Quote:
Originally Posted by Illudrium
So why didn't they just wait to release a 1Ghz firefly?
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We may never know
what actually happened, but I can think of at least a few possible scenarios.
Supply side scenario: after settling the specs for the (initial) Firefly release, their buyer discovered that there was little price differential between 800MHz & 1GHz, so opted for the latter for their next parts purchase.
Corporate planning scenario: they always planned to upgrade their CPUs to the fastest available at a reasonable price (basing forecasts on Moore's Law) to something approximating: 800MHz for now, 1GHz for in 6 months time (i.e. currently on the drawing board), and quite possibly 1.25GHz for 12 months time & 2GHz for 24 months time. Such a production-planning cycle would ensure that their products remain at the (moving) price/performance sweet spot.
Demand side scenario: Onyx has a fairly pronounced tendency to customise hardware to distributors requirements (amount of memory, SD/HD, audio/no audio). It's quite possible that a distributor asked them to price a 1GHz i62, they gave a quote, and the distributor accepted it.
Conclusion: given the
highly dynamic nature of the computer-based hardware market, it is
completely unreasonable to expect product specifications to remain fixed-in-stone for any appreciable amount of time. Expecting a small player like Onyx (whose main competitive advantage is nimbleness) to do so is asking them to compete with one hand tied behind their back. If you want
regular product rollouts, then buy a Kindle!
Personal take: the fact that Onyx will release an
incrementally faster product in a few months time does not make my (newly-purchased) i62HD any less of a fantastic purchase. However it
does mean that (assuming that Onyx continues its continuous & timely upgrades to the newest stable & cost-effective tech) that my
next eReader is more likely to be an Onyx as well than would otherwise be the case. It was Pocketbook's failure to keep up with the curve that drove me here in the first place.