In October 2016, Google unveiled the Jamboard, which is a new 55-inch display monitor that will work under its G Suite tools for enterprises.
Google previously said that the price tag of the Jamboard will be under $6,000, and it seems that the company is keeping that promise with the announcement of the product's price and release date.
Google Jamboard To Cost $4,999
Google has revealed that the Jamboard will come with a price tag of $4,999, keeping true to its word that it will be under $6,000, but ultimately keeping it as a very expensive piece of hardware. In addition to the price tag, the Jamboard will come with an annual fee of $600, though customers who purchase it by Sept. 30 will be able to see the annual fee reduced by half to $300.
The Jamboard will come with a free wall mount, along with two stylus pens and an eraser. Extra pieces of the stylus and the eraser will cost $9.99 each.
The Google Jamboard will be released in May, with a gradual rollout to other regions around the world afterward.
What Is The Google Jamboard For?
A price tag of $4,999 is very steep, but the Jamboard was not designed to be used for personal purposes. Instead, the device is created to be used by enterprise customers for digital collaboration.
The Jamboard is connected to the internet, and starts off as blank space that users can write or draw anything on using its stylus. In addition to functioning as a digital whiteboard, users will be able to access collaborative tools, including pulling in files stored in the Google Drive. Users can then write on the Jamboard once all the materials that they need are placed on it, with everything that they do stored in the cloud servers of Google. This allows for users from other locations to access the same content on the Jamboard at once.
The Jamboard features a 55-inch 4K ultra high-definition display with a 120 Hz touch scan rate and a 60 Hz video refresh rate. The device can recognize up to 16 simultaneous touch points, and is capable of recognizing handwriting and shapes. The Jamboard also comes with a built-in 2K telepresence camera, along with speakers and microphones to allow users from different locations to see and talk to each other.
Google Jamboard vs. Microsoft Surface Hub
With the announcement of the price tag of the Google Jamboard, it is now known to be much cheaper than the Microsoft Surface Hub, a device with similar uses that was released in 2015 with an $8,999 price tag.
While the specifications of the Google Jamboard and the Microsoft Surface Hub play as factors in determining whether a company should purchase one over another, the primary reason would probably be whether the business has invested into Google's G Suite or Microsoft's Office 365.
Microsoft has long maintained strong presence among enterprise customers, but with recent advancements being made for its G Suite, it seems that Google is making significant process in the space.
