Google Ventures Into the Physical Realm
Once upon a time, Google was content to rule cyber space. But like most super powers in history, the superpower is getting restless.
Last month marked a step in Google's expansion beyond cyber space and into the physical realm, with the opening of the world's first Google store in London. The store is officially known as 'The Chromezone' and will be followed by a second store in Essex. But Google's colonisation of time and space is still in the exploration stage, the store selling only Google's Chromebook laptop and a few accessories. Arvind Desikan, head of consumer marketing at Google UK, said the "foray into physical retail" is "something Google is going to play with and see where it leads."
Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, Google has been busy scoping out the territory in India in its very own bus. Since 2009, the Google bus has functioned as a mobile internet cafe, stopping in a new town every few days to offer internet access to the local residents. The Google bus is a clever foray into an essentially untapped market, as internet usage in India currently lags well behind the West. Now we know what Google employees are doing with that paid weekly 'creative time' that makes the rest of us consider enrolling in an IT degree.
While the Chromezone opening had nothing on the hype that surrounded the launch of Apple's Regent Street flagship, it nevertheless fuels tension between the two technology empires. Hopefully we've learnt a thing or two from the great clashes of empires past, and the two can figure out how to share the realm of time and space peacefully .
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