Tellybean

Life-sized video calling / www.tellybean.com

[tellybeanme]

Tellybean strengthens the team with former Skyper Helen Blackburn

Helen Blackburn, former Director of Product Management at Skype who led the Skype-on-TV video calling program joins Tellybean as Advisor and board member.

Blackburn joined Skype in 2006 and managed multiple product programs to extend Skype’s reach beyond the desktop into consumer electronics and home devices. She brings with her many years of experience of video calling for the large screen having defined and built Skype's presence on TV and managed the program for over 5 years. After launching the first Skype on TV experiences in 2010, Blackburn worked with global SmartTV and cable operator brands to grow the Skype TV user base into the millions.

"I could not have dreamt of a more fitting addition to Tellybean's team. Helen has really ‘been there and done that’. She brings with her so much insight into everything ranging from product management to what we need to know when growing our partner network. She has great personal contacts in the TV industry and she will also provide us with valuable support in our ongoing fund raising" says Cami Hongell, CEO of Tellybean. "I am excited to join Tellybean and to continue working on making video calling on TV available for everyone. I have seen the joy on users' faces when they see their loved ones on the TV for the first time; it’s a truly magical experience. With its TV-first approach and lean technology, Tellybean is in a great position to lead the market in video calling on TV and I believe there is potential to grow the user base to tens of millions of users" says Blackburn. With Skype choosing to end support for its TV solution, Tellybean is now uniquely positioned to capture the market for large screen video calling. Blackburn left Skype earlier this year and will take on an active advisory role and join the board of Tellybean. For additional information please contact Helen or Cami: Helen Blackburn: [email protected] Cami Hongell: [email protected] or [phone] Cami Hongell Tellybean Ltd CEO, Co-founder [phone] [email protected]

[tellybeanme]

Bringing more families home  in India and on mobile

Sony is now featuring Tellybean on the app home screen of Android TVs in India. This, combined with the recent release of our Tellybean Video Calling app for Android mobiles, is an exciting milestone for Tellybean. More families than ever can get together to share their special moments through life-sized video calls on the TV.

Modern life separates families. We want to bring them back together in the living room through life-sized video calls on the TV. Tellybean brings your family home again to experience those special moments in life.

Sony is now featuring Tellybean on the app home screen of Android TVs in India.

This cooperation is especially exciting as India is currently the country with the largest number of Tellybean users. At the end of August we also launched the Tellybean Video Calling app for Android mobiles which boosted call volumes as the users on the TV have more family members and friends they can call.

Looking back at the second quarter, I'm very pleased with our business progress:

Winner of the Best Smart TV App at TV Connect in April

Cooperation with Sony in North America started in May

Skype on TV, the only video call competitor on TV, was discontinued in June

Bridge funding round closed in June

The third quarter has come to an equally busy start:

Sony features Tellybean on the app home screen in South America since July and in India since September

Philips features Tellybean on all of its Android TVs globally since early September

The Tellybean Video Calling app for Android mobiles was released at the end of August

Fine tuning and service improvements to make Tellybean easier to use

Development of apps for Linux-based TVs and iPhones/iPads started

We are excited with the growth in the number of users as well as the increasing usage. We look forward to a busy end of the year!

Cami Hongell Tellybean Ltd CEO, Co-founder [phone] [email protected]

For additional materials, photos, videos, footage please visit

Google Play: com.tellybean.kahuna.client

www.tellybean.com

www.facebook.com/tellybeaners

https://twitter.com/TellybeanMe

[tellybeanme]

Award winning TV video calling service Tellybean launches mobile video calling app

Tellybean, life-sized video calling for TV, is now available for Android mobile devices in Google Play

Helsinki, September 26, 2016 – Tellybean Video Calling service was created to bring families home. Modern life separates families, and sharing those special moments with life-sized video is almost like being there. With the Tellybean Video Calling app now available for Android mobile phones and tablets, even more family members and friends can be together in the living room through a TV, mobile phone, tablet or computer.

The launch of the mobile app, available on Andorid phones and tablets, is the next step in the evolution of Tellybean’s award winning video calling solution. 

