Google gouges as Chromebox hits NZ

Google’s Australian-written “New Zealand” blog gushes about the company’s Chromebox for meetings. The device is officially on sale here from today.

The product includes Asus Chromebox hardware, a camera, a microphone and a remote control. It uses the Chrome operating system, Google Hangouts and Google Apps.

Google bravely tries to convince New Zealanders the product is good value:

…That means for the same price that companies have typically paid for one meeting room, they’ll be able to outfit 10 rooms.

Which may be true if you usually splash out on gold-plated kit. However, the New Zealand deal is nothing like as good as the one Google gives its American customers.

Google’s New Zealand price for Chromebox is NZ$1700. This compares with the US price of US$1000 — NZ$1160. Even allowing for 15 percent GST, that means there is a mark up of nearly 30 percent.

Video conferencing is set to take off in New Zealand as fibre rolls out around the country, would you choose Google’s Chromebox over the alternatives at this price?