• expired

Facebook Portal Mini 8" $99 (RRP $199), Portal 10" $199 (RRP $279), Portal Plus $329 (RRP $449) @ Facebook

280

I have received a email from Facebook regarding this offer.

Definitely its not good as Google hub and Amazon Echo displays in terms of smart assistant.

But this device got few other good thing like 13MP AI camera, HD screen and mainly What's app audio and video call support which the other two displays doesn't support.

Also 30 days try and return policy is there.

I don't know much about these devices but ordered a portal mini to give a try.


Mod Note: Removed Duplicate for Facebook Portal TV from the Title

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  • Can you download apps to it also?

    • Yeah. Netflix, Zoom etc.

      • Only on portal tv as far as I can see

  • +16

    Will definately be buying a google hub, over this. Cheers.

    • But you can’t use Messenger, can you? This is the only reason I am thinking to buy FB Portal over google hub

  • +80

    Literally inviting Zucc into your home

      • +45

        "If you have nothing to hide, you shouldn't have privacy"

      • +57

        That's just about the dumbest comment I've ever read on Ozbargain, including my own. Did you actually think before your wrote that?

          • +9

            @Jenny Death: Oh, fair enough. Best not to be sarcastic in text, unless you throw in an emoji to somehow give it away.đź‘Ť

            • -1

              @SonOfATightASS: Stuff that. Be as sarcastic as you like and stop worrying about the humourless perpetually offended.

          • +14
          • +1

            @Jenny Death: Perhaps just use quotes next time to make it obvious, too late to rescue this one…

          • +1

            @Jenny Death: Minority opinion: absolutely do not bother with declaring it's sarcasm unless it's like a work related thing, something important where it might come back on you.

            Sometimes people misread sarcasm as genuine and that's fine. Adding "by the way, this is sarcasm" absolutely renders any humour dead in the water. So just roll the dice.

            • +3

              @DonWilson: I agree, without sounding like an a, i feel it diminishes critical reading skills somewhat when everything is spelled out.

            • -1

              @DonWilson: This stance is not valid when there are plenty of people that agree with the statement at face value.

              • @andresampras: Hah, funny. Good sarcasm, rafterchang. What would the point of sarcasm be if it wasn't at least a little plausible?

        • I agree, it is like top 5 dumbest comments, and that includes my owns too

      • -1

        What the f??

      • What a bullshit copout answer. Suppose you're fine with all your pornography searches, medical problems and family photos being sent around the world for everyone to know then?

      • I got awarded “popular comment”. Did you get awarded “most downvoted comment” or something?

      • Haven't seen that many downvotes in a while.
        Congrats?

    • i would love to invite an billionaire in to my house

      • Actually the minions that work for him

    • +1

      "Goodnight Zucc! Good night wiretap!" - Every user

    • +2

      Haha showing my age but this reminds me of the quote from Lost Boys…Max : "Don't ever invite a vampire into your house, you silly boy. It renders you powerless"

  • +22

    Facebook eh?

    The Portal received and transmitted simultaneously. Any sound that Winston made, above the level of a very low whisper, would be picked up by it; moreover, so long as he remained within the field of vision which the metal plaque commanded, he could be seen as well as heard. There was of course no way of knowing whether you were being watched at any given moment.

    • +5

      '2021', starring Winston with an 'i'

  • Apparently can be setup without Facebook account

    • Underrated comment

    • Even if you don't have an account with Facebook, you have a shadow account.

      • Would I quality for the League of Shadows then?….

  • Seems they all have Alexa built in now.. I don’t remember that being available when I checked them out a year ago. Might keep eyes peeled on portal devices that integrate with my Alexa ecosystem, thanks!

  • +4

    No thank you.

  • +1

    F no

  • +7

    13MP camera

    Awesome, so Zuc can view me in HD!

  • I had bought them but didn't find them very useful. Just returned it as it wasn't worth the bucks

  • +5

    Remember when he gave free phones to third world countries? And they could only access facebook?

    • +4

      no

  • +4

    Buying a product like this from a company known for its shady and invasive business practices can't be a good idea ever.

    • Apart from making a YouTube video stomping on it

  • +4

    Facebook should be paying us to put this device in our houses…

  • Can it be connected to Ring doorbell?

    • Ring is an Amazon company….it'd be pretty unlikely

      • +3

        The portal tv is Alexa enabled, so not a bad question to ask really.

        Edit: appears yes you can link it

        • Amazing! they must have a data sharing agreement between each other…. I'd still never touch anything from Zuck but that's just me…

    • +1

      Of course it can. Facebook portal is Alexa enabled which means you can receive notification and stream the live video footage.

  • too late facebook !!

  • +10

    I completely understand the privacy arguments and not defending Facebook, but why does it always seem like Facebook is the butt of all the privacy jokes and complaints when others, e.g. Google, Amazon, Apple literally make the same types of products and literally collect the same kinds of data?

    • +5

      As far as I can remember, Facebook had the most scandals around privacy issues, they just screwed things up too many times…

      • -1

        I would suggest that by far the biggest privacy risk/concern is Sony PSN - that leak actually contained users' credit card information, yet I don't see anybody consistently reminding people of this breach every time there's a PS5 deal.