“We’re extremely excited to expand our video calling service to mobile devices. Tellybean has already been established as the leading solution for TV video calling and we know that our users really appreciate and are excited with the big screen experience, with whole family together on the couch to share a special moment. Tellybean video calling for Android mobile phones and tablets marks the next step in our service and follows the launch of our innovative Camera app.” says Cami Hongell, the CEO of Tellybean. 

As of today, Tellybean video calling service works on the Android TV platform, which includes Smart TVs and set-top boxes; on Android mobile phones and tablets,  and on any computer. Tellybean delivers a life-sized video calling experience that the whole family can enjoy, allowing families to be together in the comfort of the living room.

Tellybean Video Calling app is available now in the Google Play store free of charge. 

About Tellybean

Tellybean is driven by a few simple but powerful observations: modern life separates families and the fact that technology usually makes video calling inaccessible to the whole family. To solve this problem, Tellybean delivers a life-sized video calling experience that the whole family can enjoy. Tellybean video calling service works on all Android TVs: Smart TVs and set-top boxes; on Android mobile phones and tablets; and on any computer.. Tellybean was founded in 2011 and is based in Helsinki, Finland. Tellybean received recognition and awards as the "Best Smart TV App" at TV Connect 2016 in London and as the "most innovative app” in Philips’ Android TV app competition 2016.

The content in the news releases is accurate at the time of publication but may be subject to change without notice. All trademarks mentioned in this news release are the property of their respective owners. Google, Google Play and Android TV are trademarks of Google Inc.

Contact: Cami Hongell, CEO of Tellybean Tel: [phone] E-mail: [email protected]

Additional press materials and information: For additional materials, photos, videos, footage please visit

www.tellybean.com

www.facebook.com/tellybeaners

https://twitter.com/TellybeanMe

[tellybeanme]

Tellybean closes second part of 650k€ angel round

Modern life separates families. More than five years ago one of my co-founders Phil was frustrated with the video calling solutions available for keeping in touch with his mom on the other side of the world in Australia. He grew so frustrated that we decided to do something about it.

Having reached the end of a very busy first half of 2016, a recap of Tellybean's recent past is in order. As we also closed the second part of a 650k€ angel round, it gives me confidence to throw a glance into our future. Skype paved the way for both video calling as a concept and made it an accepted way for people to keep in touch with each other. Skype also helped Tellybean as a company. Although we are always asked to explain how we differ from Skype, the nice thing is that many times the easiest way to explain Tellybean is to say "it's like Skype on TV". Everybody gets it. The TV manufacturers see video calling as a great way to use their big screens and to connect TVs to a network with other video calling devices. Users agree that life-sized video calls with the whole family leaning back on the couch is a completely different experience from video calling on small screens. Bill Gates once said that “we always overestimate the change that will occur in the next two years and underestimate the change that will occur in the next ten”. Did we overestimate our short term progress when we started? Yes. But did we really think that we would already be the leading video call solution on the TV. No. After five long years of "starting up" we are excited about how much has changed in just six months.

Firstly, Skype no longer supports any TV manufacturers and Tellybean is now the only video call service provider on TVs.

Secondly, out of necessity Tellybean had to reinvent video calling on the TV. We submitted a patent for the solution, released the first version of it and are now able to combine a technical solution and a business model that the TV manufacturers and other partners can work with. It also gives Tellybean a technological edge to the competition, which will surely emerge in the future.

Thirdly, we signed major partnerships with Sony and Philips that provide visibility for Tellybean’s app on millions of SmartTV home screens. This takes us closer to becoming a feature that other TV manufacturers can't live without.

Last but not least Tellybean received recognition and awards as the "Best Smart TV App" at TV Connect in London and as the "most innovative app” in Philips’ Android TV app competition.

