Registered: Mar 2000
Location:
Posts: 27

-MP3 player
-cell phone
-wireless modem
-GPS
-8 mb flash

all in one for $400.

Registered: Jan 2001
Location: North Calolina
Posts: 92

No win

People would still compain about the price! It is a no win situation for the developers..

Registered: Mar 2000
Location:
Posts: 27

allright

ok, $200 then. Do the components in these latest modules really cost that much? I mean, why is the geode $280 and the Magellan GPS only $150? Also, why does the Visor Phone cost so much more than an equvalent stand alone phone?

Registered: Dec 2000
Location:
Posts: 5

The answer, in a nutshell:

*Market size*

When you see a GPS, MP3 player, etc. on the shelf at your local consumer electronics department, you are seeing mass-market products. They have a broad market scope, which in turns equates to large quantities, which in turn equates to large competition.

Large quantities+competition = lower price potential.

Never is this more apparent than in the consumer electronics sector. I am an engineer, and it still amazes me to tear open a VCR, etc. today and see what can be manufactured for $60, or even $50.

When quantities are lower, which will simply be the case for Springboard modules, you're playing a different ball game. Manufacturing, parts procurement, etc., cannot enjoy the economies of scale of the mass-market items.

Yes, I know there a lot of Visors out there. But when you consider an installed base of Visors, say, of 2 million, and a manufacturer is marketing a module with an attch rate of, say, 5% of those Visors (which I believe is high for a GPS), that's only 100,000 units. That's a drop in the bucket compared to the market potential for that GPS you see in Circuit City.

-Jon

Registered: Jun 2000
Location:
Posts: 594

Word is:
1 Million Visors sold
(fastest-selling computer, ever -- beating out even the Palm Pilot now)

But...

1 BILLION cell phones sold.



[that's 1,000 times more, BTW!]