Skip to main content

Google’s Jamboard to begin competing with Microsoft’s Surface Hub in May

Google's Jamboard will pull your teams together, no matter where they are

Microsoft’s Surface Hub collaborative whiteboard has been available for purchase since July 2015, with 55-inch and 80-inch models actually shipping in March 2016. The Surface Hub has sold more units than Microsoft expected, and Google decided to jump into that market with its own whimsically named Jamboard announced in October 2016.

The Jamboard was originally expected to cost $6,000 for a 55-inch model when it shipped sometime in 2017. Google announced at its Google Cloud Next ’17 event that the Jamboard will arrive in May 2017, and will actually be priced at $5,000, as Engadget reported. Today, May 23, 2017, Google announced that the Jamboard is available for purchase in the U.S. for $4,999.

Recommended Videos

Google’s whiteboard uses a 55-inch display at 4K (4,096 x 2,160) resolution, with a soft-touch plastic touchscreen panel capable of picking up 16 touch points at once with support for an optional Bluetooth rubber-tipped stylus. That’s a higher resolution than the 55-inch Surface Hub’s Full HD (1,920 x 1,080), but Microsoft’s product supports 100 touch points at a time. The Jamboard is available in three colors; cobalt blue, carmine red, and graphite grey.

Introducing Jamboard

The Jamboard connects via HDMI and sports a built-in camera, speakers, and wheeled custom stand for customers who don’t opt to mount the whiteboard. Google has also packed in Chromecast support, meaning the Jamboard can easily mirror a remote device’s screen or stream content from YouTube, Netflix, and other Chromecast-enabled apps and services. Customer feedback compelled Google to add additional secure Wi-Fi network configurations, and Google implemented the Nvidia Jetson TXI embedded computer to ensure a more responsive touchscreen experience.

Android is at the heart of the Jamboard, although it’s a highly customized version that’s been optimized for the whiteboard’s large display and collaborative features. Add-on functionality includes “jam session” whiteboard spaces allowing users to sketch, draw, type, and scribble with handwriting recognition on or off. Images can be imported, a miniature web browser is available, and Jamboards can connect and communicate to enable multiple users to sketch from multiple locations.

Of course, collaboration is at the heart of the Jamboard. Google Hangouts provides chat capabilities, and iOS and Android apps let coworkers view sessions as well as add photos, drawings, and sticky notes. The G Suite productivity apps area also integrated, and a G Suite plan is required to use the Jamboard.

Google is offering some add-ons for the Jamboard as well. There is an annual management and support fee that is $300 a year if purchased before September 30, 2017 and $600 a year afterward. A rolling stand accessory is also available to make the Jamboard a more portable solution, and that has a promotional price of $1,199 through September 30, 2017 and then $1,349 thereafter. The Jamboard will be available to G Suite customers in the U.S. first and then will roll out to the U.K. and Canada over the summer with other countries getting the solution over time.

With cloud services growing by leaps and bounds, and organizations obviously attracted to digital whiteboard solutions that allow teams to work together across global distances, whiteboard solutions like the Jamboard and Microsoft’s Surface Hub are becoming popular. Now, Google will be able to take Microsoft on directly in this increasingly lucrative space.

Updated on 5-23-2017 by Mark Coppock: Indicated that the product is now available for purchase in the U.S. and clarified a few technical points.

Mark Coppock
Mark Coppock is a Freelance Writer at Digital Trends covering primarily laptop and other computing technologies. He has…
An even better Surface Laptop may be coming soon
The Surface Laptop 7th Edition on a white table.

A new leak has hinted that Microsoft may be exploring an Intel version of the Surface Laptop 7th Edition. A listing for the device was spotted on Reddit, and it will supposedly coming with a Core Ultra 7 268V processor. The listing has since been removed, but the original listing reportedly claimed that it wouldn't officially be available until 2025.

A Lunar Lake version of the new Surface Laptop has since been supported by Windows Central's own sources.

Read more
Microsoft Word vs. Google Docs
A person using a laptop that displays various Microsoft Office apps.

For the last few decades, Microsoft Word has been the de facto standard for word processors across the working world. That's finally starting to shift, and it looks like one of Google's productivity apps is the heir apparent. The company's Google Docs solution (or to be specific, the integrated word processor) is cross-platform and interoperable, automatically syncs, is easily shareable, and perhaps best of all, is free.

However, using Google Docs proves it still has a long way to go before it can match all of Word's features -- Microsoft has been developing its word processor for over 30 years, after all, and millions still use Microsoft Word. Will Google Docs' low barrier to entry and cross-platform functionality win out? Let's break down each word processor in terms of features and capabilities to help you determine which is best for your needs.
How does each word processing program compare?
To put it lightly, Microsoft Word has an incredible advantage over Google Docs in terms of raw technical capability. From relatively humble beginnings in the 1980s, Microsoft has added new tools and options in each successive version. Most of the essential editing tools are available in Google Docs, but users who are used to Word will find it limited.

Read more
Microsoft Surface Pro vs. Microsoft Surface Laptop: mainstream battle
The edge of the Surface Pro 11.

Since releasing the original Surface tablet in 2012, Microsoft has grown its PC business into a multibillion-dollar enterprise. The mobile Surface line has expanded to include 2-in-1 and traditional clamshell laptops in various form factors. There's the Surface Pro 11, Surface Laptop 7, Surface Laptop Go 3, and Surface Laptop Studio 2. That's quite the lineup, and you'll find a Surface on a number of our best-of lists such as best tablets and best laptops.

The two most mainstream lines, though, are the Surface Pro 11 and the Surface Laptop 7. Each has its strengths and weaknesses, and you'll want to keep them in mind if you're looking for a Surface and choosing between the two.
Specs and configurations

Read more