The recent progress would not have been possible without Tellybean's innovative approach of using the mobile phone as a "wireless webcam" on a video call on the TV. This approach makes it possible for Tellybean to support many different platforms and technologies with very limited requirements on its partners. For the end user the cost of the required camera comes down to a fraction of what it used to be. Very importantly, the solution also allows Tellybean to scale beyond the Android TV platform to Linux-based TVs. The first Linux TV partnerships will take us closer to achieving one of Tellybean's goals of being available on hundreds of millions of TVs in the next few years. Remembering the words of Bill Gates, we try not to underestimate the amount of work in the short term. However, we are more excited than ever about what Tellybean can become in the long term. With such a great team and the continued support from our investors and partners, I look forward to an exciting second half of 2016. I wish all of you a very enjoyable summer. More announcements to follow!

[tellybeanme]

Tellybean video calling service now available on Sony Android televisions in North America

Helsinki, June 2, 2016 – Sony Electronics will feature Tellybean on Sony 4K HDR Ultra HD Android TV’s in North America; the app will be featured on the TV home screen. Tellybean has been working closely with Sony in North America over the past months to make the service available for Sony’s 4K HDR Ultra HD televisions with  Google’s Android TV operating system.

Tellybean's TV video calling app has been available on the NVIDIA SHIELD, which runs Android TV, since May 2015. In early 2016, Tellybean launched the Tellybean Camera app, which allows users to use an Android mobile device as a "wireless webcam" to video call on the TV. With the Tellybean Camera app, the service is now available for all Android TV devices. In April, Tellybean announced that Philips will install Tellybean on the app home screen on its Android TVs and also won the award for the Best SmartTV App at TV Connect in London. "We are really excited about the cooperation with Sony Electronics. The Sony team has also been a great sounding board for us and has helped us refine and improve our service in the past few months. Some weeks ago we announced a similar cooperation with Philips. Adding Sony TVs as an additional Tellybean partner brings significant value to all Tellybean users and the service. We want to make it as easy as possible for everybody to call a TV, as such we are currently working on a first version of a mobile app", says Cami Hongell, CEO and Co-Founder of Tellybean.

To achieve the target of becoming the leading video calling solution for the TV, Tellybean is working on several additional partnerships and is also planning to develop video calling apps for non-Android TVs and iOS devices.

[tellybeanme]

And the winner is

...Tellybean!! Last night in London Tellybean was crowned as the winner in the 12:th edition of the prestigious TV Connect Industry Award in the category Best Smart TV app.

Tellybean is on a roll! This award is a nice continuation of Tellybean’s recent success in an app competition organised by Philips TV and the announcement earlier this week that Philips TV will make Tellybean available on all of its Android TV’s.

Based on three days and some thirty meetings at TV Connect in London, Tellybean’s future looks both bright and busy. Stay tuned for more exciting news.

[tellybeanme]

Tellybean video calling service available on Philips Android TVs

Tellybean reaches a major milestone as TP Vision rolls out Tellybean's Android TV video calling application on millions of existing and new Philips Android TVs. Existing TVs, running Android TV, will receive Tellybean through a software update and new TVs will have Tellybean pre-installed.

Helsinki 25:th of April - Tellybean has been working with video calling on Android TV since Google I/O 2014, when the operating system for Smart TVs and set-top boxes was launched. Philips TV was one of Google's original TV partners and provides Tellybean access to a large existing installed base. In the next few weeks, after a software update, Philips users will see Tellybean appear on the Android TV home screen. On new TVs Tellybean will be pre-installed.

With the help of the Tellybean Camera app, users can use their Android mobile as a "wireless webcam". The Camera app is available in Google Play and works with most Android phones and tablets. So the user only needs an Android mobile phone or tablet to start video calling on the TV. Tellybean is working with Philips TV to be able to provide users with the option of using a standard USB-camera as an alternative to the Camera app.

Recently Tellybean won 2nd prize in Philips TVs Android TV app competition. According to the judges "Tellybean was the most innovative app of all the submissions because of its unique service solution. Tellybean has managed to overcome major challenges, i.e. webcam integration and pairing a mobile device in absence of a webcam. It shows that the app is designed for the TV, with a nice user interface appropriate for a big screen experience."

Tellybean is also shortlisted for the prestigious TV Connect award in the Best Smart TV App category. The results will be announced during TV Connect later this week.

