i agree.

so then they will drop the price to $950,
to see how many people bite at that price.
and then it’ll be $900. and then $850…

meanwhile, machines like the nokia770
will become more capable, and their price
will rise, in view of that increased power…

and sooner or later, when their features
merge, the two lines will become one…

and eventually the price of that line will
drop. (or, more likely, the feature-set
associated with that price will increase,
since once the hardware people have
established a price — or, to put it more
accurately, discovered the _maximum_
we’re willing to pay — they stick with it.)

but i’ve seen these transitions play out;
they never happen very fast, or fast at all.

and if the manufacturers conclude that
“there’s no market here”, they often even
opt out, sometimes for a rather long time.

so i think we’re still looking at 2-3 _years_…

let’s hope david can keep up his hype that long.

-bowerbird

Before Dell revolutionized the PC online businesses, most of the 1st-tier vendors like Compaq (before the merger), HP, Toshiba etc would consider it crazy to let users customize and buy online. It used to be crazy to consider sub $500 desktops or sub $1000 laptops. Today, many models from Dell, HP-Compaq, Gateway, Toshiba etc are in the $700~$900 range.

So yes, discussing over it may not change anything directly. And it seem almost ridiculous to expect a $499 Origami and yes, it is as though we are asking them to cannibalize their own business. Only time will tell.

I believe an Origami costing more than $1000 will fold itself up faster than anything. And they would not even need to cannibalize themselve anymore. Origamis would revert back to just a paper-folding art.

you want hardware manufacturers
to cannibalize their own business,
and because you have discussed it
ad infinitum, you now think there’s
an actual possibility that they will.

silly boys…

-bowerbird

1. Intermec 6651
http://www.pencomputing.com/frames/textblock_intermec_6651.html

2. Vadem CLIO
http://www.pinaxgroup.com/products/clio_products_main.htm
http://www.pocketpccity.com/articles/1998/10/1998-10-10-Vadem-Clio-Frist.html

Neither one uses the common screen rotation mechanism. The Intermec’s screen flips backward and lays flat with the keyboard behind, forming a tablet, while the Vadem CLIO has hinge arms on the side of the screen to pivot it forward and then flat onto the keyboard.

I’ve heard rave reviews of the Intermec, but its last incarnation used HandheldPC2000 as its OS and is not upgradeable. That together with a hefty price-tag relegated the device to strictly vertical markets and ultimately its demise.

The Vadem CLIO is slightly larger, and weighs 3lbs. One of its ticket to stardom was its maiden flight to space on a shuttle! When I held one in my hands and used it for a couple of weeks, it became apparent that being earth bound, the 3lbs weight pushed it closer to a underpowered ultra-portable, than being a high-end InstantOn HandheldPC.

I’m surprised when Samsung released its UMPC at ~$1200. I thought they would have more sense like the $899 EO released by TabletKiosk which is still almost twice my $499 sweetspot.

To be honest, my $499 rationale is this:

• $499 Origami
• $200 LCD Monitor
• $50 Port replication
• $50 Keyboard + mouse accessories
• $799 Total price

This gives me the maximum flexibility of having a truly portable UltraMobile device that I can still use as a PC on my desk.
Of course, if you have the budget to own a desktop, notebook *and* an Origami, then price would not really be such a big issue would it?

RE: the HPC I too like the the HPC handhelds– I especially like instant on/off and long battery life. And working on a their little keyboards sure beats a thumbpad. But again the price– whew! NEC 900c was about $900.00 when if first came out. And of course this form factor doesn’t seem to have much support….

So I think the ideal would be a $499 handheld with a good swivel screen (for reading books, and more natural note taking) and either speed up turning on windows xp or using same on/off system of current handhelds. Any takers or suggestions?

-Thanks

Hopefully a device with good enough battery life will provide an even longer suspend time. Suspend currently takes 4~5 secs for my notebook. Hibernation around 30secs (It has 1.25gb ram).

Of course I could use InstantOn anytime. Anytime, you listening, Microsoft?