Quote:
Originally Posted by Dr. Drib
Totally unrelated to the above: Why are these devices so expensive? I would like to try one, but not at $160 + dollars.
|
Good question! I was wondering the same thing.
Since there are competitors, which are (hopefully) not colluding, the prices should not be inflated by a monopoly/duopoly/oligopoly position.
As others pointed out, it's not that these things are expensive, but that other options are cheap. Economies of scale allow mainstream products (tablets, smartphones, kindle/kobo) to be cheaper than niche products like a franken-tablet. If they started selling more units, they should get cheaper, so tell everyone you know about them lol
Putting aside the economics, you have to figure out if it's worth it for you. TBH these are _terrible_ value for me. For the ~$330 CAD I paid for my Poke2, I could have bought a Clara HD _and_ a decent android/chromeOS tablet. But I specifically wanted a franken-tablet running android with an e-ink display, so it made sense for me to shell out the cash compared to my income.
I also rationalized it in terms of how many books they cost—about the same as 20 books. Considering I'll drop $15-20 on a book without thinking, spending more on a device that'll save me money in the long-run makes sense (if you squint real hard).
Also, my vice and coping mechanism seems to be online shopping in These Unprecedented Times.