For more information please contact us or set up a meeting at TV Connect. Cami Hongell Tellybean Ltd CEO, Co-founder [phone] [email protected]

[tellybeanme]

Tellybean is shaping the future of video calling on the TV and getting recognition for it

The Tellybean Camera app gets public recognition and enables Tellybean to gain new channel partners and more users.

Tellybean has been working with video calling to the TV for a long time. The approach has changed many times over, but the vision of easy video calls on the TV has remained clear. Since switching our focus to the Android TV platform our first challenge was that we had to ask device manufacturers to do a small technical modification, i.e. add USB-camera support. The second challenge was that our little modification request was pushed to low priority as pretty much all Android TV manufacturers faced technical challenges and were late in bringing their devices to market.

Tellybean's situation dramatically changed with the launch of the Tellybean Camera app which allos the user to use a mobile device as a "wireless webcam" in a video call on the TV. Firstly it made our service compatible with all Android TV devices. Secondly we no longer needed to ask any technical changes from our channel partners and could focus the discussion on Tellybean getting visibility.

The Camera app is now also starting to get public recognition. Tellybean has beenshortlisted for the prestigious TV Connect award in the Best Smart TV App category. The results will be announced during TV Connect at the end of April.

Recently Tellybean also won 2nd price in Philips TV's Android TV app competition. Here is a quote from Philips' announcement: "Our judges thought Tellybean was the most innovative app of all the submissions because of its unique service solution. Tellybean has managed to overcome major challenges, i.e. webcam integration and pairing a mobile device in absence of a webcam. It shows that the app is designed for the TV, with a nice user interface appropriate for a big screen experience."

The Camera app has allowed Tellybean to more than double its user base since it was launched two months ago. For the first time, Tellybean has this week secured a spot for its app on the app home screen on a large number of devices. This is expected to speed up the user acquisition significantly in the coming months. 

Meet us at TV Connect to hear more about the future of video calling on the TV.

[tellybeanme]

Tellybean, a prize-winning service

Tellybean Video Calling wins a prize in Philips Smart TV app competition! Tellybean was chosen as the second best Android TV app in a competition full of other great services and applications.

Philips TV today announced that Tellybean won second prize in its Smart TV app competition. Philips wanted to encourage app developers to come up with applications and services that make innovative use of the latest Philips Android TVs and all that the big screen has to offer. The competition entries were reviewed and the winners chosen by a professional jury consisting of industry experts.

In selecting Tellybean as one of the winners, the judges where “thoroughly impressed by the uniqueness and smoothness of the Tellybean app”. According to the judges the competition was tough, with a high number of great apps submitted to the competition.

We are both happy and proud to be acknowledged for our hard work to provide a great video calling service for Android TV users. Not only does the prize give great satisfaction for the whole team, but it also provides Tellybean with increased awareness among the owners of Philips TVs and helps more people start talking to their friends and family through the TV.

Tellybean would like to thank Philips for the acknowledgement and congratulations to the other contest winners and participants. Increasing the variety of apps and services available helps ensure the success of the Android TV platform.

We hope that we can give provide special moments for all new Tellybean users so they can meet their friends and family through the biggest screen in the home – their Philips TV!

You can get the prize-winning Tellybean app from this link in Google Play or try the web app from www.tellybean.com. 

[tellybeanme]

Does Skype's exit from TVs mean that Tellybean is wrong?

Owners of Samsung SmartTVs recently got a surprising notice that the Skype for TV application will no longer be supported starting in June 2016. In a blog post, Skype gave the following reason: "...users have changed the way they use Skype, with the majority accessing it from a mobile device – including when in the living room."  This decision is consistent with Skype discontinuing its SDK and terminating cooperation with all TV manufacturers, except Samsung, a few years ago

Does this mean that Tellybean is on a road to nowhere with its focus on video calling on the TV? Tellybean is the only video calling service for the TV in the world - can Tellybean succeed?

Working with 300 million active monthly users, Skype understandably could not support a small minority who require a lot of extra technical effort. However, for Tellybean Skype has proven that for a focused start-up there is a sizable market available. A market where no-one else is active. The disappointment expressed all over the internet by Skype users with Samsung TVs also showed that a lot users care about video calling on the TV.

