Is that better?

edit: To explain, I think how they expect you to experience the website is: http://www.google.com/intl/en/chrome/devices/ (from www.google.com/chromeos)

http://www.google.com/intl/en/chrome/devices/features.html

http://www.google.com/intl/en/chrome/devices/features-key.ht...

http://www.google.com/intl/en/chrome/devices/features-device...

http://www.google.com/intl/en/chrome/devices/chromebox.html

So, we're looking at a relatively deep link, which assumes the reader has been shown the main OS features and is looking for which specific product to buy. That said, I agree that this page doesn't do much except show pretty pictures and throw out a few tech specs, and won't sell the product on its own.

When I search Google for chromebox the first result is the link that was submitted. I concur: it is a terrible landing page for a product. Consider the first page results for things like macbook, ipad, or mac mini and you can see where the failure lies. They do, after all, have control of search results, don't they?

http://www.apple.com/iphone/ vs https://www.google.com/intl/en/chrome/devices/chromebox.html

I'd say Google's doing a better job.

Hope that helps?

McDonald's sells the most burgers in the world, that definitely means it's the best in everything burger-related right?

Why not specifying what processor and hardware is in the box ?

That being said, it's a 1.9ghz Celeron CPU. That can give negative connotations since Celeron is Intel's cheap line of processors.

They're very different machines, with very different goals. If you compare the components, then yes, it probably doesn't make any sense for you to get a Chromebox. If you look at the features they both have, then it might make more sense.

If I were buying a machine for my grandmother, I'd buy the Chromebox over your $377 desktop, in a heartbeat.

"Go fast". The set top Androids are also pretty fast. Also, as someone said, who reboots these days? (though it's a selling point for a media player replacement)

"Stream HD movies without a hitch", ok, that's a selling point, though my cheap Android phone does well enough on "good enough" quality, so I'd expect the Android set top boxes or equivalents to do just as well.

"Go straight online to creating, sharing and enjoying. Chrome devices come with built-in apps for editing photos, creating documents and presentations, and video chat, so you can get everyday tasks done right out of the box."

Ok, though the Android boxes do that too.

"Google+ Hangouts. You can also integrate multiple chat accounts with apps like imo or eBuddy. "

Not a selling point for me (what is a Hangout?)

Edit: I tried explaining myself. Why the downvote instead of a rebuttal? (I can accept those)

Examples of Android set top boxes (the first one has 4 GB):

http://www.dealextreme.com/p/google-android-2-2-hdmi-tv-set-...

http://www.dealextreme.com/p/mele-1080p-android-2-3-internet...

They were featured recently by a local supermarket chain.

I mean, the sales pitch for the Chromebox is: surf the internet, stream movies and use some apps...

My point was it's like saying you don't understand why Apple sells the Mac Mini when the Apple TV is only $99.

Google TV (aka Logitech Revue, Sony Internet TV, LG Smart TV). They've been at your local Best Buy type store for years.

They're Android 3.0 STBs, or in the case of the Smart TVs starting to come out, built into the TV.

(LG has announced GoogleTV/Android support, and showed samples at CES this year but AFAIK isn't shipping them yet).

The LG TV with Google TV (Android) has been available for ~5 months at least. Amazon started selling it in February.

Right-click on the comment, choose "Inspect Element", and delete it.

And of course the same could be done with any modern browser's inspector.

If specs help sell the things, by all means Google should include them. Whether they are "relevant" or not.

Also note that the info that it is _not_ an Intel Atom CPU is highly relevant IMO, because the Atom is slow as molasses.

Apple is great at identifying context. A lot of people don't realize that Apple does "sell specifications", because they're mostly exposed to Apple's advertising, which rarely uses specification. However, when you get to their website, they recognize that you're probably looking for more detail. That shows an understanding of context.

There's another contextual difference they play as well. Have a look at their pages for traditional computing hardware, then have a look at their pages for iOS devices.

Traditional computers:

http://www.apple.com/macbookpro/

http://www.apple.com/macmini/

iOS:

http://www.apple.com/iphone/

http://www.apple.com/ipodtouch/

http://www.apple.com/ipad/

Notice the difference in pitch? There are even identifiable differences in the iPhone/iPod Touch and iPad pages. Which one is closer to a traditional computing device? The iPad. Which page is more specification oriented? The iPad.

A lot of lip service is given to Apple's avoidance of specification, but I think too many people treat it as a black & white scenario: you either do talk about specification, or you don't. Like many stereotypes, this focuses on the wrong distinction. It's not a matter of do or don't, but a matter of when and why. Specification isn't the best way to get customers interested in your product, but once the customer is in the door, you do need to be prepared to communicate the specifications clearly and in a relatable way. Apple is very adept at identifying that transition and guiding the customer on their way to a sale.

