Google Now Allowing Education and Business Chromebook Customers to Pay Upfront

One of the biggest things to hit the tech world a while back was the fact that Google, the search engine superpower, was expanding into hardware with its all new Chromebooks, all new cloud-focused laptops aimed at the education and business sectors. What made the announcement even more interesting was the fact that Google would offer business and education clients a 3-year monthly payment subscription-based payment plan, charging no upfront costs whatsoever. However, Google has just recently announced that it will begin allowing businesses to pay for their Chromebooks in full upfront.

Google has stated that it discovered some businesses were simply unable to budget for a three-year commitment requiring annual cycles. As a result of these findings, Google is offering education and business customers the choice to pay upfront for their Chromebook with one-year access to a web-based admin management console, phone support and hardware warranty. After the initial year, customers will have the option to pay a monthly fee for the second and third year of management console access and support.

Customers in the education industry are able to get their hands on a Chromebook for $449 if they choose the WiFi option or $519 if they go with the 3G option. Business customers will have to pay $559 for the WiFi version and $639 for the 3G version. The changing policy for the education and business sectors is notable for many reasons, primarily for the fact that we have yet to hear anything from Google about success in this market. I know it has only been four months, but with the way information flies around the internet you would expect to have heard something by now even if it was leaked information or a rumor.

Nevertheless, Google is still very well known for its policy of launching during a beta and it appears as if that applies to the company's enterprise business models as well. I guess we will just have to wait and see how this business venture plays out for Google, though I don't think the company will take any serious financial dips if the project doesn't quite meet expectations.

Source: The Next Web - Google drops Chromebook business, education subscription-only policy, lets them pay up front

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