Google recently announced the launch of Chromebook on June16. Would this be a success? Can Google pull this one off?
Even though cloud based Chromebook is a neat idea, I expect the demand for a $400-$500 cloud book(provided by Samsung and Acer) to be underwhelming. The price point seem to be too high for what they are offering. Apart from the initial cost for the Chromebook, users would have to fork out $20($20 for students and $30 for others) every month as a subscription fee.
Students can easily buy a net-book for $300 and get all the software(that are better than cloud apps) needed that are already discounted for them. I estimated the cost of software to be around $100 per student. So for $400, a person can get a net-book with all the software. So why pay for a cloud-book with a subscription fee of $20 per month.
Over a year this subscription fee amounts to about $240 for a student and $360 for others. So instead of using the cloudbook, buying a net-book is far economically efficient. If a student uses a net-book for 2 years without investing in any new software, then he would have already save $480. This $480 could be used for a brand new netbook after 2 years. From my understanding, Google offers free software and hardware upgrades but it is not the same as giving you a new netbook. Apart from that, Chromebook would also create problems if you need to work offline. Google is still working on a solution for it - I suggest, get some help from Dropbox.
The Chrome-book comes with 16GB memory. So you might have invest on extra memory either on a local disk or on the cloud memory. Either ways you need invest more.
Even though a cloudbook is an awesome idea and it might play a great role in the future, the price point right now seems too high for the offering. The perceived value of the cloudbook from a customer's perspective would be low when there is a better substitute that is affordable is available.
From my perspective, the price for the cloudbook should not exceed $200 to be attractive.
Specifications of the Chromebooks are as below and I do not see why it is priced at $400 range.
Acer Chromebook
Even though cloud based Chromebook is a neat idea, I expect the demand for a $400-$500 cloud book(provided by Samsung and Acer) to be underwhelming. The price point seem to be too high for what they are offering. Apart from the initial cost for the Chromebook, users would have to fork out $20($20 for students and $30 for others) every month as a subscription fee.
Students can easily buy a net-book for $300 and get all the software(that are better than cloud apps) needed that are already discounted for them. I estimated the cost of software to be around $100 per student. So for $400, a person can get a net-book with all the software. So why pay for a cloud-book with a subscription fee of $20 per month.
Over a year this subscription fee amounts to about $240 for a student and $360 for others. So instead of using the cloudbook, buying a net-book is far economically efficient. If a student uses a net-book for 2 years without investing in any new software, then he would have already save $480. This $480 could be used for a brand new netbook after 2 years. From my understanding, Google offers free software and hardware upgrades but it is not the same as giving you a new netbook. Apart from that, Chromebook would also create problems if you need to work offline. Google is still working on a solution for it - I suggest, get some help from Dropbox.
The Chrome-book comes with 16GB memory. So you might have invest on extra memory either on a local disk or on the cloud memory. Either ways you need invest more.
Even though a cloudbook is an awesome idea and it might play a great role in the future, the price point right now seems too high for the offering. The perceived value of the cloudbook from a customer's perspective would be low when there is a better substitute that is affordable is available.
From my perspective, the price for the cloudbook should not exceed $200 to be attractive.
Specifications of the Chromebooks are as below and I do not see why it is priced at $400 range.
Acer Chromebook
- 11.6" HD Widescreen CineCrystalTM LED-backlit LCD
- 2.95 lbs. | 1.34 kg.
- 6 hours of continuous usage
- Intel® AtomTM Dual Core processor
- Built in dual-band Wi-Fi and World-mode 3G (optional)
- HD Webcam with noise cancelling microphone
- High-Definition Audio Support
- 2 USB 2.0 ports
- 4-in-1 memory card slot
- HDMI port
- Fullsize Chrome keyboard
- Oversize fully-clickable trackpad
- 12.1" (1280x800) Display
- 3.26 lbs / 1.48 kg
- 8.5 hours of continuous usage 1
- Intel® AtomTM Dual-Core Processor
- Built in dual-band Wi-Fi and World-mode 3G (optional)
- HD Webcam with noise cancelling microphone
- 2 USB 2.0 ports
- 4-in-1 memory card slot
- Mini-VGA port
- Fullsize Chrome keyboard
- Oversize fully-clickable trackpad
1 GB DDR3 SODIMM memory, Max Capacity 2 GB
- 250GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM); No optical drive
- 10.1-Inch Matte 1024X600 WSVGA LED Display; 802.11 b/g/n; 0.3MP Webcam; 2-in-1 Card Reader MMC/SD(SDHC)
- Up to 4 Hours of Battery Life; Windows 7 Starter Operating System
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