Could Chromebox for Meetings change business videoconferencing?

Introduction

Simplicity tends to rule the day in the business world. Give workers a complex app or piece of hardware and they will refuse to use it. A copier will sit idle in a hallway if it has confusing functions no one understands, but put a big bright green "copy" button on the corner and people will flock to it in droves. Make your employee expense report tool on a corporate intranet site a simple "click here" affair where they attach a spreadsheet and staff will use it routinely.

That's what's so impressive about the Dell Chromebox for Meetings computer. Designed to replace expensive on-premise videoconferencing suites for a small conference room, the computer is about the size of two decks of cards.

Dead simple

There's one USB-connected video camera, a high-quality speaker and microphone that sits at the centre of the table, a remote control, and not much else. When you boot up the Dell Chromebox for Meetings and login, you'll see nothing but a Google Hangouts app running in full screen. There's no browser. You create a room, invite participants, and can start talking. It's intuitive and easy to use.

The simplicity is an obvious focus for this new platform designed by Google. (Asus also makes a similar Chromebox for Meetings computer – both that model and the Dell cost about US$999, or around £625, AU$1,160. We expect to see more PC makers roll out similar computers with help from Google). It's unlikely anyone from IT will need to get overly involved.

You plug in the USB devices, attach to a Wi-Fi network, and login with a corporate Gmail account. A Google for Work account is ideal if you want to share work calendars. The Chromebox also includes 10 free Google Apps accounts. Otherwise, companies pay a low monthly fee per Google Apps user. If you have a personal Gmail account, you can still use it for scheduling purposes but not as the primary login.

There's no other setup process because the computer is preconfigured to work with the attached accessories and only runs Google Hangouts. Admins or end-users can press CTRL-ALT-S during the boot process to enter a normal Chrome OS mode with a browser.

During a videoconference, you can use the remote to end the call, mute the audio, or select a few of the basic options on the screen, such as starting a new video conference or ending the chat. Flip the remote over, and there's a full QWERTY keyboard, but it's not necessary.

Of course, you do need your own HDTV for connecting the Dell Chromebox for Meetings. Most companies have one available already, especially if you are replacing an existing on-premise videoconferencing system. The computer can connect over HDMI or DisplayPort. You can also attach the computer to a corporate LAN using an included Ethernet cable.

Flawless performance

In several test calls, the entire system worked flawlessly. The 720p video for calls looked crisp and smooth with no stuttering problems. (The camera is capable of 1080p video if you want to use it with a different setup). The smooth video is partly due to the low overhead on the computer, which boots directly into Google Hangouts, and partly due to the high quality Logitech webcam which attaches to the top of the monitor using an included brace.

The computer itself can be mounted to a wall using an included bracket. The speaker also picked up voices in a small room and is omni-directional so you don't have to speak in one direction. The "wideband" frequency response means voices sounded clear and full, not muffled as they would on a Skype video call that uses too much compression, or a low-bandwidth internet call.

The Intel Core i7 processor also helps, especially to make sure the platform works reliably and without any lag. In a true videoconferencing suite at a large company, made by a company like Cisco or Lifesize, the one clear benefit is that the system has no lag. The idea is to reduce travel expenses when people decide to talk "virtually" rather than in person.

If you use Skype or a tool like Join.Me, you can mimic the same functionality of a videoconferencing suite but there might be bugs, latency issues, crashes, or other frustrations. By using a faster i7 (Haswell) processor and booting directly into Hangouts, the Dell Chromebox for Meetings runs fast enough to make sure there are no hiccups. Indeed, after several calls, there were no hints that the Chromebox would start acting like a Chromebook, which are notorious for running too slow and without enough RAM to accommodate full business apps in the browser.

Admin controls

On the back-end, admins might not have to do the Chromebox for Meetings install in the conference room, but they still have full control over how it works. Using the admin page, they can pick the room calendar, decide whether the device can call outside phone numbers, name the device, manage network options, and manage multiple devices.

Users also gain some control. Once the "room" for the Chromebox for Meetings is live, anyone can then schedule a meeting in Google Calendar for that room. They can add participants which can include any Google Hangouts user or other Chromebox for Meetings rooms.

When they do schedule the room, two things happen. One is that everyone can see the room is scheduled, which helps avoid double-bookings. Secondly, when they go to the actual room and use the Chromebox, the meeting will be listed on the screen. To start the conference, the meeting organiser can just start the new meeting and kick things off.

Again, this simplicity of scheduling and holding meetings is what makes the device so appealing. It fits within the ecosystem of a company that already relies on Gmail and other Google apps. (Those in a Microsoft ecosystem can still use the system, but don't expect it to link directly into Outlook or any of the Microsoft server products. It still requires Google at Work. You can use an Outlook plug-in to schedule and participate in meetings, however).

Of course, the system also requires all participants to use the Google ecosystem, but you can mix and match Hangouts users from the corporate accounts and consumer accounts.

Major potential

Overall, Dell Chromebox for Meetings is designed to make videoconferencing easier, faster, smoother, and more reliable than a mere desktop video chat. There's no question it could change how business videoconferencing works, as long as companies are willing to stick with Google Hangouts as the main conferencing platform.

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