        I'm no fan of Facebook as a product - I actually think that Facebook is ultimately responsible for a lot of the issues we see in society today. However, I do genuinely think that people conflate dislike of Facebook as a product and/or Facebook's business practices with Facebook's privacy issues and come away making inconsistent conclusions, i.e. forgiving other companies, whether they be Google, Sony, Amazon or whoever for similar transgressions because they simply like the products those companies offer more.

        • Well no, the biggest then would be the Target leaks.

        • I'm a victim of the Sony breach. All it cost me was getting a new debit card. And I got credit monitoring for life. Facebook's damage is immeasurable.

          • +1

            @SaddenAscentAspirin:

            Facebook's damage is immeasurable.

            I completely agree, however, Facebook's damage does not stem from its security or privacy breaches, but rather on its business model and the product that it sells. If the argument were that Facebook leverages extremism and fear to drive clicks and to keep eyes on their platform, then I would completely agree and I've been saying this for years.

      • +5

        They didn’t screw up, they got caught. Fecebook famously preaches a company culture of going fast and breaking things. Testing (and pushing) the limits of what’s acceptable in terms of the surveillance technology they deploy is very much part of their corporate genome. Which is why there will never be an end to the constant news of more privacy breaches from Fecebook. Not until they oust Zuckerberg and find someone who could change the culture from the inside.

        • Testing (and pushing) the limits of what’s acceptable in terms of the surveillance technology they deploy is very much part of their corporate genome.

          You make it sound like Google and others don't do this - Google literally invented the idea of using your browsing and search history to deliver target ads through AdSense…

          • @p1 ama: Google as well. Even though they have a somewhat more diversified income stream than Fecebook (eg. revenue from their cloud division). Fecebook has hardly any other revenue streams.

            Other players aren’t as dependent on their ad business as Google and Fecebook are. But it’s a good idea to always question their data harvesting practices. To follow the money is a good start though.

      • No wonder. They're all too busy censoring Trump and convid facts to concentrate on any real work.

    • +5

      The full image is barely known to any. Ive heard people say they dont use facebook for privacy concerns but use messenger and instagram without realising theyre all the same company.

    • +1

      All others try to hide surveillance.

    • They all exploit your data, but to different ends. Data leaks aside, turning your nose up at Facebook, only to be dependent on Google, is ironic to say the least.

    • +1

      Simple: for Facebook and Google, harvesting data and selling targeted apps is their core business model. For Apple and Amazon, it’s not. Follow the money, it’s that simple.

    • e.g. Google, Amazon, Apple literally make the same types of products

      It is their record.
      Apple and Google have better records for privacy and transparency.

      Facebook's business model relies on encouraging people to share everything, and users tend to have far more personal data publicly available than they intended.

    • +2

      It's basically the lesser of two evils for me. I can't exactly cut Google out of my life by how often I use Android, YouTube, Google Meets, Gmail etc.
      Amazon I use Prime, Prime Video, Twitch and AWS.

      Facebook has got literally no services I want and Apple I don't use. Oh and btw if you look into FB more you'll see it's definitely the dirtiest out of these.

    • No other tech companies reached Cambridge analytica scandal levels. No other companies pushed vaping ads to kids the way Facebook did. And so on

    • Google and Amazon also not very good, especially with Amazon US trucks now being equipped with 4 cameras, including 1 in the cockpit. I think its their 'response' to peeing in a bottle, but the thing is it also scores metrics on 'safe driving' which may be difficult to uphold given how they are asking drivers to deliver hundreds of parcels a day.

    • It comes down to what they offer. I'm happy to not pay a subscription for the amazing tools Google offers me. Whereas FB is an over-engineered event calendar and data siphoning tool.

      • Yes, but the issue with that is that it becomes an inconsistent position. If you really do care about privacy (and IMO, most people should), then you have to have objective standards by which you hold everyone account and try to advocate for laws and other protections which guarantee those standards and protections for everyone.

        If you are saying that you're happy to give up your privacy and/or have data about you collected because you like company X's products, then you can't complain when somebody else says exactly the same thing about company Y because they have different preferences. The end result of this position is the system that we have right now.

        • I agree. They are all companies and only interested in making money off of their consumers.

          The difference is that Google has great privacy options and have earned my trust, to the point that I am happy to have devices listening in as well as giving them my location history. I can remove this at any point and my privacy is honoured.

          My experience with FB and their acquired products is the opposite. They have 'bugs' in their account deletion, add privacy settings which just happen to change previous ones. And countless more. I have no trust in them and besides WhatsApp, I have no need or desire to use their tools.

  • +3

    What does this device do which an iPad can't?

    • It's comparing apples and oranges (no pun intended)
      The Portal is a single purpose device, the iPad is multi purpose.

    • The AI camera which adjusts automatically

  • -1

    So I have to pay to give away my privacy?

  • Talk about low self esteem,pay money to someone for my data.

