14 DAY TRIAL // Google has announced a change in the way it sells Chromebooks to businesses and schools, it will enable them to pay for the device up front and only pay a subscription after a year.
A few months back, Google finally launched its Chromebooks, Chrome OS-powered notebooks designed to enable access to the web and nothing else.
The Chromebooks have some interesting characteristics that make them appealing to some businesses and educational institutions and Google positioned them accordingly from the start.
But Google also made an interesting choice in selling the devices to these markets, it only sold them with a three-year subscription which removed the upfront price of the device and enabled customers to pay a fixed monthly fee.
However, Google is now adding a more flexible option, enabling these customers to pay for the devices in one go and get one year access to the additional services available and only then start paying monthly.
"This new option gives schools and businesses a choice to pay upfront for Chromebooks with one year of access to the web-based admin management console, phone support, and hardware warranty coverage," Glenn Wilson, product manager, Chrome for Business & Education, wrote.
"After the first year, customers can choose to pay a monthly fee for years two and three for management console access and support," he said.
Now, schools have the option of paying $449, 325€ for a WiFi Chromebook, the Samsung Series 5, or $519, 376€ for the 3G version. After the first year, they have to pay $5, 3.62€ per month per device and get access to the management console and phone support.
That's quite a drop from the $20, 14.4€ a month schools pay if they only want a monthly subscription plan. It doesn't seem like the hardware guarantee is included after the second year with this new option.
Businesses can buy a WiFi Chromebook for $559, 404€ or a 3G version for $639, 462€. Starting with the second year, they pay $13, 9.4€ a month per device.