Dell's Ultra-Portable Concept Pari Webcam Can Stick Almost Anywhere
Dell recently introduced several device concepts featuring unique functionality or forward-thinking innovations, including its highly repairable Luna laptop. Joining that is Concept Pari, an ultra-portable webcam designed specifically to meet the needs of professionals working remotely or participating in virtual meetings. What makes the concept so unique? Not only can it stick just about anywhere, but users can also carry it around in their hands.
Concept Pari, Dell explained this week, was designed to address some of the problems with current webcam solutions, namely that they're either fixed in place (such as the ones built into a laptop display) or they have limited mobility (such as wired desktop webcams). This can result in awkward placement, make it difficult to participate in a video call while giving a presentation, and similar.
The Concept Pari creation process was a bit unusual, at least based on Dell's description. The company says its design team created "countless mockups" using a variety of suction cups, magnets, adhesives, and flashlights serving in place of the actual webcam. The result is the wireless, magnetic Concept Pari with a charging dock and WiFi connectivity.
The webcam's built-in magnets allow users to stick it just about anywhere there's a metal base, such as on the edge of their monitor when sitting on a desk. Concept Pari has a USB-C wireless charging base for recharging the battery, plus it can quickly be grabbed and taken with the user to a different part of the office or home when necessary.
The device's WiFi connectivity is used to deliver Full HD 1080p video, while an integrated microphone delivers audio. Dell also packed a vertical indicator light in the model to help with alignment, as well as a power indicator so that users can see when the batteries are running low. The overall build is compact with a weight of around 1oz.
Dell details multiple potential uses for its camera, all of them revolving around its portable, wireless design. Users can, for example, place the webcam in the perfect spot on their monitor for maintaining eye contact while watching other participants in a video call; they can also quickly rotate it away when privacy is needed and carry it to another room to stay on video when away from the office.
The camera may also prove more useful for certain presentations, as briefly shown in Dell's demonstration video (above). The company shows someone describing a prototype device, then using Concept Pari to quickly transition to a hands-on demonstration of the prototype with the webcam pointing down at the presenter's hands, its magnetic base attached to a metal stand positioned above the desk surface.
The enhanced portability brings a much-needed upgrade to the classic virtual and remote-working technology, though Dell does have some bad news. This concept, as with others it has showcased this week, is meant only to demonstrate the innovation; there are no plans to bring Concept Pari to market, though it's impossible to say whether the company may release a similar device for sale in the future.