筆記型電腦生態系統個案研究-以Chromebook為例

Abstract

2010年12月, 搜尋引擎巨人Google (Google Inc.)發表了該公司的第一部筆記型網路電腦設計原型 – Cr-48. 該原型機搭載專為網路服務而生的作業系統ChromeOS, 旨在提供快速、安全及友善的使用者介面，讓使用者能無憂地使用蓬勃發展的各式網路應用。筆記型電腦及其生態系統向來以Wintel (MS Windows + Intel CPU)為主流，Chromebook的誕生為市場投入新的競爭元素，並在數年內取得顯著的成果。 相較於Wintel筆記型電腦及蘋果電腦自成一格的生態系統，Chromebook採取了與現有競爭者不同的策略。Chromebook選擇對其作業系統ChromeOS開放原始碼以確保軟體能與時俱進，同時對筆記型電腦的主要硬體部件設下相對保守的條件，提供足夠但不冗餘的硬體效能，以期能以較低廉的價格取得市場優勢。 本研究將以Chromebook為個案，分析該產品如何在相對成熟的筆記型電腦生態系統中進入市場並創建自有的生態系統。根據本研究分析，Google利用自身在瀏覽器市場中的高佔有率，提供使用者流暢的轉換體驗；透過主導硬體設計及規範，降低開發及最終產品成本取得價格優勢；整合軟體開發流程，以快速迭代的方式提供系統更新，Google善用該公司在其他領域領先的優勢，導入Chromebook生態系統並建立獨特且具有市場吸引力的產品。 最後，本研究對此個案分析，嘗試提出擴展生態系統影響力的發展方向，及現有系統可能的發展瓶頸與解決建議。

The notebook PC industry and its ecosystem were dominated by Wintel (MS Windows + Intel CPU) for years. Then, the Chromebook was born to throw a new element of competition into the market, with remarkable results within a decade. Compared to Windows notebook PC and Apple's sui generis ecosystem, Chromebooks take a different tack than incumbent competitors. Chromebooks choose to open source their operating system, ChromeOS, to ensure that the software can keep up with the times while setting relatively conservative conditions on the main hardware components of the notebook computer, providing adequate but not redundant hardware performance in order to be able to use lower prices to gain market advantage. This study will use the Chromebook as a case study to analyze how the product entered the market and created its ecosystem in the relatively mature notebook computer ecosystem. According to the analysis of this research, Google takes advantage of its high market share in the browser market to provide users with a smooth switching experience; through leading hardware design and specifications, it reduces development and final product costs to obtain price advantages; integrates software development processes to delivering system updates in a rapid, iterative fashion, Google leverages the company's leadership in other areas to tap into the Chromebook ecosystem and build unique and marketable products. Finally, this study analyzes this case and proposes a development direction for expanding the influence of the ecosystem and possible development bottlenecks and solutions for the existing system.