Although Tellybean obviously lacks the brand recognition of Skype, there are a few fundamental differences between Skype and Tellybean which work in Tellybean's favour.

Firstly: innovation. Skype made a version of an app also work on SmartTVs, but never focused on it. Tellybean focused on nothing else than video calling on the TV. We set out to innovate video calling on the TV from day one. Recently we  released the Tellybean Camera app that turns a mobile device into a "wireless webcam" for a video call on the TV. This allows Tellybean to work on a much longer list of devices, while bringing down the cost of the "camera" to just a fraction. We'll be sharing some new ideas of how Tellybean intends to further broaden the definition of video calls on the TV in the near future.

Secondly: cost. To many people who purchased a new SmartTV it came as a surprise that you also needed to buy a "Skype camera" for around 100$, give or take, making the free Skype everything but free. At the cheapest, Tellybean lets you start video calling on your TV for free if you have a compatible TV and a regular webcam at home. If you don't have a webcam, for 2.99€ you can download the Tellybean Camera app which allows you to use the phone or tablet you already own as a "wireless webcam". And even if you want to get a webcam, a 30€ off-the-shelf Logitech will do the job just fine.

Thirdly: technical choices. Based on Tellybean's understanding Skype had to have various different apps to support the many different TV platforms used by the manufacturers. Maintaining them went from expensive to impossible, finally resulting in Skype leaving the TV altogether. Tellybean's focus on one TV OS and open source technology (those being Android TV and WebRTC, respectively) keeps the maintenance burden small and still be able to ensure compatibility with a large number of Smart TVs, streaming devices and pay-tv operator set-top boxes. And from the device manufacturer's point of view, Tellybean does not require any development efforts. Tellybean has clearly benefited from the maturing of the TV industry and convergence of operating systems.

You can find Tellybean's apps here: http://bit.ly/TellybeanAndroidTV http://bit.ly/TellybeanCameraBeta

[tellybeanme]

Tellybean new feature - use your smart phone to turn your TV into a video phone

There are 0.5bn connected TVs in the world, but almost none of them have a camera. To make easy video calling on TV available to everyone, Tellybean now lets you use the camera in your pocket, your phone! By using the camera in your mobile phone, Tellybean now turns your TV into a video phone, and makes it easy and affordable use.

Out of a personal need to connect our kids with distant grandparents, Tellybean was founded to bring easy video calling on the TV to everyone. From day one, Tellybean has been focused on removing the barriers of video calling on the TV. That's why Tellybean is delighted to announce the Tellybean Camera App (patent pending) for mobile devices to enable video calls on the TV. With 2 billion smart phone users owning 0.5 billion connected TVs, video calling on the television is now available to more people than ever before. After some additional user testing Tellybean will launch its new solution on all Android TV devices already in the market. Users with the Tellybean app on their Android TV device will soon be able to download the Tellybean Camera App for their mobile/tablet. It will be available for Android devices first, with an iOS version to follow soon after. Stay tuned for more information on our website, on Twitter, Google+ and Facebook. You can also sign up as a test user below:

Subscribe to information about the user test

http://eepurl.com/bNdhRD

[tellybeanme]

