Technology
JioMeet, Reliance's free Zoom rival, is now available in India
After a nearly three-month-long fundraising spree, Mukesh Ambani's telecom-to-digital entity Reliance Jio Platforms is expanding its footprint to step into the arena of video-conferencing. The company has launched JioMeet, a new virtual meeting service that comes for free and is set to take on the likes of two highly popular conferencing products - Zoom and Google Meet. Here's more about JioMeet.
HD video conferences with up to 100 people, no limits
Announced a few hours ago, JioMeet promises to be the one-stop-shop for enterprise and personal video conferences. The service, like its competitors, allows you to have an HD video meeting with up to 100 participants at the same time. But, the best part is, there are no charges and no limits on the number or the duration of the calls.
Encryption and other features also available
In addition to unlimited calls, JioMeet also brings handy features like screen sharing for instant work collaboration, password protection for meetings, and support to log in on 5 devices at the same time. The calls, according to the JioMeet's website, are encrypted but there is no clarity around what kind of encryption this is. Zoom, for instance, offers end-to-end encryption to all its users.
A dedicated 'safe driving mode'
Further, the service also includes a 'Waiting Room' feature and a 'Safe Driving' setting, which has been specifically designed for when the user is driving or is in commute. JioMeet says Safe Driving, when enabled, will automatically disable the video to avoid any distractions.
Weirdly, JioMeet's interface looks a lot like that of Zoom
While JioMeet delivers all the essential features expected from a reliable video conference app, there is one weird problem: it looks a lot like Zoom. The interface of the app and most of its pages, from landing page to meeting page and settings, resemble those of Zoom's. In fact, even the icons and language used in the app are nearly identical.
Here's a detailed comparison of JioMeet with Zoom
JioMeet and Zoom - a thread.
— SG (@shrinivassg) July 3, 2020
Screen 1 - Landing Page. pic.twitter.com/TC1HEJLUX1
Multiple platforms support JioMeet
Even as many mock and highlight Jio's stunt to create a twin of Zoom, the app is raking in downloads and has already been installed over 100,000 times on Android. JioMeet will also be available on iOS, macOS, and Windows and through a dedicated website. So, if you don't want to install the app, there will be the option to use JioMeet via Chrome/Firefox.
