Google heads to the boardroom with Chromebox for Meetings (pictures)

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. -- After taking aim at your living room with Chromecast, Google's new Chromebox for Meetings wants to change the boardroom.

Caesar Sengupta, Google's Chromebook chief, explained how Chromebox for Meetings can be a low-cost way for small businesses to get into video conferencing at Google's headquarters on February 6, 2014.

The new Chromebox for Meetings will cost $999 per set for the first year, and $250 per set per year thereafter, said Sengupta.

Sengupta touted the ease with which people can join meetings in the new Chromebox for Meetings during the unveiling at Google's Mountain View, Calif., headquarters on February 6, 2014.

The Chromebox for Meetings will come with a high-powered version of the Chromebox, a remote control with keyboard, a high-definition Webcam, and a microphone/speaker.

Google stuck Core i7 CPUs into these Chromeboxes in the hopes of ensure better video stream processing.

Chromecast for Meetings remotes come with standard controls on one side, and a full keyboard on the other.

The centerpiece of the Chromebox for Meetings set comes with four USB 3.0 ports, several video ports, an Ethernet port, and multiple band support for Wi-Fi.

The Chromeboxes are made by Asus, Dell, and Hewlett-Packard.

In addition to the full QWERTY on the reverse, the remote control sports a "nano-sized" USB adapter. It's radio-frequency based, so line-of-sight isn't necessary.

The speaker-microphone combo appears to be fairly standard, although it does have noise-canceling built in to improve sound quality.

The HD Webcam sports Carl Zeiss lenses, automatic low-light correction, and it automatically will change resolution depending on your bandwidth.