Google takes on Microsoft’s own Surface Hub by reinventing the white board
Microsoft is clearly no longer one with an exclusive on gigantic tablets for enterprise, like the Microsoft Surface Hub, a massive 55 to 80 inches touchscreen-enabled PC that runs Windows 10, with live collaboration support through Skype, and a price tag to match.
Google’s parent company, Alphabet Inc, has recently announced its own version of a collaborative digital whiteboard, priced at $6000, and, just like Microsoft Surface Hub, catering to business customers.
It goes without saying that the new whiteboard will make use of all services available on Google Drive, including Docs, Sheets, Slides, in the form of G-Suite, a rebrand of Google Apps for the business world. Hangouts will power the teleconferencing and collaborative features of this device.
Speaking of which, much like Microsoft’s own offering, Jamboard integrates full-multimedia capabilities, such as a built-in HD camera, speakers, and Wi-Fi.
Details on the operating system powering Jamboard, which will be available next year, are still scarce and speculative at best, but it’s possible that the new device will run either a modified version of Linux in the form of ChromeOS, a modified Android version for large touchscreens, or even Google’s own Fuchsia operating system, a completely new OS developed with a multi-platform supportive kernel, that shares at least some similarities with Microsoft Windows 10 OneCore, in that it will be able to run programs from many different operating systems, like Linux, and macOS, natively, at least to some degree.
Jamboard’s real strength is its simplicity, as it can be operated with fingers, as well as some very ordinary tools with which anyone who has spent time in a classroom, or in an office meeting, has seen, namely markers and erasers.
The markers that come with Jamboard work in the same way as a stylus, but they are not battery powered, and the same goes for the eraser, making Jamboard a no-brainer for anyone, including the less tech-savvy.
While Jamboard can be hanged on a wall, it also comes with a rolling stand and a built-in utility tray to store markers and eraser.
It’s unclear what apps Jamboard will have access to aside from the default array provided by Google, or whether Jamboard will have its own Apps store, but one thing is certain, Google has invested considerably into a product that will compete directly against Microsoft Surface Hub, and whose capabilities will have to prove up to the task alongside any other Windows 10, or iOS/macOS device within the same scope.
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