Can anyone tell me more about Portal?

[legolass]

Have been wondering about buying this for my folks and in-laws for Xmas. There is an offer of £50 off when you buy 2. With the current situation I wondered if it would be worth buying but not sure if it’s just a bit of a gimmick? They seem to have great reviews but thought I’d see if any dibbers could give more info? We would probably give it early to start getting the benefit right away. And would we need one as well?

[BevS97]

I looked at it last Xmas for my mum to tak to my brother in Australia. It uses Facebook messenger and I think now WhatsApp.

You don’t need a device as well, you can use messenger / WhatsApp.

My brother felt the connection wasn’t as clear via FB as Skype so he didn’t think it was a good option so we didn’t get one. I still think it looks good. Video calls with mum on her iPad are a bit random with her holding the iPad at strange angles so I think the tv version would be ideal but due to my brothers feedback we didn’t go ahead. Since he would be calling her most often.

[legolass]

Just bumping this in case anyone else can give some feedback

[skstorm]

I'd be interested in knowing as well

[Bozza]

Originally Posted by BevS97

I looked at it last Xmas for my mum to tak to my brother in Australia. It uses Facebook messenger and I think now WhatsApp.

You don’t need a device as well, you can use messenger / WhatsApp.

My brother felt the connection wasn’t as clear via FB as Skype so he didn’t think it was a good option so we didn’t get one. I still think it looks good. Video calls with mum on her iPad are a bit random with her holding the iPad at strange angles so I think the tv version would be ideal but due to my brothers feedback we didn’t go ahead. Since he would be calling her most often.

See more...

From experience, the best thing to buy a “technology shy” older relative is a stand to put the iPad on for video calls.

It will probably cost no more than a fiver and massively improve the experience for everyone involved!

[mariechez]

We have one to chat to my son in America. I find it easy to use and apart from a slight lag its great. The picture quality is good and you can relax on the sofa as the camera takes in the room and is on everyone present. If you move it will follow you around the room .

My son keeps his set up but i just plug mine in when i know he is going to call, takes me a minute to do.

[Bestbubba]

One of our boys bought us the tv one when lockdown started. To us its been an absolute lifesaver. Especially as we have a son and his family in America. We're very techno challenged so couldnt answer any questions except how we feel about it. To sit and talk to the kids as if we're all in the same room is just amazing.
Last week, talking to our son in the US , our grandaughter wandered past , looked over and said hello grandma and continued on into the kitchen, it just feels so normal. We always use it on the TV but our boys often just use their phones. Honestly I can't recommend it enough.
Forgot to say, you can have more than 2 calls at the same time, so you can have all the family on the screen. We'll definitely be doing that at Christmas .

[Floridafan]

My DD and her hubby got one when our grandson was born end of May. We tried to get one but it was constantly out of stock. The camera finds them - we watch on our phones but I have been to their house when we were allowed to mix and it’s quite unobtrusive. They can move around with the baby and not have to worry about being in shot all the time. It’s useful for them because DD’s MIL lives in Spain and has yet to see the baby in real life. I didn’t realise you could have more than one call at a time. Might be worth having another look.

[legolass]

Thanks for the feedback. Still undecided .. I think to get full benefit we would need to have one as well, so they could see all of us. Just a lot to spend if it’s a fad. But then I can’t see us being able to visit normally in the near future so possibly a worthwhile investment. Decisions decisions..

[anwad]

I got one for my parents during lockdown. Although we could FaceTime each other before, the problem was my parents could never get their iPads right. One of them had to stand up behind the other, often we would see lots of the ceiling or a close up of the top of their head, nose etc. It made it so much better - we can now see both of them and they are sat in comfort (we joke that they are on google box). They can see lots of us at once on their TV. However, we got the one that connects to the TV - if it had just been the mini one (or whatever it is called), I don't think it would have been much different to their iPads.

For us it was worth it - we are in tier 3 so useful, but will also use whenever we get to go back on holiday again