TechCrunch

Hands on with Facebook’s Portal TV

We try out Facebook’s new video chat TV set-top box and smaller smart screens. For more on Facebook’s Portal TV: TechCrunch is a leading technology media property, dedicated to obsessively profiling startups, reviewing new Internet products, and breaking tech news.

Published

7 years ago

September 18, 2019

CYBER TECH TV

We try out Facebook’s new video chat TV set-top box and smaller smart screens.

For more on Facebook’s Portal TV:

TechCrunch is a leading technology media property, dedicated to obsessively profiling startups, reviewing new Internet products, and breaking tech news.

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31 Comments

Michael A

September 19, 2019 at 12:08 am

I want one. Looking forward to talking to all my siblings on the big screen. We are all scattered all over the USA and don’t get to see each other much. We already use facetime but this sounds a lot better and it’s free. As far as privacy well that’s no more than an illusion. You have no privacy as long as you are plugged in. Phone, Credit card, streaming and so on. You want privacy go live in the jungle completely unplugged or all you have is the illusion of privacy. So stop talking shit and live your life.

Reply
GP T

September 19, 2019 at 5:26 am

Creepy.

Reply
keshaw singh

September 19, 2019 at 8:24 am

Looks cooo ????

Reply
Jeffrey Rufino

September 19, 2019 at 11:25 am

This is going to fail

Reply
20GRIZZ20

September 19, 2019 at 11:53 am

This is number one bullshit.

Reply
Bumble B

September 19, 2019 at 9:04 pm

When did Mark Zuckerberg get curly hair?

Reply
- jay Leonard
  
  October 31, 2019 at 9:59 pm
  
  Haha i was reading comments not watching. Looked up and remembered your comment. LO Fn L. Could be MZ’s brother. Same body language !!!!
  
  Reply
Attack Shovel

September 19, 2019 at 11:36 pm

communism

Reply
James Steele

September 21, 2019 at 1:05 am

NOPE!

Reply
Colin Yapp

September 23, 2019 at 1:16 pm

A big NOPE, my cell phone is enough of a spying gadget, I don’t want anymore mic’s and cameras in my home.

Reply
Mark

September 23, 2019 at 1:17 pm

I draw the line with Alexa – no cameras watching me thanks

Reply
Ryan Chillingworth

September 25, 2019 at 4:00 am

Since it’s from Facebook I really don’t trust it

Reply
- AcidRooster
  
  October 2, 2019 at 12:50 am
  
  Ryan Chillingworth why, Google reads your emails every single day
  
  Reply
Ryan Chillingworth

September 25, 2019 at 4:02 am

Honestly if it was google I’d trust it a bit more

Reply
- Numb Vibes
  
  November 7, 2019 at 3:20 am
  
  ????
  
  Reply
- George Washington
  
  November 7, 2019 at 2:27 pm
  
  Same thing
  
  Reply
AcidRooster

October 2, 2019 at 12:52 am

I dunno, im game to buy one, my family is scattered all over the country and i saw my friend using hers on her tv it was like having them in the same room

Reply
- S. G.
  
  October 8, 2019 at 8:16 pm
  
  Same here.
  
  Reply
Rosey Palm Trees

October 2, 2019 at 1:01 am

What a fitting name to give a surveillance device that you install in your own home. Hard pass!!!!!

Reply
Matt Munro

October 12, 2019 at 12:45 am

My huge question is this. Do you have to switch inputs on the TV via the tv remote or the tv itself? If so, that’s gonna drop sales for the older folks that are not that techy. Even if it is just switching an input… Like if you’rewatching a game or something on TV and someone tries to call through on the portal TV, what happens on the receiver’s end to notify them that they are getting a call and how do they easily switch inputs to be on the call and what happens after the call is over?

Reply
- Seb Leaver
  
  October 31, 2019 at 9:25 am
  
  I’d also like to know the answer to this. It needs some sort of video pass-through from your set-top box, through Portal, then to the TV. If a call comes through, I don’t want to have to hunt around the room for the TV remote control just to change channel. I could only see one HDMI connector on the unit itself. If anyone who has one can offer any guidance….
  
  Reply
Seb brown

October 17, 2019 at 6:23 pm

I would much rather go visit my friends and family gives me a reason to travel plus it’s better to feel the lovely vibes from those I love.

Reply
Truth Shockwave

October 18, 2019 at 4:15 am

Seems like just another useless quick money grab for a giant tech company. Google did the same thing not too long ago. I mean the little ones are glorified tabs that Don’t do as much as a real tablet

Reply
Synergy2900

October 20, 2019 at 5:01 pm

no thanks

Reply
BS1

November 4, 2019 at 4:44 pm

You could have had Jesus Mother Teresa and the Pope in his commerical for this product. I not trustimg in Facebook with nothing ….portal
.. my ass hell no❇❇
Mark Zuckerberg is a criminal that sold us all out for his own profit we are nothing but bait and pawns to him.
No Thank You
Mark.