Four reasons why Apple TV is good for Tellybean

Tellybean provides easy video calling on the TV. Our current focus is on delivering our service to end users through partnerships with device manufacturers and operators working with Google's Android TV platform. Last Wednesday, Apple announced the new and improved Apple TV. Until I got the Nvidia Shield, we had an Apple TV hooked up to our TV for watching Netflix or renting a movie from iTunes. Being TV-first, we at Tellybean have had to get our heads around what the new Apple TV means for us. The conclusion so far is that neither the device nor the platform is that interesting. It is unclear if it has the power to handle simultaneous live two-way audio and video and it also lacks a regular USB port for the webcam that our service requires. Here's a little comparison made by Nvidia. However, from a conceptual point of view the new Apple TV is excellent news for Tellybean. 1. Validation of the concept of apps on TV Apple is building the service model of the new Apple TV around apps - very similar to what Google has done with Android TV. Until now, TVs have not really been an interesting channel for us app developers. That's changed. Some people said that the smart watch segment was uninteresting until the Apple watch was launched. I believe that Apple TV will provide a similar boost to the apps for TV market. This is great news for Google, Android TV and obviously Tellybean. 2. Google will up the Android TV game because of Apple TV Android TV is not Google's first attempt to push Android to TVs. Google TV was not a great success. Neither was Android based TVs. Android TV, however, seems already to have gone farther than the earlier attempts. So far around half a dozen TV manufacturers have jumped on board, as well as a number of set-top box manufacturers. Now a number of operators have either launched or are in the process of launching TV services running on Android TV devices. Google missed the messaging train - I doubt that they are willing to lie down and die in the battle for the TV. I believe that the launch of Apple TV will only strengthen Google's commitment to Android TV.   3. Operators will not hand over the TV to Apple Operators already lost the mobile content opportunity to Apple and Google. But that was "just" potential new revenue that operators missed out on. TV services provide a good chunk of their existing revenue and I'm convinced that they will put up a good fight to avoid being marginalised on the TV as well. As a closed system and a retail product, I can't see Apple TV providing anything to the operators. Google, however, is heading in a different (open) direction with Android TV. Operators with TV services can switch over to the Android TV platform, which offers Youtube and Google Play with all the games and other entertainment apps. In an interview at IBC, Sascha Prüter, head of Android TV programme management at Google, stated that he thinks that pay TV operators are best placed to take control of the home. I would have to agree with him 4. Video calling is unique for Android TV Of the many different categories of apps for the TV, in addition to streaming services, video calling is one of the use cases that actually makes sense on the big screen. Since we launched our Android TV app, we've seen a lot of interest from device manufacturers and operators. We know that they like our app, but as Tellybean tends to think big, we see this also as appreciation of Tellybean providing our partners a way of differentiating their services from the competition, such as Apple TV. Like Tsahi Levent-Levi, wrote in his recent blogpost, the TV is not a low hanging opportunity. Despite it being hard, we continue to work with chipset providers and device manufacturers to push Android TV beyond its current limits. By doing this we also provide Google with one more tool with which to convince the world that Android TV is the best TV platform around. Having said all this, one day we'd love to see Tellybean on Apple TV as well.

[tellybeanme]

Pushing back the barriers to video calling on the TV

The Jetsons were the early adopters, making video calling a part of their daily lives more than 50 years ago. Skype brought video calling to the masses and and has been connecting friends and families across the globe for more than 10 years. 

At its best, video calling makes you feel like you are in the same room with the person you are talking to. For consumers, expensive telepresence solutions are out of reach, but luckily the TV offers a great platform for providing lifelike video calls. However, until now, adoption of video calling on the TV has been held back by a number of cost and complexity barriers. Finnish Tellybean set out to remove these barriers and become THE solution for easy video calling on the TV. It all started with a personal problem that my two Aussie co-founders had. Whenever their kids in Finland tried to video call grandma Down Under, some technical issue got in the way. Sometimes it was a bad connection. But more often it was a software update or some other problem with the service. They wondered: does it have to be so difficult to connect and why do we all have to  fight for space in front of the camera and the 13" screen? Wouldn't it be better to use the big TV screen and lean back on the couch? So Tellybean was born and built a service which is so easy that even grandma can use it from the comfort of her couch. Before 2015, the Smart TV as a platform was too fragmented for smaller app developers to invest their precious development resource to enhance. In the past, Skype worked with a number of different TV brands attempting to pave the way for video calling on the TV. However, the free Skype app required a specific $100-150 camera to comply with their ‘quality requirements’. And using the app with the TV remote was not easy... And then Skype decided not to support most TVs... Fortunately after Google's launch of Android TV, the TV is becoming a much more interesting standardised and scalable platform. Tellybean's app is used by the first users on the NVIDIA SHIELD with an off-the-shelf Logitech webcam. Unfortunately, Tellybean is moving faster than Google and still needs to work with the device manufacturers and chip providers to shape the platform. The key pain points are camera compatibility and video encoding support. Tellybean is working with everybody in the value chain to solve these pain points and to bring easy video calling on the TV to the masses. Although it is hard work, it is extremely rewarding when we hear the excited comments from our users enjoying seeing their friends and family on the TV for the first time. Equally, the fact that the entire value chain for video calling on the TV believes in our use case helps us push even harder, day after day. And day by day we get closer to realizing our original vision – easy life-sized video calling on TV for all.

