Are you a road warrior seeking a portable conferencing system that you can use with your laptop or smartphone? Then you might want to check out the CHAT 50 from HD conferencing solutions provider ClearOne (News - Alert). This nifty little speaker system can be hooked up to your laptop or smartphone via a USB cable to allow hands-free conference calling while on the road.

The device works with most Internet telephony software and services, including Skype (News - Alert) and Vonage, as well as select VoIP softphones from companies such as Avaya, Cisco and Nortel.

With the CHAT 50, you can use Web conferencing applications including LiveMeeting, Sametime and WebEx and join in on corporate meetings and presentations no matter where you are on the road. If you want to do some quick instant messaging, the device supports audio chat. Or, if you want to playback a recording or just want to listen to some music, you can use it for full-band audio playback using QuickTime, RealPlayer or Windows Media Player.

 

The CHAT 50 integrates ClearOne’s full-duplex echo- and noise-cancelling technology, which allows users to simultaneously speak and listen without audio cutting in and out. It also provides high-quality audio playback for music, gaming and other sound files. This is all the more impressive when you consider that this compact HD conferencing device can easily be packed in your carry on luggage or laptop case.

The CHAT 50 comes with a USB cable as well as a 2.5mm-3.5mm cable which connects to the headset jacks of both home/business phones as well as most cell phones.

While the CHAT 50 has been on the market for few years now, ClearOne continues to introduce innovative new HD conferencing systems designed with today’s business professionals in mind. The company in March introduced the CHAT 70, a portable conferencing system that interoperates with Microsoft (News - Alert) Office Communicator. Like the CHAT 50, the CHAT 70 connects via USB to laptops or PCs for hands-free audio communication.

“The CHAT 70 is a very powerful collaboration tool and yet is small enough to toss in with your laptop and take on the road,” said Tracy Bathurst, CTO at ClearOne, in a release. “Users of Office Communicator 2007 have a hands-free communication option that delivers a more natural and personal audio experience without being tethered to the computer via a headset. Products like the CHAT 70 are becoming more important as audio and video communication continues to migrate to the desktop and as organizations look for ways to increase productivity and reduce costs."

More recently ClearOne announced availability of the Converge SR 1212A digital signal processing mixer. Designed for sound reinforcement applications (i.e. distributing high quality sound throughout a room or facility), the mixer sports a four channel power amplifier which interfaces with 8 ohm or 70v/100v loudspeaker systems. It is designed for use in courtrooms, council chambers, corporate and AV presentation rooms, and is useful for room combining, training/lectures, high quality paging and voice masking applications.