23 Digital Signage Software Options For Chromebox & Google

March 17, 2015 by Dave Haynes

Updated: March 2019

Tech giant Google has been active in the digital signage space for the last two years, with dedicated business development, product management and channel management resources, and the company has had a substantial presence at the last two Digital Signage Expo trade shows in Las Vegas, most recently in March 2016.

This is a round-up of all the know software tie-ins, with CMS companies ID’d by whether they are formally part of the Google for Work partner program.

The round-up also lists the known ChromeOS devices on the market that are being used for digital signage, and I have also included the integrators that are formally part of the Chrome ecosystem.

All of these devices sit in top of Google’s $2/month, per device, management console, which handles device management and, in effect, means just about any company with a web player can plug in.

Content Management Platforms

Specialty Applications

Google has said its Android Runtime for Chrome will make porting Android apps to Chrome possible, meaning a signage app developed for Android can run on Chrome players.

Google markets its digital signage and kiosk activities off this Google for Work microsite.

Hardware Options

The Device Gallery has Dell, HP, Asus and Acer options. Lenovo has also debuted a Chromebox Tiny, based on the ThinkCentre family. Aopen has released its Chromebox Commercial box, as well as a 22-inch Chromebase Commercial integrated display with touch. A 19-inch is coming, as well.

Acer has also announced a 21.5 inch Chromebase for summer, but no sign of it so far.

The Chromebit is an $85 HDMI stick. Here are two takes – an overview and a more technical deep dive – into how it works.

In January 2017, AOPEN announced a new pair of ChromeOS devices that are particularly well-suited to the signage market – a $189 Chromebox Mini commercial-grade player and a 10-inch Chromebase Mini that would do well as a meeting room sign or POS terminal, costing about $350.

Integrators

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