[tellybeanme]

Tellybean Launches Easy Video Calling Application for NVIDIA SHIELD Living Room Entertainment Device

Tellybean's easy video calling application is now available for the NVIDIA SHIELD Android TV device. This is the first Android TV device that is compatible with Tellybean's service. Tellybean is the first video calling application for the Android TV platform. In addition to NVIDIA SHIELD, you can make Tellybean calls on your computer by logging in at www.tellybean.com.

Tellybean aims to be THE solution for video calling on the TV.

Helsinki, May 28th, 2015 – Tellybean, working with NVIDIA, has made it possible to experience life-sized video calling through the NVIDIA® SHIELD™ Android TV device. Powered by the NVIDIA Tegra® X1 processor, SHIELD allows Tellybean to offer great HD video calls and a fast and fluid user experience. SHIELD is now available in the US and Canada, starting at $199 with a SHIELD controller and a high-speed HDMI cable.

Easy video calling on TVs and other devices

Tellybean's application is available for users to download through Google Play. The service provides calls between Tellybean-compatible Android TV devices and browser-based calls on computers. Tellybean will add support for calls to and from mobile devices in the near future.

Cami Hongell, Co-founder and CEO of Tellybean said: “The launch of our application for NVIDIA SHIELD is a major step towards Tellybean's goal of being THE solution for video calling on the TV. SHIELD allows Tellybean to be used by more users on any TV, which complements our ongoing efforts with smart TV manufacturers. With our initial focus on the Android TV platform, we are working hard to reach new partnerships with both TV and set-top box manufacturers as well as service providers”

Media contact: Cami Hongell, Tellybean Tel: [phone] E-mail: [email protected]

About Tellybean

Tellybean is driven by a few simple but powerful observations: modern life separates families and friends. Technology usually makes video calling inaccessible to many people, there is no easy way to make life-sized video calls. To solve this problem, Tellybean offers an easy way to make life-sized video calls on the TV, to the people you care about. It’s simply Bigger, Better and Easier video calling for everyone. 

Tellybean was founded in 2011 and is based in Helsinki, Finland. It has an experienced, committed and diverse team who is passionate about easy video calling to everybody.  

The content in the news releases is accurate at the time of publication but may be subject to change without notice. All trademarks mentioned in this news release are the property of their respective owners.

Google and Android TV are trademarks of Google Inc.

Additional press materials and information

For additional materials, photos, videos, footage please visit www.tellybean.com, www.facebook.com/tellybeaners or http://shield.nvidia.com/android-tv.

[tellybeanme]

Tellybean Launches Easy Video Calling Application for Android TV

Tellybean has launched its easy video calling application for Android TV devices on Google Play. Tellybean has developed its service in close co-operation with a number of device manufacturers and operators, such as TP Vision/Philips TVs. Devices, which are compatible with Tellybean's service are launching in the near future. You can already make Tellybean calls on your computer by logging in atwww.tellybean.com. Tellybean aims to be THE solution for video calling on the TV. Helsinki, April 27th, 2015 – Tellybean has published its easy video calling application for Android TV on Google Play. Tellybean makes it possible to experience life-sized video calling on Android TV devices, both TVs and set-top boxes. The service provides calls on Android TV devices and browser-based calls on computers. Tellybean will add support for calls to and from mobile devices in the future. “After signing our partnership with TP Vision/Philips TVs in December 2014, we have worked hard on finishing the development of our service. The launch of our application in Google Play is a critical step towards Tellybean's goal of being THE solution for video calling on the TV. With our initial focus on the Android TV platform, we are working hard to reach new partnerships with both TV and set-top box manufacturers as well as operators,” said Cami Hongell, Co-Founder and CEO of Tellybean. Contact: Cami Hongell, Tellybean Tel: [phone] E-mail: [email protected] About Tellybean Tellybean is driven by a few simple but powerful observations: modern life separates families and technological complexity usually makes video calling inaccessible to the whole family. To solve this problem, Tellybean delivers a big and easy video calling experience that the whole family can enjoy. Tellybean’s service turns a TV into a video phone for life-sized calls and connects the TVs to billions of users across all devices and web services. Tellybean was founded in 2011 and is based in Helsinki, Finland. It has an experienced, committed and diverse team who is passionate about easy video calling to everybody.   The content in the news releases is accurate at the time of publication but may be subject to change without notice. All trademarks mentioned in this news release are the property of their respective owners. Google and Android TV are trademarks of Google Inc. Additional press materials and information For additional materials, photos, videos, footage please visit www.tellybean.com, www.facebook.com/tellybeaners

