Amazon's push into the services space continued today with the launch of Chime, a new online VoIP call and video messaging platform aimed at business users.

Apart from video conferencing and chat messaging, Amazon Chime allows users to host or join virtual meetings with a single click, and share content and screens across multiple platforms, including Mac, Windows, iOS and Android devices.

Chime
Amazon is pitching Chime as a more reliable, higher quality alternative to existing VoIP services like Microsoft's Skype, with a focus on making core communications services – voice calls, video conferencing, screen sharing, and instant messaging – easily accessible within a unified interface.

"It's pretty hard to find people who actually like the technology they use for meetings today," said Gene Farrell, Vice President, Enterprise Applications at AWS in a press release. "Most meeting applications or services are hard to use, deliver bad audio and video, require constant switching between multiple tools to do everything they want, and are way too expensive."


Amazon Chime is available for free in a basic version, which includes video calls for up to two people. Price plans for Chime start at $2.50 per month, with a higher tier plan of $15 per user for the addition of video and screen-sharing, among other features.

Amazon will hope that its new VoIP service can replicate the company's success in the cloud services space, but challenges lie ahead. Whereas AWS built its dominance early on in a relatively nascent market, Chime goes up against established players from day one. Chime for Mac and iOS are available to download here.

Top Rated Comments

Robert.Walter Avatar
82 months ago
Apple should have been all over this with FaceTime a long time ago.

Conference calling would help to expand sales of Apple products.

That I can't even call an Apple store or Apple care using FaceTime is really amazing.

Instead for 3way calls (or linking voip calls and traditional calls together - does anybody offer this?) we have to rely on 3rd party software.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
farewelwilliams Avatar
82 months ago
yeah...this tech bubble seems to be getting bigger and bigger by the day.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BeefCake 15 Avatar
82 months ago
How does privacy/security/encryption work in this platform...Amazon hasn't necessarily made privacy a concern or echoed the industry concern on it (pun intended)
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
iCyprus Avatar
82 months ago
We have Skype, oovoo, viber, facebook messenger, facetime (which i think apple misses the opportunity to expand the platform) and now chime? Oh god....
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
FelixDerKater Avatar
82 months ago
No one wants an Amazon phone, messenger, or video calling platform.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AlliFlowers Avatar
82 months ago
FaceTime is so much better than anything else. But every time my mother, daughter, and I want to talk, we have to go to Google Hangouts. The three of us chat regularly (we're all in different parts of the country), and it would be nice just to have FaceTime.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)