Some of the key highlights of JioMeet:
- Made in India.
- JioMeet offers unlimited number of free calls in high definition (720p).
- Upto 24 hours long meeting as oppose to Zoom’s 40mins time limit.
- UI is almost like Zoom.
- Still in BETA so there might be glitches.
Two weeks ago, TechCrunch covered following story about the launch of JioMeet.
The fact that JioMeet is giving a lot for free, makes it special. Reliance has put a step forward to help boycott the Chinese-American app Zoom. While there can be some UI/UX issues in JioMeet, it can surely be improved. Right?
The problems with Zoom app
The most dangerous thing now a days is getting our data leaked or hacked. The zoom has several security vulnerabilities at the moment. This is why EU had rollout GDPR, to protect their people’s data.
JioMeet, GoogleMeet or Zoom?
There is no harm in trying JioMeet or Google Meet for that matter. Both are good. Google meet has some more features like multiple screen sharing at once, data security etc. On the other hand, the Zoom app data may have been shared with China, and God knows why and how they might use it. There can be certain loop holes in this app that Chinese hackers might crack, even if Zoom organisation doesn’t give data to China. A fear of data leak will always be there. If you still have to try Zoom, it will be wise to take calls via web link in browser, instead of Zoom app.
Still not sure if that will protect your data!
The hurdles in the way!
The Zoom is coming after JioMeet for some UI copyright issues. However, if it’s about copying other’s design, then China has history of making duplicate products, they have recreated Chinese version of almost every product . What will you call that?
Since the start of its glory, software industry has seen it all, copying or stealing each other’s ideas, user interfaces and even codes. In a documentary series “Triumph of the Nerds: The Rise of Accidental Empires” Steve Jobs once quoted Piccaso, “Good artists copy, great artists steal.” Lawsuits are not new for software, in a way they have been integral part of it. In fact, there are many such products, such as Facebook ( lawsuit with Winklevoss brothers ), Instagram Stories (straightforward copy from Snapchat), Uber (for self driving tech with Google) etc.
Lastly, some people think JioMeet has potential to be better in future. Even better than Zoom and other video conferencing apps. JioMeet has certain things which can work in its favour, like Jio already has a solid user base, no one is better than Reliance in capturing customers with their well organized marketing strategies and a Made in India tag which can give it a huge boost. Another speculation is, similar look and feel can make it easier for users to migrate over to JioMeet from Zoom, which could be the reason thats they kept it this way. JioMeet can change its UI at any point of time, but for them it was important to launch and capture market’s attention at this point of time. We can optimistically hope that it does better in future.
What is your take on this? Please leave us comments below.