 people getting playbooks. maybe we should just do this and teach them how to use it.