There has been buzz about a Google cube, box, or PC soon to debut, and reports seem to indicate that this may be confirmed as soon as this Friday, at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, where Google co-founder Larry Page will make a keynote address. The Los Angeles Times reported that Page would use this opportunity to either reveal the Google Box, or an agreement with a major retailer to sell them.
The system could cost less than $200, since it would run on a proprietary Google operating system, along with the Open Office suite which Google worked on with Sun.
The LA Times report indicated that Google has been in talks with Wal-Mart, who Google wants to be one of the sellers of the new device. The article also said that Bear Stearns analysts have speculated that “Google Cubes” were in development.
These Google Boxes would function as a network computer with added functionality. They would act as a bridge between a TV set and a computer, allowing users to collect and transfer content such as videos, music, and other various items from the Internet, which can then be rendered on computers or TV screens connected to the Google PC.
The main question seems to be how Google will profit off of these boxes. Hardware margins in the PC industry are quite thin, due to Dell’s dominance and the low cost of computer components. So, it would appear that profits derived from the actual hardware are not the primary motivation here.
Google’s recent rollout of Ford Explorer ads on various sites displaying Google AdSense advertising may hold the answer to this question. These ads were priced at a cost per impression (CPM) basis, and not on the typical cost per click (CPC) model. The CPM ads probably cost Ford more than CPC ads. If these ads garnered positive responses and were profitable for both Ford and Google, it would follow that it may be a possibility that CPM ads may be seen on these Google Boxes, and would be the major source of profits derived from these devices.
If Google does indeed unveil this PC system, it will be a source of great interest to see if they will incorporate Wi-Fi technology and their video search into the grand scheme of things. The thought of free pay-TV services, along with users being given the ability to download television shows, may put a cold shiver down the backs of cable and network television executives everywhere.
Sources:
http://www.webpronews.com/
insiderreports/searchinsider/
wpn-49-20060103GoogleBoxMay
SeeCPMAds.html
http://www.bit-tech.net/news/
2006/01/03/google_pc_walmart_
launch/
http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/
?p=2319
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