Reply
Peter Moore

November 5, 2019 at 8:34 pm

Do not but this shit unless you want Facebook to spy on you

Reply
Vikas Shukla

November 7, 2019 at 7:48 pm

Anytime your voice and Videos can be made public. So beware of this cheapo thing.

Reply
Andrew Ericson

November 11, 2019 at 11:35 pm

no thanks

Reply
julius jones

November 12, 2019 at 5:30 pm

This is for old people just like Facebook is for old people.

Reply
Davide ONE

November 16, 2019 at 8:50 am

why he is blinkin so often hahahaha very unauthentic

Reply
Karmit Frog

November 23, 2019 at 5:23 pm

you trust
nsa
nord vpn
android
apple
twitter
snapchat
microsoft

but you can’t trust
facebook
????????????????????????????????????

Reply

Science & Technology

After the midterms, is the AI industry in for a rough two years? | Equity Podcast

Democrats’ historic victories in this week’s U.S. midterm elections could also transform the tech industry. The public voted on 41 data center-related ballot measures on Tuesday — in all but one, the majority voted to impose more restrictions on data center development. And even when data centers weren’t on the ballot directly, they were a…

Published

2 days ago

November 6, 2026

CYBER TECH TV

Democrats’ historic victories in this week’s U.S. midterm elections could also transform the tech industry.

The public voted on 41 data center-related ballot measures on Tuesday — in all but one, the majority voted to impose more restrictions on data center development. And even when data centers weren’t on the ballot directly, they were a major talking point, with newly-elected Democratic governors and congressmembers likely to support additional regulation.

On the latest episode of TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, Kirsten Korosec, Sean O’Kane, and Anthony Ha discuss what the election will mean for the tech industry moving forward — not just when it comes to data centers (which OpenAI is already trying to rebrand), but also increased government scrutiny of Big Tech.

Listen to the full episode to hear more about:

• Whether Google first satellite data center is ushering our orbital data center future
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• Marvell’s $115 billion acquisition of Lumentum, in one of the largest deals in history
• Why CrowdStrike just acquired of two AI security startups
What NBCUniversal’s investment in Indian microdrama startup Elo • Elo means for the media landscape

Subscribe to Equity on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify, and all the casts. You can also follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod.

Chapters:

00:00 Intro

0:47 Founder Summit recap and an Equity team update

2:23 Midterm results and the data center backlash

7:49 OpenAI rebrands data centers as “compute campuses”

10:57 Wall Street cools on the data center buildout

13:30 Regulatory certainty and building outside the U.S.

15:45 Canva and Squarespace layoffs

20:37 Can AI chatbots replace products like Squarespace?

23:22 Marvell’s $115B Lumentum acquisition

26:51 CrowdStrike buys Fiddler AI and Dreadnode

30:20 Micro drama startup raises $80M

30:59 Outro

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Women and non-binary investors have doubled their share of partner seats at U.S. venture firms in less than a decade. But a title doesn’t always come with power.

In this episode of Build Mode () , host Isabelle Johannesen sits down with Paige Hendrix Buckner, CEO of All Raise, a national nonprofit helping women and non-binary venture capitalists grow their power and influence.

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Why more women are leaving to start their own funds

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What the $124 trillion wealth transfer could mean for women LPs

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The different paths into a venture career

Subscribe to Build Mode on Apple Podcasts () , Spotify () , or wherever you like to listen () . And watch the full videos on YouTube () . New episodes of Build Mode () drop every Thursday.

Hosted by Isabelle Johannesen. Produced and edited by Maggie Nye. Audience development led by Morgan Little. Special thanks to the Foundry and Cheddar video teams.

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Open source AI is booming. Hugging Face explains who profits. | Equity Podcast

Open source models are becoming more mainstream as enterprises, governments and startups alike rely on the promise of lower costs, more control, and more flexibility. But as increasingly capable models become more freely available, how do companies capture value? And with Chinese open models gaining ground, can American players keep up? On this episode of…

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On this episode of TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, Rebecca Bellan caught up with Irene Solaiman, Chief Policy Officer and SVP of Strategy at Hugging Face, about what startups need to know before building on open models, from choosing the right tools and infrastructure to navigating the trade-offs shaping the future of open AI.

Subscribe to Equity on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod.

Chapters:
00:00 Intro
2:25 Who’s making money when open models are free?
4:08 Licenses, revenue sharing, and the Alibaba cloud advantage
8:10 What founders should check before building on open models
10:34 Why the harness matters (and why no one can evaluate it)
13:19 Buying GPUs vs. renting inference
16:20 What happens if Chinese models become the default?
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24:52 The OpenCode attack and the pressure to close up
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