Cisco has just released the latest in its TelePresence line of products that allow “total immersion” video and audio conferencing. Obviously video conferencing fills needs both in terms of environmental impact of travel, and time constraints of users. I was pretty excited to see the pictures, it looks like a cool offering.

I then made the mistake of looking at the pricing on what is essentially a few big LCD screens, some high quality microphones and speakers and an underlying software offering. Pricing on the Cisco offerings are as follows;

The Cisco TelePresence System 500 has a list price of $33,900 USD; the Cisco TelePresence 3200 has a list price of $340,000 USD. Both ship in the third calendar quarter of 2008. A $90,000 USD list Cisco TelePresence System 3200 upgrade kit is also available for Cisco TelePresence System 3000 customers.

I have to say that Skype (even with a bit of drop out from time to time) is starting to look better and better!

Ben Kepes

Ben Kepes is a technology evangelist, an investor, a commentator and a business adviser. Ben covers the convergence of technology, mobile, ubiquity and agility, all enabled by the Cloud. His areas of interest extend to enterprise software, software integration, financial/accounting software, platforms and infrastructure as well as articulating technology simply for everyday users.

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