Video calls on Skype are a great way to connect face to face with far away friends and family--it adds a whole extra dimension to the conversation. While you do get to see the person's face, it sometimes can be difficult to see the person "eye-to-eye", because webcams are placed above screens, so as you're looking at the other person on your screen, the camera captures you looking down. I think this is a minor annoyance that comes with the territory, but a few companies are trying to solve the problem.

When I first heard about Iris2Iris, I assumed it would be a type of periscope attachment (like this) that would clip onto your laptop or over your existing webcam. Actually, it's a whole different beast, an entire second montor with its own stand, built-in webcam and speakers, and a mirror that reflects the webcam so that it captures where you're looking on the screen. Iris2iris sent me a prototype unit for several weeks to try out.

First Impressions

The Iris2iris unit is huge; it is composed of an audio/camera unit, a mirror system for reflecting the camera, a 14 inch monitor, and a base. It was necessary to assembly these parts, and while not difficult, it was a bit more work than I was expecting. Some of the pieces didn't fit together perfectly the first time (though I was testing a prototype so this may have changed in production). Soon enough it was all together, a somewhat imposing figure on my desk.

The Iris2iris connected to my computer via VGA and USB -- it was easy to install the webcam driver and get the monitor working with my computer (though I did have some difficulty hooking it up to my computer at first, but I blame my computer's finnicky video settings rather than the Iris2iris). I set the Iris2iris to be an extended desktop, so that applications could be dragged to it and then maximized there.

Functionality

Even before using the Iris2iris as a communications device, I found it really useful as a second monitor. It sits quite high on its stand and was easy to glance at next to my regular laptop. I could put my work email on the screen then easily keep an eye on it as I worked on my main screen. But where Iris2Iris worked best (as you might expect) was on Skype calls.

For most of the day I would keep Skype maximized Skype on the Iris2iris's monitor, and then when I made or received video calls, I could just just make the video go full screen and start talking. It was that easy -- I didn't have to fumble with a headset because the built-in mic worked well (though you can use one if you want).

The people I spoke to said I sounded great (without any echo) and looked great because they could see my eyes looking directly at them. Above is a screen grab that Peter from the main blog took while I was chatting with him.

Conclusion

To take the best advantage of Iris2Iris you'd need two units: one for you to benefit the person you're speaking to, and one for the other person for your benefit, but even with just one I found Iris2iris to be a really easy way to have video chats -- the dedicated monitor and built-in mic/speakers made starting up video conversations over Skype even easier. And Iris2iris's usage isn't limited to Skype--I could also see it working well for video bloggers and news readers -- using teleprompter software, you could be looking right at the camera while reading a script.

Bottom line: Iris2iris is a really interesting gadget that solves a problem you might not have known you even had. While my prototype unit was a bit difficult to set up, it performed very well. The production units look to be quite expensive, but if you're a hardcore video chatter, you may find Iris2iris's benefits worth it. You can learn more about Iris2iris (including purchasing options) on their website here.