In the late 90's we saw a shift from brick-and-mortar stores to online-only stores. It seems like you just can't do some things (like hard sells) with online-only stores. I think this decade is going to find a good balance between online and b&m stores.
I think it is especially true with things you need to "play with" before you make a decision to buy - e.g. keyboards (and other input devices), tablets, phones, watches, etc.
Companies that have or are starting to have b&m presences again: Apple, Google, Microsoft, SparkFun (yay, Microcenter!), RadioShack (the good-old RadioShack from the 80s and 90s, not upsell-the-phone RS. Still holding my breath for this one). Fry's was one of the survivors because it understood the need for customer-product interaction (imho), even though it did decline in customer service quality, which is a result of the race to the bottom price against internet-only stores.
They get better up to the point where you have to reinstall Windows because everything's turned to sludge. Frankly I suspect the same thing's happening to my MacBook too. I can't prove it, but it sure feels slower than when I bought it.
If Chromebooks can solve this problem, whatever the root of the problem may be, then maybe they're onto something.
Okay, I mean some automatic updating software is bad. Adobe's is very annoying, and Windows Update frequently requires rebooting. But some are great -- like Chrome! On a Mac, probably the best thing about the app store is that it consolidates all my software updates (well, not all of them yet) into one place. So the UX is lacking in some places, but it's getting better, and I certainly don't agree with quote's implication that automatic updating doesn't exist on PCs or that software updates don't (in the majority of cases) keep adding value to a PC over time.
PCs undoubtedly get slower over time. OSx is way better in that respect but based on the data collected in our office Ubuntu kicks the ass of both OSx and Windows. Those using Ubuntu here have suffered no slow down in two years. I guess that this selling point will ring very true with consumers. I also imagine that google will continue to autoupdate (for free) the OS and, being Linux based, it is more likely to work just as well in 2 years (as our Ubuntu installs).
Chrome OS has a far more rapid development cycle vs. Windows and OSX (feature/performance releases come with weeks instead of months/years); and the updates themselves require next to zero thought. Worst case scenario: even if you never shut it off and ignore the update blip, you'll run out of battery eventually (at which point you're updated when you plug it back in).
The Chromebook has another advantage related to automatic software updates: by focusing on web apps, it ensures most apps are up-to-date (since web apps, due to the distribution medium, always use the latest version).
The difference between US and UK culture is jarring. In the U.S. if we don't like something we just shrug our shoulders and walk away. In the UK they openly decry the product's existence. And their politicians love to verbally spar. Here politicians passive-aggressively don't clap during state of the union speeches. I love it.
In the UK they openly decry the product's existence.
You must be joking. The British are probably the most adept at quietly suffering, lest it come across as inappropriate (except when it comes to the weather). Americans are far more honest and loud-mouthed about problems.
On the contrary I am often reminded by the Pink Floyd line 'Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way' when I think about the culture in the UK.
From what I've seen people in the UK try to be very 'proper' about everything - often when they don't even mean it. That's what causes all the differences in culture between the UK and other European countries like Germany.
Although, this is the Government that promoted the slogan 'Keep calm and carry on'[1] many many years ago.
Why is Google so careful with opening more stores like this?
It seems pretty clear that such stores are extremely good at selling products to your average customer. Why not open dozens, even hundreds of them, all over the world?
I'm sure they will. This is a trial store, and I bet they will see it become very successful. We know Google is a data-loving company that tests things quietly, sees what works and what doesn't, and move forward with promising projects.
I wouldn't be surprised to see Google stores rocking Motorola phones, tablets, etc popping up over the next few years. They're in no rush, I'm sure: retail and customer service is not their strong point and they're making plenty of money without the stores right now. But the time will come.
It's not that simple -- this can quickly turn into a PR nightmare. If you read the article, the consumer reaction is largely negative. If they were to open stores around the world, it would be incredibly detrimental to Google's brand because the average consumer will not understand the value proposition of the Chromebooks.
Personally, I don't think the value proposition is high for the consumer right now. The value largely lies with enterprise, where company's want computer to do specific functions with increased security and lower IT costs.
Chromebook's claim to fame (or primary selling point) of 8 second boot-up is very gimmicky to me. People never hard power off their tablets and never need to for most notebooks. If they are, that's a usability issue they're having with the OS, not a limitation.
A fairer comparison is time to resume from standby. But then, Chromebook will have to push their other selling points.
I agree with you as well. Most people put their machines on standby or hibernate, eliminating most of Chromebook's competitive advantage.
Honestly, I don't see Chromebooks becoming very successful mainly due to price. For the same price of a Chromebook, one can buy a notebook that is much more powerful.
Instead I think Google should sell (or even more ambitiously give out) Chromebooks at a loss to have people use their cloud-based services. (Much like what Amazon is doing with their Kindle Fire). Unfortunately, if they were going to do this, they would have a long time ago.
I think the Chromebook will eventually go the way of the Zune. Late to market and eventually cancelled.
“It’s so limited!” the man in his 20′s was saying while sitting in front of one of the Samsung Chromebook Series 5 devices, and idly playing with the clickable trackpad. He was saying this to two friends that had crowded around the device and a staff member who was managing to stay calm while defending the Chromebook’s existence. “For 350 quid [Brit-speak for pounds] you can get so much more.”
He looked up at the staff member and asked, hopefully, “Is this going to have iTunes?”
“No.”
“See what I mean!” he cried.
“There’s Grooveshark,” one of the friends piped up.
“All I’m saying is it’s a computer for solely online purposes. Why? You could just buy a netbook and install Chrome on it.” He gesticulated at the screen. “It’s just a shell with Internet.”
I think it is especially true with things you need to "play with" before you make a decision to buy - e.g. keyboards (and other input devices), tablets, phones, watches, etc.
Companies that have or are starting to have b&m presences again: Apple, Google, Microsoft, SparkFun (yay, Microcenter!), RadioShack (the good-old RadioShack from the 80s and 90s, not upsell-the-phone RS. Still holding my breath for this one). Fry's was one of the survivors because it understood the need for customer-product interaction (imho), even though it did decline in customer service quality, which is a result of the race to the bottom price against internet-only stores.