It only took half a year, but Google’s first take on a digital whiteboard is finally available. Google has started selling the Jamboard in the US for $ 4,999 plus $ 600 per year for management and support ($ 300 if you buy one by the end of September). As before, it’s ultimately a 55-inch 4K display with collaborative cloud features at its heart. So long as you have a G Suite plan, both remote Jamboard and mobile tablet owners can draw and annotate as if they were in the room with you (phone users can follow along and enter data). You can also conduct presentations through Hangouts, and pull any files you need from the range of Google’s apps.
As we mentioned when Google unveiled the Jamboard back in October, it’s really a hardware manifestation of Google’s productivity apps — this is what happens when they all get a dedicated canvas. It’s a way of getting Google’s foot in the boardroom door, and could lure businesses that want an internet-savvy whiteboard but aren’t willing to fork over $ 9,000-plus for Microsoft’s Surface Hub before service costs are involved. You’re not going to have one at home, but it might become a mainstay in your office if you depend on Google and want some long-distance brainstorming.
Source: Google (1), (2)
