????谷歌公司（Google）最近推出的硬件產品是定價999美元的Chromebox for Meetings設備。谷歌稱，較之現(xiàn)有的電話會議和視頻會議系統(tǒng)，比如思科（Cisco）的網(wǎng)真（TelePresence）以及寶利通（Polycom）的遠真（RealPresence），Chromebox是一種更低價、更簡便的替代方案。新款Chromebox可允許15人同時參與某個視頻會議，與會者只需使用Gmail賬號登陸，無需另外的密碼或PIN碼。

????Chromebox于上周四在谷歌總部的一次媒體活動中發(fā)布，隨后就開始在美國市場上發(fā)售。之后，《財富》雜志（Fortune）采訪了谷歌負責Chromebook產品管理的副總裁凱撒?森古塔，以了解谷歌進軍視頻會議市場的緣由，以及他為什么認為Chromebox優(yōu)于視頻會議市場上現(xiàn)有的產品。

????《財富》：你們?yōu)槭裁窗l(fā)布這樣一個產品？

????森古塔：與遍布各地的分支機構聯(lián)合辦公是目前企業(yè)運營的一大趨勢，不過，我們現(xiàn)在使用的通訊工具仍然是些老古董。絕大部分會議室的硬件設備看起來和25年前沒什么兩樣。古老的電話會議依然在唱主角。所以，我們覺得，如果能用當下最先進的科技設備武裝我們的辦公室，企業(yè)的運營效率一定會大幅提升。

????能否詳細談談你們的新產品？

????我們希望在方寸會議室里展示谷歌服務的強大力量。從你預定會議室的那一刻起，谷歌就會全盤接手。當你站在會議室外時，想知道它到底是否已經(jīng)被預定？當你給同事做演示時，想不想擺脫各類適配器的困擾，一鍵搞定；面對面的交談一定是你最夢寐以求的體驗?，F(xiàn)在，谷歌把最成熟的技術以最平易近人的價格帶到你面前。一套超清視頻會議系統(tǒng)只需要不到1000美元。（套裝包括一部全新的Chromebox主機、遙控器、高清攝像頭以及集成麥克風和揚聲器的通話器。整套硬件設備售價999美元，此外，用戶還需每年支付250美元的服務費。用戶購買設備后將免費贈送一年服務。）

????谷歌為什么進入會議系統(tǒng)市場？

????谷歌以解決重大問題為己任?，F(xiàn)在，我們發(fā)現(xiàn)會議系統(tǒng)領域一直停滯不前。只有那些非常高端的會議設備才有所創(chuàng)新。我們認為， （Chrome）平臺極具創(chuàng)新性，能顛覆整個會議系統(tǒng)市場。

????但視頻會議市場上不是早就有更便宜、更簡單的解決方案了嗎？這個市場不是已經(jīng)飽和了嗎？

????沒有。稍作了解就會發(fā)現(xiàn)，視頻會議市場上兩極分化嚴重：大家要么得花大價錢購買高端系統(tǒng)；要么就只能東拼西湊自行解決。而在后一種情況下，視頻會議的畫質和音質都不理想。而且可能只限于公司的網(wǎng)絡。因此我們發(fā)現(xiàn)了這個市場空白。只需Chromebox這一個盒子，就能輕松解決視頻會議問題，無需進行后端設置，也沒有什么奇奇怪怪的硬件要正確配置。Chromebox中一切都配合得天衣無縫。我們曾經(jīng)在谷歌內部四處尋找這樣的視頻會議解決方案，結果都無功而返。現(xiàn)在，有些公司已經(jīng)在試用Chromebox。對視頻會議解決方案的需求高得驚人。許多人都想要Chromebox。（財富中文網(wǎng)）

????譯者：項航

????The latest piece of hardware from Google (GOOG) is Chromebox for Meetings, a $999 kit that the company says is a cheaper, simpler alternative to existing teleconferencing and videoconferencing systems like Cisco's TelePresence (CSCO) and Polycom's RealPresence (PLCM). Up to 15 participants can join a video meeting using the new Chromebox, simply by logging in with a Gmail account -- no other passwords or PINs necessary.

????The product was unveiled at a press event at the company's headquarters on Thursday morning, and is available immediately in the U.S.. Afterward, Fortune caught up with Caesar Sengupta, vice president of product management for Google's Chromebooks, to find out why the company wants in on this business, and why he thinks its product is superior to others already on the market.

????Fortune: Why are you launching this?

????Sengupta: We spend a lot more time working with distributed offices these days, but the methods and means we use to communicate have stayed the same. Most meeting rooms look the same as they've looked for the last 25 years. We still use audioconferencing. We thought, how much nicer would it be if we were able to apply a lot of the things we've learned over the years in this space?

????Describe the new product. What is it exactly and what does it do?

????We're trying to bring all the power of Google services to a meeting room. It all starts with how do you book a meeting room? If you're standing outside a meeting room, how do you know if it's available? How do you present to your colleagues without fighting for adapters? How do you have a fantastic experience that's face to face? We can bring very sophisticated technology at prices that anyone can buy. You can get a very high-quality videoconferencing system for less than $1,000. [The kit includes a new Chromebox, remote control, high-definition camera and a combined microphone and speaker unit. In addition to the hardware cost of $999, there is also an annual $250 subscription cost for the service, though the first year's fee is waived -- Ed.]

????Why does Google want to play in this space?

????At Google we look at big problems to solve. In this case we looked at the meeting room space that hasn't had much innovation. The only innovation has happened at the very, very high end of the market. We thought we could bring something very innovative that's game-changing in this space on top of this [Chrome] platform.

????But aren't there already cheaper, simpler videoconferencing solutions out there? Isn't this an already saturated market?

????No, because if you talk to companies you find that there are two extremes in this space: You either have these high-end systems, or you have to mix and match and put together your own solution. When you do that you don't get the right quality and the right audio. And it might be limited to your network. So we found this gap. This is a meeting in a box. There's no back-end to set up, no funky hardware to configure in the right way. Everything that comes in the box just works seamlessly. As we looked around and tried to do this internally, for Google, we didn't find any solution that solved this problem. Now we have a number of companies already testing this out, and the demand in this space has been absolutely staggering. It was amazing how many people wanted this.