• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
TechFortune 500

Google Wants To Sell Businesses Big, Digital Whiteboards

By
Jonathan Vanian
Jonathan Vanian
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Jonathan Vanian
Jonathan Vanian
Down Arrow Button Icon
October 25, 2016, 12:00 PM ET
Google Jamboard
Google JamboardGoogle

Google has a new plan to win corporate customers, and it involves big, digital whiteboards that workers can write and scribble on like they would on old-fashioned whiteboards.

The search giant’s Google Cloud enterprise business unit said Tuesday that it created a 55-inch digital whiteboard called the Jamboard, which comes with two custom stylus pens, a digital eraser, a touch interface, a camera, Wi-Fi connection, speakers, and a 4K resolution.

Resembling a giant tablet device, the Jamboard will sell for $6,000 when it’s available to purchase in early 2017, alongside a wall-mount. A separate, moveable stand for the Jamboard will also be available in 2017, but Google (GOOG) did not say how much it would cost. Additionally models will also be sold at lower prices, but Google did not reveal those devices.

The Jamboard, powered by Google’s Android operating system, is Google’s first big enterprise hardware product to be released since former VMware (VMW) co-founder Diane Greene joined the company last fall to lead its cloud business unit.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter.

Google’s last big enterprise-focused business product it sold to customers was its Search Appliance, a hardware device created in 2002 that businesses could hook into their I.T. infrastructure to search for files and documents. In February, Google sent an email to some of its partners and resellers that it would discontinue the Search Appliance as it shifts to selling other cloud enterprise services, suggesting the product failed to resonate with business users.

The Jamboard is designed to work hand-in-hand with Google’s G Suite, its lineup of business-related apps formerly known as Google Apps for Work, including Docs, (word-processing), Sheets (spreadsheets), and Hangouts (online phone calls and text messaging). Customers must use the Chrome browser if they want to use the Jamboard to access the Internet and grab text or images to add to their digital whiteboard presentations. Plans are in the works to eventually have the device display video, said TJ Varghese, Google’s product manager of the Jamboard.

During a Monday press event in San Francisco, several Google executives demonstrated how workers could use the whiteboard for their meetings, even those in which employees may be in multiple locations, with the help of its Google Hangouts app integration.

Other employees who have Apple (AAPL) iOS or Android tablets can also hook up to the Jamboard and tinker with the board through their devices. As of now, there are no plans for Windows-powered devices, like the Surface Pro, to work with the Jamboard, said Google Cloud Vice President of Apps Prabhakar Raghavan.

Google Jamboard
Google

Microsoft also sells a similar digital whiteboard called the Surface Hub that shares many of Jamboard’s features, like a touch interface, microphones, and a stylus pen. The 55-inch Surface Hub sells for $9,000, while the 84-inch model sells for $22,000.

Google’s Jamboard also has the ability to recognize and clean up people’s handwriting and drawings, by straightening up their lines and circles after they are done scribbling. Users can turn on a feature that can recognize the words written and then convert those words into a computer font.

Still, the Jamboard is in its early days, and it lacks compatibility with current popular work productivity tools like chat app Slack and the cloud document service Box (BOX). Integrations with those enterprise apps will be coming “down the road,” said Varghese.

Additionally, Google created a proprietary file format called a Jam file that will be used to save a customer’s digital whiteboard creations, and can be archived on a customer’s Google Cloud storage account. Google did not say how big the Jam file is.

As of this time, Microsoft (MSFT) Office files like Word docs, Excel Spreadsheets, and Power Point files are not supported. Additionally, the CAD file, a popular file format used by architects, is also not supported. However, customers can export a Jam file to other popular formats, like PDF, so that unsupported products can still access the Jamboard files.

For more about Google, watch Fortune’s video:

“Our approach to this design is to keep it as simple as a whiteboard,” said Varghese.

The product manager said that undisclosed partners helped Google manufacturer the Jamboard, “but it is entirely a Google design.”

About the Author
By Jonathan Vanian
LinkedIn iconTwitter icon

Jonathan Vanian is a former Fortune reporter. He covered business technology, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, data privacy, and other topics.

See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

AIchief executive officer (CEO)
Microsoft AI boss Suleyman opens up about his peers and calls Elon Musk a ‘bulldozer’ with ‘superhuman capabilities to bend reality to his will’
By Jason MaDecember 13, 2025
17 minutes ago
InvestingStock
There have been head fakes before, but this time may be different as the latest stock rotation out of AI is just getting started, analysts say
By Jason MaDecember 13, 2025
6 hours ago
Politicsdavid sacks
Can there be competency without conflict in Washington?
By Alyson ShontellDecember 13, 2025
6 hours ago
InnovationRobots
Even in Silicon Valley, skepticism looms over robots, while ‘China has certainly a lot more momentum on humanoids’
By Matt O'Brien and The Associated PressDecember 13, 2025
8 hours ago
Sarandos
Arts & EntertainmentM&A
It’s a sequel, it’s a remake, it’s a reboot: Lawyers grow wistful for old corporate rumbles as Paramount, Netflix fight for Warner
By Nick LichtenbergDecember 13, 2025
12 hours ago
Oracle chairman of the board and chief technology officer Larry Ellison delivers a keynote address during the 2019 Oracle OpenWorld on September 16, 2019 in San Francisco, California.
AIOracle
Oracle’s collapsing stock shows the AI boom is running into two hard limits: physics and debt markets
By Eva RoytburgDecember 13, 2025
13 hours ago

Most Popular

placeholder alt text
Economy
Tariffs are taxes and they were used to finance the federal government until the 1913 income tax. A top economist breaks it down
By Kent JonesDecember 12, 2025
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Apple cofounder Ronald Wayne sold his 10% stake for $800 in 1976—today it’d be worth up to $400 billion
By Preston ForeDecember 12, 2025
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Success
40% of Stanford undergrads receive disability accommodations—but it’s become a college-wide phenomenon as Gen Z try to succeed in the current climate
By Preston ForeDecember 12, 2025
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
The Fed just ‘Trump-proofed’ itself with a unanimous move to preempt a potential leadership shake-up
By Jason MaDecember 12, 2025
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
For the first time since Trump’s tariff rollout, import tax revenue has fallen, threatening his lofty plans to slash the $38 trillion national debt
By Sasha RogelbergDecember 12, 2025
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Apple CEO Tim Cook out-earns the average American’s salary in just 7 hours—to put that into context, he could buy a new $439,000 home in just 2 days
By Emma BurleighDecember 12, 2025
1 day ago
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map

© 2025 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.