A new source of income via the Raspberry Pi users.


Franko

Franko

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Okay, I have this wacky idea...just hear me out and then shoot it down.  The OP Team has these cases and LCD screens.  They have keymats and buttons...nubs...a linux kernal...etc.  I know that it's not a plug & play idea here, but maybe ED and his backers could realize the worth in trying.  I'm not good at programming yet, I was decent when I was a kid, but I want to help with my ideas and money and good word.  

What I'm suggesting is a barebones PCB...A NEW BOARD.  Redesigned to house the Raspi and utilizing the existing case. The board would be populated on one side for the keyboard part, so that it's functional with the existing keyboard.  The hdmi-out to LCD thing would have to be addressed.  We would have to fit the raspPi within the case and it would be ideal if it was able to be opened easily.  RaspPi owners like to SEE their little toy, but they'll pay a lot more for the functionality of that.

This isn't about what I think is a better product.  I own a 1 GHz Pandora.  I just want ED and his backers to see a windfall.  I think it's possible.  There are obvious obstacles and ones that the OP Team may not want to take on...so be it.  I'm just brainstorming here.  Sometimes you have to carpe diem that $hit....yo.
 
You know a Pandora case with screen, keyboard and nubs that plugged into  a dev board/Pi would be a great idea.  Id always thought the P2 could just be a bare bones unit that you could slot a PC stick into.  It would be future proof.
 
One problem you might want to consider ... what are the dimensions of the Raspi? The case will have to be changed to accommodate, how much more bulk are you willing to add? How long will the existing battery last powering a Raspi?
 
A Raspi is about the size of a credit card.  It's got a height to it which could be a minor problem when trying to fit it and the keypad/buttons and the battery in that current case.sips about the same voltage...not much more - you can power it with about 700mA+...the overhead climbs a bit when you add the usb port(s) -depending upon the model (A/B).  I'm just looking at a possible money tsunami that would fly at the OP Team if they could pull THIS off.  The RasPi still is clamoring for a mobile solution.  The OP Team has done this...they could do this and make $$$$
 
Franko said:
A Raspi is about the size of a credit card.  It's got a height to it which could be a minor problem when trying to fit it and the keypad/buttons and the battery in that current case.sips about the same voltage...not much more - you can power it with about 700mA+...the overhead climbs a bit when you add the usb port(s) -depending upon the model (A/B).  I'm just looking at a possible money tsunami that would fly at the OP Team if they could pull THIS off.  The RasPi still is clamoring for a mobile solution.  The OP Team has done this...they could do this and make $$$$
Click to expand...
There's a lot of things on "OP team"'s plate and it's not a team of more than a few people. You guys lack the understanding of how much work is required to do this, seriously. 

vcoleiro said:
The Raspberry Pi measures 85.60mm x 56mm x 21mm,
Click to expand...
The 21 mm is the killer part.
 
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^ No doubt this would be an enormous amount of work. A case redesign at minimum would be required. And if we're going that far, might as well ditch the existing screen and keyboard (the former which is outdated, the latter which is not well-liked). Instead, choose components that will interface with the Pi directly and are cheap to acquire, much like the Pi itself. And don't go for pocketable as the Pi wasn't really designed with that in mind. Focus on keeping it cheap and fun to hold, and yeah I'm sure a lot of Pi users would be interested. But maybe it couldn't be done that cheaply; I'm sure this has been thoroughly analyzed already.

A big bonus here would be if a user could install their Raspberry Pi into the handheld housing by oneself. This means the large base of existing Pi customers would potentially buy it.
 
Yes, I've seen the Pi-to-Go, but I was playing along with the hypothetical that this would be mass-produced. That solution was almost 400 USD, not exactly something an average Pi owner would be interested in... so yeah, point taken. It would be too expensive. :p
 
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The Pi is also slower than the current Pandora (except for the GPU, which makes it neat to use as a media player).

A proper case with keyboard and LCD would probably cost about 150 EUR when a couple of thousands are being sold... not sure it's worth it.
 
I'm pretty sure this was heavily debated somewhere down in the Other Consoles section. The conclusion was "costs a lot more to do than you'd think, and not a lot of profit beside"
 
Maybe it would make sense though to market the Pandora as something that can provide power and a keyboard/mouse to your rPi, as well as a mini-laptop that lets you ssh into your rPi.
 
Maybe produce a really nifty GPIO breakout and market it as as a more portable/powerful alternative?
 
_wb_ said:
Maybe it would make sense though to market the Pandora as something that can provide power and a keyboard/mouse to your rPi, as well as a mini-laptop that lets you ssh into your rPi.
Click to expand...
Would people really pay $500 for a remote control? I know it's a really really cool remote control, but if that's what you're marketing it as you're going to get a lot of flack :p On the other hand, it would be a pretty cool addition to the existing feature list. There's an Android app that can control your XBMC installed Pi. Someone could look into it and do something similar, I think.
 
Not burdened by any technical knowledge I'd say this is a great idea. If I had a Pi I'd easily pay up to $150,- for something I could stick it in and make it turn into a portable device with screen and keyboard. Especially with gaming controls.


I do think that is a turning pricepoint. Costing more interest will rapidly decline and if you can get it to $99,- or lower there might be more interest but you'd have to do some research in how much more demand there would be and then pinpoint the price that will give you most profit.


Who knows, there might be a modular market for lots of devices. If you can have different sizes/types of screens and keyboards and the ability to put in different chips in there (maybe by using different boxes for the different chips on which you fixate the screen/keyboard) it could turn out into a fantastic mix and match product line. You might even have the people who produce things like that Pi start making sure that new things they produce fit in that line due to popularity.


Once again, ignore any technical part as I'm certainly not claiming any of it is (easily) doable. But from a sales perspective I'd say being able to reuse things like screens and keyboards as well as easily replacing one of the modules when it breaks combined with the ability to upgrade ot faster chips without having to buy a completely new device has loads of win in it.


Or on the road you are Pandora sized, at home you yank out the heart and put it in the 10" screen and keyboard set and you sit on the couch and enjoy a bit more screen real estate.


EDIT: I'd for instance pay premium price for mechanical keyboards, love those. Might not be doable for the Pandora sized keyboard but for a bigger package I'd certainly overpay for a mechanical keyboard thus giving people the ability to chose their own amount of sturdiness/comfort/nerdgasm vs price.
 
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Timstertoo said:
If I had a Pi I'd easily pay up to $150
Click to expand...
Wholesale price of the screen alone is about $70. Cram everything else that needs to be done into it and you are quickly looking at a device which costs almost $150 to start with :p
 
$150 sounds reasonable to me if I had a device with keyboard, game controls, screen and changeable battery which allowed you to slot in a PC Stick.  Would be future proof to an extent. Each year I could buy the next greatest Pc Stick with the latest SOC without having to repay for the rest which is pretty much static.

Id buy it.  
 
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If we have to make them, we have better chance just do the investment in a Chinese sweatshop factor. 

Then our price will be much more competitive. 
 
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