"What does your phone have?" "Oh yeah, it's got Mega megapixels."

This http://www.apple.com/mac/ is equivalent to https://www.google.com/intl/en/chrome/devices/

You have to click "Explore", then the "Devices" tab and then on the Chromebox image. Or you have specifically click "Chromebox" in the top-menu.

Using a deeplink and complaining it provides no general information about the whole ecosystem is imho a little bit silly.

Let's talk about the base url: https://www.google.com/intl/en/chrome/devices/ that's bad. It should have its own domain.

Instead of listing how much it can compute, they talk about how big it is (x inches by y inches by z inches), relative speed improvements (which aren't useful since the consumer may have no idea how slow or fast the prior one is), lots of specs around the price (price is a specification), what kind of I/O it has (thunderbolt), the processor (just not the Ghz), the graphics part (just not which model, but strangely they list the CPU speed over there -- and of course it's the rated speed for the more expensive model) then some generic statements about which Apple software you can run on it.

But because some people still want to have an idea of what it can compute they still offer

http://www.apple.com/macmini/specs.html

I'm not particularly interested in either device, but it's clear that Google's sales page is almost a copy of Apples page.

What I took offense at was the suggestion that the specs are irrelevant and by consequence should not be shown _at all_.

(Also note that on my screen, the "fold" is below the Core i5/i7, Radeon HD and Thunderbolt blurbs. Meanwhile even above that, it emphasises "2x faster processors", "Thunderbolt I/O", "upgradeable memory", as well as physical size and software.)

I really would like to know 'what' a Chromebox does as opposed to 'how' it does it. Whereas with a Mac product I'm more interested in the 'how'.

Early adopters will be techies. It's OK to be geeky at this stage.

They can dumb-it-down later.

Reminded me of this: http://www.theonion.com/video/sony-releases-new-stupid-piece...

I've completely forgotten that Chromebooks even exist because I've never heard of anyone buying one.

Sell me a story! Tell me why my life is going to be better with it.

Those are not details that techies want. It is clearly extolling the mythical Apple advertising (the one where they aren't talking about quad core GPUs and retina displays and 5MP "iSight" cameras) that, supposedly, is lifestyle focused.

The first sentence describes this as a device not a computer. This seems like a poor choice, as is that the page mentions the word 'computer' not once.

"The Chromebox is a fast, compact home or office device." That means nothing to me.

Fast, compact device used in homes and offices. A microwave maybe? Or maybe a novel type of stapler?

Exactly, this is why I always tell people that if you let technical people run companies you'll run into huge failures like you see with companies like Google and Facebook.

However, putting the specs up front and not under the specs tab (which is strangely almost empty) is poor. The overview should be pushed up to the top and expanded upon a la Apple's products pages.

Even with all the specs, there's one I care about that's not on here, how much can I store on the device? All the USB ports aren't doing me any good if I can't jam my photos or some movies onto it.

I think you're completely missing the point of ChromeOS. You're not supposed to jam photos or movies onto it. It's a web browser in box. Google Docs/Drive, Youtube, Picasa. These are all available on the first boot. Ford doesn't advertise how far their cars can go when driven off a cliff because it's a car, not an airplane. You can't fault them for that.

I suspect both of those users care a little bit more about the tech specs than an average user.

The only clear thing is that you plug mouse/keyboard/monitor in it, but that's it. I'm not sure what exactly that "device" is and does.

> The Chromebox is a fast, compact home or office device.

Oh, I see. It must be a printer.

I bet it makes a mean espresso, though.

I noticed that it conveniently comes with a remote desktop utility.. you know, in case you want to do something other than use Gmail or Google Docs with it. And you're too comfortable in your chair to just go to your real computer.

Does it do anything different?

I'm in tech and I don't know anything about Chrome OS, and I wouldn't buy even if I had disposable income (and I do want a media player/home theater PC someday). Heck, I could probably buy an equivalent Windows-based HTPC for a similar price.

See http://s.dealextreme.com/search/android+set+top or alibaba prices.

Edit: once again, why the downvote? Also, I showed it to my coworkers, one of them was quite receptive to the Chromebox.

For example, does it have enough USB to accommodate a mouse/keyboard as well as an external disk and a digital camera?

Can I plug it into my Monitor and my HDTV at the same time?

Or does it have sufficient oomph to run HD video or graphically intensive games?

At this point google will be targeting early adopters who will be more tech savvy, and also hoping that they recommend it to their family and friends.

Until we can offload close to 100% of our computing to the server, specifications for client side machines will still be relevant.

Every ad doesn't need to ape Apple, you know.

Here's an image:

http://images.amazon.com/images/G/01/electronics/samsung/sam...