
Jamboard, by Google - kaishiro
https://gsuite.google.com/products/jamboard/
======
dang
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14402380](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14402380)

------
drcode
I've seen about 50 "smart whiteboards" in people's offices in my life. I have
never once seen such a whiteboard being actively used.

I see nothing in the jamboard that suggests it will fare any better.

~~~
kapauldo
Great point, I've seen this too. People want to want this kind of thing but
seldom use it.

------
Sephr
Seems nice, but the the $600/yr fee is outrageous. This is on top of what your
company is already paying for Google Apps.

This is essentially a well-built Chrome OS device with strong Google Apps
integration that also isn't supported by your current Google Apps plan. Oh,
and don't forget the $1200 rolling stand.

~~~
gregpilling
There must have been a 10x developer on that stand, I can't see more than $120
in materials. Makes me think I should be selling stands to Google instead of
the stuff I make now.

~~~
seanp2k2
This is what kind of stand you get for $120:
[https://hecklerdesign.com/windfall-stand-for-ipad-
air](https://hecklerdesign.com/windfall-stand-for-ipad-air)

A TV is much larger and there's more to this than just formed steel. $1200 is
consequently exactly how much this one is as well:
[https://hecklerdesign.com/heckler-av-cart](https://hecklerdesign.com/heckler-
av-cart)

Sure, you can get cheap junk like [https://www.amazon.com/Mount-Factory-
Rolling-Mobile-Screen/d...](https://www.amazon.com/Mount-Factory-Rolling-
Mobile-Screen/dp/B00RH46N6M) , but that would probably fall apart in a week
and isn't meant for a screen being touched all day.
[https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1090879-REG/middle_at...](https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1090879-REG/middle_atlantic_flexview_series_fvs_800sc_wh_single.html)
and
[https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1337848-REG/peerless_...](https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1337848-REG/peerless_av_sr584vl2_smartmount_collaboration_cart_with.html)
are in the same category as this. The target audience is businesses who will
potentially be using it every day fairly heavily for years, not how-cheap-can-
we-make-it home use. In that, it seems to be very much in line with the other
stuff currently on the market, potentially even a good deal for what you get
and how nice it looks.

------
Lazare
Sorry, but I've been burned too many times by side projects from Google that
have then been killed off.

Memo to Google: The google brand is very strong in some areas, but your
actions have rendered it toxic in some specific areas. Continuing to launch
cool things and then killing them off when they don't gain traction is making
this worse, not better.

------
killjoywashere
The US government can't even get wifi in half their spaces and thinks 400 MB/s
is plenty of bandwidth for a major hospital (hint: that doesn't even cover the
contractually required reserves for all the contracted imaging systems). I'll
never see this in my current job. We'll be speaking Chinese before that
happens.

~~~
walterhpdx
Totally agree. I've worked in or with hospitals since the mid 80s, and they
were some of the first connected organizations; Pharmacy and Lab were first to
network, with AP/Patient Accounts coming soon thereafter. And even though
hospitals were early adopters, they still don't think of connectivity or
throughput as a big deal - until everything comes crashing down.

------
pier25
Google should release the software as part of Chrome OS. This way it could be
used in Chrome OS devices connected to projects and screens in meeting rooms
and classrooms. Once the collaborative features become a hit, then sell them
the luxury device.

Otherwise with this ridiculous price it smells like DOA to me.

------
tanilama
Well, this is some of the more interesting ideas recently from Google. But is
this worth the price here? I think take photo of whiteboard is not really a
deal breaker here. It is handy and intuitive.

------
opensports
I looked at my calendar and double checked that it wasn't April 1st when I saw
the fee structure.

------
avirambm
I wonder if this is going to be used instead of a whiteboard in coding
interviews :)

~~~
tanilama
A coding interview should best be done a keyboard...my opinion.

------
busted
I was able to use one of these at Google Next. It's pretty reasonable but I
was still unimpressed. I have a very simple test for drawing applications that
represents something I would do in reality: draw a system diagram with
multiple components by drawing and labeling a couple components, copying them
multiple times, drawing arrows between them as appropriate, and then
rearranging it in a new way.

I very quickly found early limitations of the jamboard like (iirc) not being
able to copy drawings or group text and drawings. I'm sure over time the
programming will get better.