[tellybeanme]

Tellybean Android TV app and new fresh company website

Today we published our first Android TV application for download on Google Play to compatible Android TV devices. We at Tellybean believe in life-sized video calling on the TV, and Android TV is a key part of offering our customers and partners the best calling experience on the biggest screen in the house, the TV. Friends and family can also use Tellybean from our web app which can be used from your PC's web browser, using Google Chrome or Firefox. 

In addition to the Android TV application we have also updated our corporate website, putting the service first and foremost and keeping it light and easy, we are happy with how it turned out and we hope your are too, if there is anything you think could be improved then just let us know.

[tellybeanme]

Philips TVs to integrate Tellybean's easy video calling service

TP Vision and Tellybean enter into a strategic partnership enabling easy video calling on Philips TVs powered by Android™.

Philips TVs powered by Android™ are Europe’s first TVs supporting Tellybean's easy video calling service.

Tellybean aims to become THE solution for video calling on the TV.

Helsinki, 22nd December, 2014 – TP Vision and Tellybean have agreed to integrate Tellybean's easy video calling service into Philips TVs powered by Android™. Tellybean allows easy big screen video calling on the largest screen in the house. Tellybean works with either a camera integrated to the TV or connected through the TV’s USB port. Tellybean will be pre-installed on new Philips TVs powered by Android™ to be launched in early 2015. Tellybean and will also be made available to the Philips TVs powered by Android™ which are currently available in stores.

Easy video calling on TVs and other end-points The integration of Tellybean into Philips TVs enables users to easily make video calls from the living room with just a few clicks on the remote. Initially the service supports calls to other TVs with Tellybean, as well as browserbased calls on computers, either on call.tellybean.com or in Facebook. Tellybean aims to add support for calls to and from mobile devices during 2015.

"TP Vision sees video calling on the big screen as a hugely immersive and emotional experience. We want to enable these services to owners of a Philips TV. Tellybean's focus on ease-of-use combined with smart technical choices were the key reasons for why we chose Tellybean.” Albert Mombarg, Head of SmartTV at TPvision

“For Tellybean, this first major partnership with a TV manufacturer is a key milestone towards Tellybean becoming THE solution for video calling on the TV. Tellybean has always been focused on easy video calling on the TV and Google's launch of Android TV™ finally allows Tellybean to have a unified platform from which it can reach tens of millions of consumers.” Cami Hongell, Co-Founder of Tellybean.

Media contact: Cami Hongell, Tellybean Tel: [phone] E-mail: [email protected]

Andrew Burslem, TP Vision Tel: [phone] E-mail: [email protected]

About Tellybean

Tellybean is driven by a few simple but powerful observations: modern life separates families and technological complexity usually makes video calling inaccessible to the whole family. To solve this problem, Tellybean delivers a big and easy video calling experience that the whole family can enjoy. Tellybean’s service turns TVs into a video phone for life-sized calls and connects the TVs to billions of users across all devices and web services. Tellybean was founded in 2011 and is based in Helsinki, Finland. It has an experienced, committed and diverse team who is passionate about uniting grandparents with their grandchildren, and everybody in-between.

The content in the news releases is accurate at the time of publication but may be subject to change without notice. All trademarks mentioned in this news release are the property of their respective owners.

Google and Android are trademarks of Google Inc.

Additional press materials and information For additional materials, photos, videos, footage please visit the TP Vision press room and www.tellybean.com or www.facebook.com/tellybeaners