Google, Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) may have some new competition for its incredibly-popular (if unprofitable) YouTube unit. Gabble is a new community created for private video sharing for those individuals, groups and families who may not necessarily want to show the entire world their video footage. Its creator: Hewlett-Packard Corp. (NYSE: HPQ).Why would yet another video sharing product want to come up against YouTube, you may ask? Good question. Gabble has the apparent goal of letting those who want to post video online but who have privacy concerns about YouTube . Gabble is also provided free of charge, but only people you invite can view your videos. HP probably has the goal here of recruiting more consumers to their market share-leading PC brand to ensure Dell, Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) or Taiwan's Acer doesn't make any headway into its consumer business.
HP's biggest argument -- online video privacy -- is already offered by YouTube. But Gabble's is turned on by default. Consumers want a solution without endless settings and options, and this provides for that need. The problem HP faces is how to market this. For now, it can stick a large Gabble icon on the desktop of its laptops, netbooks and desktop PCs and instantly recruit a user base that way.
HP CTO Shane Robison indicated that Gabble, like many upcoming HP online products, is an experiment that could find a long life or an early retirement based on how many people actually start using it. With HP shares off their 52-week high of $48, services like this that keep consumers coming back and keeps HP top-of-mind can only be a good thing. That is, if successful.
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