PCR Tech and IT retail, distribution and vendor news
Google has become the first company to rent the world’s largest digital billboard.
The screen, which is the size of a football field, is also the world’s most expensive digital billboard, estimated to cost $2.5 million (£1.6m) to hire for four weeks.
Mounted on the side of the Marriot Marquis hotel in Times Square, New York, it was turned on on Tuesday evening and will show nature-inspired digital artwork until Google’s adverts begin next week.
It spans an entire block, is eight stories tall, and has a higher resolution than the best TV sets on the market.
Around 300,000 pedestrians are estimated to pass the billboard every day.
As well as acting as a billboard, the huge screen can also connect to cameras, meaning it may be used for interactive content and screening large events.
Google has reportedly hired the screen until January 2015.
Google chairman Eric Schmidt recently revealed that Google sees Amazon as its biggest rival, not Microsoft.
Talking about consumer shopping habits, Schmidt said: “People don’t think of Amazon as search, but if you are looking for something to buy, you are more often than not looking for it on Amazon.”
