Amazon Launches Video Conferencing Platform Chime

Amazon Chime MobileAmazon’s cloud computing unit, Amazon Web Services (AWS), has introduced a call and video conferencing platform to take on the likes of Microsoft’s Skype and Cisco Spark.

Amazon Chime is aimed at businesses to make ‘meetings easier and more efficient than ever before’. The platform synchronises across desktop, iOS and Android devices. It is said to provide high-quality audio and video, and ease of joining meetings.

“It’s pretty hard to find people who actually like the technology they use for meetings today. Most meeting applications or services are hard to use, deliver bad audio and video, require constant switching between multiple tools to do everything they want…” said Gene Farrell, VP of enterprise applications at AWS.

Chime offers a free version for video calls up to two people, along with chat features. There are two paid options: ‘Plus’ at $2.50 per user per month – which adds screen sharing and use of corporate directories – and ‘Pro’ for $15 per user per month – adding video meetings for up to 100 people and personal meeting URLs.

Jeff Barr, AWS’s chief evangelist, said in a blog post: “Because Amazon Chime is a fully managed service, there’s no upfront investment, software deployment, or ongoing maintenance. Users simply download the Amazon Chime app and start using it within minutes.”