Registered: Jan 2000
Location:
Posts: 219

I guess not many people are interested in CUE Radio module but I was going to get it
because of its e-mail/message function and the price($99).
Originally it was supposed to be out this month, so I sent an e-mail to CUE. Now they say it will ship in July, and price will be "under $200."

Registered: Oct 1999
Location: Cincinnati, OH
Posts: 109

You have got to be kidding? Under $200 usually means more than $100. That's outrageous.

Granted, I'm thinking about this from the radio portion exclusively. Perhaps the other functions will justify that price. Still, if I want e-mail, I'd rather have a wireless Internet connection for general purposes.

This makes me wonder. I have a $20 radio card (FM tuner only) for my PC. What's to stop someone from Innogear from putting an FM Tuner into their Minijam springboard? It would only make sense to have it be able to tune radio stations as well. The same principle use to apply to portable tape players for joggers, but now I don't see it on CD players. Maybe radio is taboo.



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Trinition ([email protected])

Registered: Oct 1999
Location: Metro Station, Hollywood and Highland
Posts: 1018

I have to agree with Trinition. Even at $99 I couldn't justify it. At "under $200" it sounds as though they're trying to recover the cost of constructing a proprietary information network.

This seems like a doomed strategy, as Palm.net has proven to date (the Palm VII is Palm's poorest-selling model). Like Palm.net, rather than trying to create a monopoly, it might have been better to spread the risk by forming a strategic alliance with an information service provider, let them build the networks, and just concentrate on manufacturing the hardware. Bundling the goods with the services only passes the cost onto the consumer. Outsourcing the service allows for competition, lower pricing and reduced overhead.

The Glenayre pager seems like a smarter option, for a number of reasons:

1. The Glenayre can send and receive email.

2. It will alert you when you receive an email.

3. It has regular pager functionality as well (obviously).

4. The additional information services that CUE offers -- news, traffic and weather -- will probably be available from the paging service as well (as they are with many existing pager services, like SkyTel).

5. While the value of the MiniJam over a Rio is debatable, as least they're comparably priced. I just bought a portable AM/FM radio for $29.95, with an LCD screen and 10 presets.

6. The Glenayre unit is touted to be able to access the web. The details on Glenayre's site are sketchy, but I interpret this to mean that, at the very least, it should be able to access PQAs or utilize a similar strategy. Granted, real-time access would be preferable, but not at rates like $50 a month.

Of course, all of this is subject to what Glenayre charges, both for the service and the unit itself. If its anything like GoAmerica or Palm, I'll pass.