Quote:
Originally Posted by DMcCunney
The biggest variable in the cost of a piece of consumer electronics is the debt service on the funding required to build the factory that makes it. The more of a device you make, the smaller a share of the allocated overhead each device bears, and the cheaper you can price it. Ebook readers are largely in the "pilot project" stage, with relatively limited production runs. If they become more mainstream, I expect cheaper pricing.
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Very true. Laptops went through this, as designs (and especially screen technology) morphed and adjusted for more than a decade, and factories had to completely retool every 2-3 years. During that time, you couldn't get a new laptop for less than $2,000. Now that it has largely settled down, you can buy a new laptop for $500.
If we ever settle on an e-book reader architecture and technology that everyone uses, we should see the same economies of scale and price, and readers the size of the PRS-505 coming down to $1-200 (and color at $2-300).