    I would like some money even $1 for my data kthx

  • -2

    People always worry about Zuc being the evil villain. Whilst I agree the guy is probably a lizard robot it's the millennial ban hammer kids behind the scenes dictating who has a platform or not. Their the ones shaping agendas behind the scenes that people need to be aware of

  • could this be used as a bedside clock/alarm ? similar to a lenovo essential clock?

  • +1

    You’d have to be a complete moron to go along with this.

    • +1

      Well, thanks buddy. But for me and my family keeping in touch with my family overseas, Facebook Portal is a convenient way to use video conferencing, without my family having to learn other apps, when we already video chat via Facebook Messenger anyway. We use Portal TV. If you can tell me where to find a video conferencing cam for a similar price, which can use Messenger, and follow me and my toddler around the lounge room, while we chat, then I'm all ears. Perhaps you'd like to hold my phone and follow me and my kid around the house with it?

      Until then, I guess I'm proudly a moron.

      If zuck wants to record my videos, transcribe them, and convert that into data to then feed me adverts via my… umm… video chat I guess? (I don't use Facebook, only messenger). Then be my guest zuck. Good luck.

      • Ha ha! Good one!

      • -1

        It probably already does most of what you just said in the last bit except through video chat. Facebook knows many people just use messenger and not Facebook. So they sell the data to other companies which then sneak it into the web pages you visit.

        Might wanna give the social dilemma a watch.

        • -1

          Yeah maybe you're right about web adverts.

          Yeah I saw Social Dilemma when it came out. Great doco. A real eye opener. Have highly recommended it to others myself. The great hack was not bad too (the Cambridge Analytica one).

          From my own perspective, when it boils down to it, I don't really care enough, to be honest, to completely change my ways. I'm stuck in the ecosystem. I use Google stuff - Gmail, search, chrome, android, home/assistant, YouTube. I feel I'm aware enough how it all works (or at least of what we know of how it works), for it to have minimal influence, or to be able to question things, or look for multiple opinions if its important for me to not be misled. I mostly use those tools to look for what I want - sites or businesses I know. I rarely consume content fed to me, unless its unimportant (movie news, sports news etc). I ignore obvious adverts - that part is pretty easy. Facebook doesn't interest me, outside of private messages/video chat.

          I try to educate those around me to be aware of the same things wherever I can.

          It's obviously not a great situation, it frustrates me, it's a bit scary, but I'm no hero either - I'm gonna give up what I enjoy, just to make a stand. I'm old, and don't have time for that anymore. I enjoy using the portal tv to chat to family overseas. The convenience is pretty nice. Sometimes suggestions based on my data has been useful, or entertaining too, lol. And really, what's the damage if I get influenced by an advert for a product - I buy something I didn't need? I do that to myself without Google's help - I once bought a waffle maker. I like waffles, so why not. Yep wasted some money, all of my own doing there. Sure, influencing politics, ideologies, manipulating truth, that's where it it gets scary. And that's where I do take things more seriously, and question what I'm reading, question agendas, etc. However it's healthy to be doing that in general - online or offline, so not sure how much difference my data really makes there.

          • @dregs: Fair mate but in a world where people believe the internet than a qualified doctor, most people aren’t like you.

  • +4

    No thanks I prefer to give my data to Bezos

  • Whilst I have similar sentiments to others where I’m not overly concerned with privacy but value it to a degree, I probably wouldn’t feel comfortable yet with an always connected Facebook device in my house and would rank it last out of the apple, Google, Amazon and this. Not just the company itself who profit off my data and have a less than stellar record but also whether or not the device will be robustly patched and secure in the long run from more nefarious actors.

    As for why I am willing to trust Google speakers vs this… that’s something I can’t quite put my finger on but they seem better. Shrug. Maybe because I pay for Google one.

  • +1

    Bought one for my father. His ability to hold a phone to his face is off center. Good deal op

  • +1

    Hell no. This is paying Fecebook to bug your home.

  • +1

    I don’t use FB.

  • +1

    Facebook as a company aside are these actually any good?

    This year of on and off lockdown and FaceTiming with my mum is difficult with them never holding onto the phone right and me seeing the ceiling. The portal TV sounds like something that could address this.

    Im more interested that you can call using WhatsApp, yeah knowing they own it but it is nice it’s integrated.

    I think the wider camera field and active panning and zooming is what’s selling me on this.

    Currently only the most expensive iPad would have this as an option for Center Stage

    But the portal tv seems good for the price

    • Be interested in this also.. so can make fb messenger and what's app calls through TV?

  • +2

    And you wonder why it's so heavily discounted. No thanks Zuccmeister.

  • Hey Mike, Just doing some cooking in the privacy of my kitchen, hope you're doing well over at the book

  • +2

    I bought the Portal TV last week ($129) and it arrived this morning. Have just set it up and did some messenger video call- impressive so far as camera "follows' you when you move around. its got zoom whatsapp + netflix, plex etc which wont be used because i have shield tv. As a video conferencing device it is seems promising.

  • +2

    Don't make Facebook more dangerous than what it is already

  • +3

    wouldnt use them if they were given out for free…

  • +1

    Facebook portal $99
    New tinder date
    Bottle of wine $99
    Your bedroom activities with new girlfriend streamed on Facebook for all your friends to watch priceless

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