Doing a Google search I saw an ad that said “Google Chrome books are coming”. On June 15 no less. Okay so apparently I totally missed this.
So I’m like what the heck is this all about and of course I clicked and behold I saw this landing page for Google Chrome books (http://www.google.com/chromebook/#features) ala a nexus phone landing page type of look. So I look through the landing page and see that this chrome book is all packed full of features but the main crux of it is it’s basically a cloud computer which allows you to compute completely in the cloud. All files, software, etc would be in the cloud. The computer would just be a terminal if you will running a Google operating system.
Whoa you got to be kidding me this is a genius idea.
But then I found an article on PC World magazine that was entitled “Chromebook Are Doomed To Fail” (http://www.pcworld.com/article/227916/chromebooks_are_doomed_to_fail.html). The article outlines three reasons why the chrome book will flop. Culture, functionality, and price. Reading this article I was quickly brought back down to earth. The article had some pretty legit points.
The article talks about retraining people basically on how to use a computer and that everything that you do can be done on web. The article points out that the functionality of the chrome book is no better and in some cases not as good as what you can get with comparable netbooks for in most cases a lower price. And then there is of course the obvious what happens when the Internet goes out. And it was this last point that made me really sour on the idea of this chrome book.
Now granted the chrome book has 3G and Wi-Fi capability so if you’re on Wi-Fi you could move over to 3G and in most cases 3G is going to always be reliable unless you’re in a cave or in the mountains somewhere. The drag about that is currently the only 3G option the Chromebook provides is a Verizon 3G package. Additionally you would have to activate a new line and because it’s just data it would probably be 60 bucks a month for a capped amount of data transfer and then incremental costs per Mb over the limit. So now you’re basically paying for Internet access twice because more than likely you’re paying at least that much for Internet at your home. Three times if you include your office. What if you’re not on Verizon? Then you have to deal with a whole new service provider in addition to the one you have now. This doesn’t get me excited about buying a Chromebook.
But then I thought hey wait a minute what if Google offered a chrome book (and a Nexus phone) that ran on a Google network? Think about it. Google has access to wireless spectrum now and they are building out a pilot broadband project. So this idea isn’t far fetched.
Google will be rolling out its superfast hundred times faster than the current Internet Internet in Kansas City a year from now or less than a year from now (http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/147501/20110518/google-fastest-broadbend-internet-missouri-kansas-city-fibre-optic-engineers-reports.htm). Google has said that it won’t be the last market rollout for their superfast broadband.
Earlier this year Google won access to the super Wi-Fi broadband spectrum which is controlled by the FCC. (http://mashable.com/2011/01/28/google-white-space-fcc/ ).By having access to this white space spectrum Google could provide Wi-Fi that had a further reach and better penetration than traditional Wi-Fi signal.
Now imagine maybe 5 years down the road. Google has its own super fast broadband and super WIFI networks. And imagine if they sold a Chromebook or a Nexus phone that ran on these networks; the networks that they control. I can guarantee that Google would have some pretty kick ass reliability, reach, speed that would be extremely attractive to mobile data junkies like myself.
Currently phone companies, cable companies, and wireless providers limit the amount of data that users can have for their data gobbling mobile devices. Oh and did I mention that they charge a premium for these limited data services.
What if Google comes along and says, “Hey buy the nexus or chromebook or both and get a year’s worth of mobile broadband or wireless broadband for free.”? Providing the internet services for free isn’t such a stretch because 5 years from now Google may be saving money powering themselves with alternative energy (http://www.google.com/green/). And of course after using Google’s mobile and wireless broadband for year even three months it’s a no-brainer that users will see how superior their services are in comparison to AT&T, Verizon, Comcast, Cox, Sprint and all the rest and stick with using Google’s Internet service for however much Google is willing charge for it. I would imagine that service would be competitive with all of the other providers. And all Google needs to be is competitive. Do you think if Google can charge the same rate or less for superior broadband and wireless that people would jump on it? I think so. And how hard would that be for consumers to do? The current providers have already trained consumers to accept the business model and encourages them to defect. All Google has to do is come along with a better mousetrap and this idea would be it.
I believe that Google is working towards this idea. From this vantage point the idea is totally doable and seems as if Google is already heading down this road. Keep an eye on this one.