Google must advance beyond 'perpetual beta'

Just afterwards Xoom tablet launched on the Verizon Wireless network last month, complaints began to surface that the tablet's operating system designed by Google was prone to crashes when running third-party applications. Experts say Google's typical strategy of launching new products doesn't translate so then to hardware-based devices like smartphones. To tell the truth, they say, Google's penchant for experimentation by introducing so-called "beta" products with frequent updates may become a handicap as the search-engine giant expands into new markets, just as software and set-top boxes for televisions, and tablets like Xoom.

In light of its problems with Xoom, Google is holding back on releasing its new tablet operating system, called Honeycomb, to open source developers, Bloomberg BusinessWeek reported.

Experts at Wharton applaud Google for being willing to experiment in new markets and quickly move on if the product doesn't succeed. For instance, Google Buzz, social networking project, and the Google Wave collaboration software have both quietly fallen by the wayside. However Google may be in need of a strategy change as it tackles consumer electronics, where the stakes and the expectations are higher. What works for free Web services, just as Gmail, may lead to disasters for other products.

The rise of Web-based services

"The rise of Web-based services and cloud computing are moving the entire information research world to a perpetual beta mentality," says Kevin Werbach, a professor of legal studies and business ethics at Wharton. This model of frequent product updating may work for desktop software, Werbach and others point out, nevertheless applying the perpetual beta approach to hardware isn't easy.

"There is an expectation that the product will work then out of the box," according to Wharton legal studies and business ethics professor Andrea Matwyshyn.

When it comes to tablets, Google appears to be on the frustrating side of the equation for now. In the Bloomberg BusinessWeek article, Andy Rubin, head of Google's Android effort, acknowledged that design compromises were made to get Honeycomb to market as quickly as possible.

Hardware is much more challenging than online Web applications, Whitehouse notes. "Google's mental framework is based around cloud computing. Hardware is different. Often, the device manufacturer is an external partner and your software is baked into the device. It's a whole new ballgame that puts more pressure on the software vendor to get it right the first time."

In fact, Google may have to reorganize to address new markets, notes Saikat Chaudhuri, an operations and information management professor at Wharton. "Largely everything Google does revolves around software, the Web and advertising. When it expands into phones, tablets and PCs, Google has to think about how it organizes. It's a fundamental problem."

The cost of experimentation is high with hardware

"Google will need different development processes because the cost of experimentation is high with hardware. There's a trade-off within research. Companies can remain fairly nimble, nevertheless not at the expense of product quality."