Microsoft to sell on the big screen Hub paving up to $ 20,000

Revealing price, for the first time, Microsoft Corp will sell a larger version of its new, wall-mounted video conferencing and device whiteboard for $ 20,000, making it the most expensive in its hardware line-up product, said the software company Wednesday.

Orders begin on July 1 for the hub surface, which Microsoft hopes will become a fixture in meeting rooms worldwide. A customized version of Windows 10, the new Microsoft operating system due out in late July run. Deliveries will begin in September.

Despite the hefty price tag, Microsoft is betting that the hub surface will appeal to companies used to spend multiples of that amount in the facilities of the conference room.

"The theoretical market may be much larger than the current market," said JP Gownder, an analyst at research firm Forrester technology. He said the device will probably not be an instant hit with business, but should appeal to businesses where collaborative work is important, such as product design or marketing and advertising.

The integration of video calls and taking notes on a touch screen, the Hub surface is rooted to products made by Perceptive Pixel, a company based in Oregon Microsoft bought in 2012. Microsoft unveiled a prototype of the new device in January.
It is the latest step in Microsoft's foray into the high-tech hardware, starting with the launch of the Surface tablet in 2012 and the purchase of Nokia phone business last year. A version of the 84-inch screen will sell for $ 20,000. A smaller 55-inch version will sell for $ 7,000.

The Hub surface is "pay for itself and make money," said Mike Angiulo, who heads the group of devices Microsoft.

Angiulo would not disclose how many Hubs are occurring surface, but said there was great potential of millions of conference rooms used by organizations worldwide market.

There is no clear market segment for the Hub surface that combines elements of video conferencing systems, such as those made by Cisco Systems Inc and whiteboards manufactured by Panasonic Corporation and others. The only directly comparable product is the Mondopad, by InFocus, which is priced slightly lower than the Microsoft offer.

The hub model larger surface area, which is little more than 4 inches (10 cm) thick and weighs 280 pounds (127 kg), has the largest piece of glass for an electronic product in production, Angiulo said. Microsoft makes the devices in Wilsonville, OR.