Portal Mini Black 8" from Facebook. Smart, Hands-Free Video Calling with Alexa Built-in

I love it!! You can add apps to it, make video calls through messenger, listen to music and so much more. It also works like a digital picture frame!! It has alexa on it, so I can ask questions or get help if I need it which is a plus. It knows my voice, and I can set up a pin to keep people off it if I choose so. (Which I went ahead and did) I also enjoy that it has a privacy mode where you can turn off your camera and mic. There is so many things I absolutely love. I also learned I can surf the web on it, and turn off Alexa's purchase by voice feature so I have no worries of her picking up purchases from commercials on tv or my kids. Another cool thing I love is I can set my favorite contacts, and I can click on the icons to call them. It has a decent speaker on the back of it when I play music through spotify that projects amazing sound quality. Believe me, the portal gets LOUD. It has another cool feature called story mode. It can read books to littles! How cool is that? That's not even all the portal has to offer but that's a few of my favorites! I can also have her set alarms, she shows the time and weather too. I also have her alert me of bad weather. Over all this thing is absolutely mind blowing, and goes beyond what I was expecting it to do.

Brilliant bit of kit, set up easy, placed below tv on stand, I can sit in the room anywhere and ask it to call anyone. Good clear picture and sound. You don't even have to shout across the room, speak normal and the recipient can hear great. Someone else comes in room and the camera adjusts itself to accommodate all in view. To finish the call you just tell it too.Alexa built in too, means I can control my smart devices. Not used what's app on it, but spotify all good, best bit of kit I have seen for some time. I would recommend.

Meta (Facebook) do not support this device any longer.However rather than just leaving the machine working and not fixing it if it went wrong, they have disabled voice commands and also the storing of photographs. This has left my 99 yr old mother unable to use it, unable to receive video calls from her extended family which were a lifeline to her. I hope they rot in hell.

Great item. Purchased for grandad to easily keep in touch with the family. Great size and amazing screen and camera quality for the price and size. Easy to setup and call relatives and friends. Great for the young ones too with added extras such as picture effects, games and a interactive storybook feature. When not in use works well with Alexa voice command and will flick through photos like an picture frame on display.

As others already mentioned, the device does not receive calls, which is a bit frustrating at first. Facebook helpcentre recommends calling from the Portal to a mobile device first, which allegedly triggers an updates of the Messenger app on the mobile, which then should be able to make a call the other way round. This never helped though. In the end we're happy to receive calls from grandmother whenever it suits her schedule rather than randomly calling her when she's hanging out, so not a major issue. Bought it in a substantial discount as well - maybe would be more annoyed by this had I paid the full price :DOtherwise quite a premium-looking device, decent screen and sound quality. You can install a Portal app on your phone, log in with your grandma's account and keep feeding her with pictures that are then displayed on the device after each call - another thing she really enjoys, except for the photo of a common seal we met on a beach, which creeps her out. Well, she's from a landlocked country so that's understandable :)I'm still a bit nervous from the possibility that Facebook might just randomly block her account due to a lack of other activity or whatever, which would be a massive inconvenience. Let's see and keep it four stars for now :)

I bought it so I can communicate with my mother while I'm overseas (she gave up with the iPad almost immediately). And you know what's it's great for calling her and she can use it well enough，once I setup a Facebook account. She talks and the camera tracks her. You just have to be aware of the limitations - no images or text just video and audio. Don't buy the TV version unless you want low quality video (I have both and the camera on the mini is so much better). One tip is to use the app to control the photoframe function so you can add family photos from a distance.Software update:The Portal Mini update has added support for Zoom, Bluejeans and GotoMeeting, plus games and browser. Not Netflix.The Portal TV update added Netflix, but no new video conferencing apps.

The camera on the Portal is smart and follows you around the room, but the quality is a disappointing considering how much it costs. Also, the device is not portable so I expected the quality to be a bit better. Whatsapp calls are generally smooth and ease of use is what makes this a good addition to our home. The kids love the storytime feature and effects are fun too. Apart from the portal camera there isn’t much this device has to offer that a smartphone doesn’t. If you do regular video calls as a family and want a smoother experience then this might be for you. If it was a bit cheaper then I would have given it 4 stars.