Google Space
12th May 2006
You may have heard some about the Google Space project at Terminal 1 in London’s Heathrow Airport. Used as a convenience center to show off new product offerings to travelers, this storefront has proven to be a great asset to travels.
Offering free coffee, internet access and a great place to relax before the flight, Google space is a very popular stop for travelers. For those who are new to the services of Google, they have even staffed the Café to help users become acquainted with the service offered. The 10 Samsung laptops in the temporary installation will be manned from 0700 to 1900 by Google employees from across the organization, with some flown in especially to help out.
Google claims the project will allow passengers to turn their dead time into highly useful time by using its applications — such as Google Maps and Google Local — to prepare for their trip.
As branding is one of the most valuable assets Google has thus far, this is just another extension into the market that will provide them with additional brand recognition.
More than that, this is a great test bed to monitor the user experience. Google is obtaining great data on how users interact with the applications. This is a great way for them to analyze the user experience outside of the stale lab setting.