I don't get why this is so expensive. What's the $250 a year get me?
I'm used to Chromeboxes costing about $300, and web cams cost about $100 for an awesome one. So, $400 makes sense to me...?
I'm used to Chromeboxes costing about $300, and web cams cost about $100 for an awesome one. So, $400 makes sense to me...?
$250/yr. isn't even pocket change - it's lint relative to the price of a Tandberg set up.
I recognize that Camera as a Logitech ($90) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ATTIPZO?tag=thepartim-20&camp=0...
and that mic is a Jabra Speak 410 ($85) http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004ELA7TA?ie=UTF8&camp=213...
And that remote looks like the one that comes with a Google TV ($40).
We know the ASUS Box starts at under $200.
I'll cut you a deal and sell it to you for $500?
The only motivation I can see is: "well the competition charges a hefty recurring fee, so why shouldn't we", but then the competition isn't doing all that well for this reason. I see a lot of resemblance to Cisco's "Umi" product, which had a $25/mo fee as well, and was a total flop.
Most companies prefer to actually have a support plan, because if they don't, the alternative is to pay their own people to fix them, and it's usually cheaper to not pay someone full-time to have expertise in that area.
This is a business-focused product offering.
Note that this isn't very unusual either at most companies. Given the low failure rate of most electronics, it is simply cheaper for the business/IT team to buy a replacement Mac / router / whatever than to pay any kind of yearly maintenance fee, which is always designed to make more money for the vendor.
$250/year for a $999 piece of equipment is not a good deal. If it were an option, like AppleCare, most would advise you to not take it.
Despite that, I'd be very leery about purchasing this, as Google doesn't have a reputation for stellar support, or even _reachable_ support.