~~~
shusson
I think that's a bit of an unfair comparison, Jamboard looks like a
collaboration tool, essentially a whiteboard with some added features. It's
not a drawing tool for producing pretty diagrams.

------
reilly3000
I would be curious to hear from anybody who has used a Jamboard, Surface hub
or other digital whiteboard in a collaborative setting. Does it get used? More
than the regular whiteboard and cell camera?

~~~
sargun
We have one at work. Everyone looks at it when they come into the room, and
pokes at it. I've never actually seen anyone use it though.

I personally spent maybe 2 minutes trying to get it to work, and gave up out
of frustration and resorted back to the glass board.

------
godzillabrennus
I can see VR/AR being the logical successor of this concept.

Why spend $5k on a new whiteboard when magic leap turns everything into a
smart screen.

~~~
Jtsummers
Because you'd need one per viewer and no good way to handle guests without
going well over the initial $5k budget.

~~~
rob_b
This disadvantage will be one of the largest hurdles to overcome, dependent of
course on the amount of participants and their corresponding access. Once more
mainstream adoption occurs then this could be reevaluated and become a non-
issue but how far away is that?.

~~~
sriku
This hurdle is not very different from people needing to have individual
mobile phones to communicate with each other. Such a distributed requirement
where the device is reusable across multiple contexts and not limited to a
company may result in the costbeing directly borne by individuals. It might
take time, but we've seen this repeatedly happen - the internet, cell phones,
wifi, cameras (ever snap whiteboard pics?)

------
myrandomcomment
So I am now confused. We use Google Hangouts, ah, sorry now Meetings, with a
Chrome box. Hows does this fit in? Do I need this and my current setup or can
this take the place of the current system? It was not clear at all from the
product page.

Google sometimes seems like they toss stuff against a wall to see what sticks
without figuring out how it all goes together.

------
vcool07
$5000 + $600 maintenance fee ? Looks more fit for Billion$$ businesses who
have run out of ideas on what to do with their money.

~~~
shusson
Have you looked at any other competing products?

~~~
dreamcompiler
Yes. Whiteboard+large supply of dry erase markers+cell phone with a camera.
Much cheaper than $5000 and it just freaking works.

~~~
shusson
A whiteboard and a cell phone works, but I think the whole process could work
better.

------
josh2600
I really wanna like it, but I'm honestly really scared to invest both
professionally and emotionally in new Google products. I feel like I've
learned that fire is hot and that I shouldn't count on any new Google product
lest I find myself in a fit of despair as I look for alternatives in a few
years.

Am I just being overly cynical?

~~~
beefsack
It seems like Google has created a chicken and egg problem for themselves.

I won't be willing to take on Google products until they've been around for a
few years and become entrenched, but with people becoming more and more
reluctant to invest into their products it's less likely to happen.

------
ejo3
It also requires a $600 annual support and maintenance fee...

~~~
drivingmenuts
Google does support now?

~~~
rhizome
Fair.

------
cpncrunch
Does this offer any significant benefits over an online collaborative
whiteboard connected to a large monitor?

------
pasbesoin
Seriously?

I don't think Google's quite jumped the shark. But, seriously?

------
caffinatedmonk
Do people really want to import pictures on to whiteboards? I've never needed
to do this. It's usually easy to just draw whatever it is.

~~~
rob_b
While you can import pictures as mentioned, the overall experience seems to be
much more. The primary focus seems to be to encourage collaboration and thus
increase productivity in a geographically dispersed team. This aspect seems
the most attractive from my perspective as a remote employee. Imagine a client
meeting where you'd be able to directly annotate client feedback and improve
the feedback cycle by making realtime changes that can be synchronized across
multiple devices. We already use Google Docs and Sheets heavily in my
environment for the collaboration aspect so this just seems to take it one
step further by providing another outlet.

