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Logitech's business webcam is an eye on a stalk, and it's pointin' at you

Daniel Cooper
Senior Editor
Updated ·4 min read

Resembling a surveillance unit from a sinister dystopia, Logitech's newest webcam is strictly for the corporate environment only. The BCC950 Conference Cam holds a Carl Zeiss-lensed HD webcam atop a motorized stalk that can pan across 180 degrees. The camera itself has a 78 degree field of view, ending the era of huddling around a laptop. Its full-duplex speakerphone has a range of eight feet and will also happily let you Skype from the middle of a crowded bullpen. It'll be exclusively available to suited-and-booted customers at a cost of $250 (£200 in the UK) from May -- perhaps a tad too expensive to wheel around your office trying to catch someone napping at their desk.

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Logitech Introduces New Product Category for Unified Communications: The All-in-One Audio and Video ConferenceCam

BCC950 ConferenceCam Enables Small Groups to Collaborate Through Voice and Video on PCs and Mac Computers

FREMONT, Calif. - Mar. 26, 2012 - Logitech (SIX: LOGN) (NASDAQ: LOGI) today introduced a new product category for unified communications (UC) and Web conferencing: the all-in-one audio and video ConferenceCam. The Logitech® BCC950 ConferenceCam is the first communications tool to combine a full HD webcam with a high-quality, omni-directional full-duplex speakerphone in one USB device, enabling small groups to collaborate in conference rooms, closed offices or shared work spaces.

The BCC950 ConferenceCam features a full HD webcam with motorised pan, tilt and zoom for easily bringing everyone into the picture – either from a control pad on the device or with a convenient remote control. The control pad or the remote can also used to answer calls, end calls, adjust the volume and mute the microphone.

Optimised for Microsoft Lync and Skype Certified, the BCC950 ConferenceCam works with most UC and video platforms. With a wide 78-degree field of view and 180-degree video pan, support for 1080p, 30fps HD through plug-and-play UVC H.264 video technology, and a speakerphone that allows everyone in a meeting to hear and be heard clearly from up to eight feet away, the ConferenceCam helps remove the pain point of groups clustering around a computer to be seen and understood during UC calls. Weighing only 568g, the ConferenceCam can be carried easily around an office, allowing for spontaneous meetings anywhere users can place a computer.

"The power of unified communications is driving collaboration across multiple locations and multiple devices, giving people the flexibility to work together wherever they are," said Giovanni Mezgec, general manager for Lync at Microsoft Corp. "The Logitech BCC950 ConferenceCam expands the benefits of UC in the enterprise by providing a simple-to-install, high-quality solution for small-group meetings."

"We have a number of remote workers who value face-to-face time with their colleagues in the office, but we haven't had an appropriate tool for small-group video meetings," said Jim Hayes, IT operations manager for 24HourFlex, an employee benefits solutions provider in Aurora, Colo. "We've been testing pre-production units of the Logitech BCC950 ConferenceCam for more than a month and it's proved to be an ideal solution for this bottleneck. We can now quickly and easily add audio and video conferencing to any room with an affordable device that doesn't compromise on call quality."

The Logitech BCC950 ConferenceCam is ideal for meetings of one to four or more people, whether in conference rooms or individual offices. A high-quality webcam sensor and Logitech RightLight™ 2 technology improve visual quality in low light and backlit situations, while a razor-sharp Carl Zeiss® lens and the camera's autofocus feature allow sharing of detailed documents and other visuals up close, without losing image quality.

"The workplace is rapidly evolving toward smaller and more virtual teams, yet communication tools have not kept pace," said Eric Kintz, vice president and general manager of Logitech for Business. "In looking at the needs of our customers, we saw a gap in solutions that bring audio and videoconferencing to small groups. The Logitech BCC950 ConferenceCam fills that gap by combining a webcam and speakerphone into a single affordable device – transforming PCs and Macs into communications platforms, so businesses can set up more locations for small-group meetings."

Pricing and Availability

The Logitech BCC950 ConferenceCam is expected to be available worldwide beginning in May 2012, for a price of £199.99, from resellers who specialise in the business-to-business market. The product will not be offered by consumer electronics retailers. For more information on the Logitech BCC950 ConferenceCam and other Logitech products for business, please visit www.logitech.com/business or our blog.