funtasticguy
Still Fresh
- Joined
- Feb 10, 2006
- Messages
- 54
I just found out about the Craiginator yesterday (I own the GP2X). Here are my thoughts on the subject.
I'm from the US and I believe that the $320 price tag seems quite reasonable. However, in order for it to succeed, I believe that the design should incorporate the following features as well:
1. Have an integrated web browser with full Flash 9 support.
2. Have a strong media application to play music and movies (with all of the important codecs preinstalled like Cowon’s upcoming A3 media player)
3. Have a BOB with a handy remote control to hook up to a TV and play back media (and maybe even record)
By having these features, the Craiginator can target other potential customers besides the Gaming/Emulator crowd.
Let's look at item #1. Nokia introduced the 770 and the N800 for $399 and it is basically a web tablet (it doesn't play movies all that well and most people have to convert their movies to a format that the tablets can play well). Nokia wouldn't have introduced the new N810 if enough people had not purchased the 770 and N800. Basically, then, people are willing to pay $399 for a simple web tablet gadget. What's more when the N800 was first released, I went to Internet Tablet Talk (the most popular forum for 770, N800, and N810) since the N800 seemed appealing to me. I discovered that some users wanted Nokia to design their future web tablet with a gamepad since they wanted a better tablet design to play games. Consequently, there is an interest for gaming among Nokia's web tablet users. In addition, new MIDs will be introduced into the market early next year with a retail price of about $400-$500. Thus, a $320 device that can surf the web, play games, and play back movies would be a steal!
By covering item #2, the Craignator would appeal to all those who buy media players from Cowon, Archos, Creative, etc. Granted that the majority of these media players have a built-in hard drive, I still think that a Craignator with a strong media application would appeal to these users since they would now have a portable gaming platform as well. In addition, prices for SDHC cards keep falling all the time. You can now find a 16GB SDHC card at Newegg for $139. By the time that the Craignator is released, you can be assured that these 16GB SDHC cards will be under $100 and the new 32GB SDHC cards will be available as well.
By covering item #3, the Craignator would appeal to all those who would like a portable media center. With this incorporated design, anyone will be able to bring their movies anywhere, hook it up to a TV, and watch their movies (as well as play games and surf the net). How cool and convenient would that be!
There's no doubt that TI's OMAP 3430 is a powerful chip. It can definitely do all of the above. See a demonstration here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cy1uqv9nNGs
According to the video above, the TI 3430 will be capable of running at 1GHz! Nokia's N800 and new N810 run on TI OMAP 2420. The Archos 605 also runs on TI’s first generation DaVinci chip. You can bet your bottom dollar that the next generation of Nokia's web tablet and Archos media players will run on TI OMAP 3. Thus, if the Craiginator releases a well designed product using the OMAP 3430, they will automatically get a jumpstart on the competition and steal some customers from the Nokia web tablet crowd and Archos et all media player crowd.
Now, then, adding the above features may take some time. However, the team could concentrate on items #1 and #2. The BOB could be introduced later (but within a reasonable timeframe and price).
Again, all this would be a steal at $320 and could even make a significant penetration to the above markets at $399 as well.
I, for one, wish the team great success and am looking quite forward to their finished product!
-- Manny
P.S. No more anti-American bashing or politics please. We're a community, so let's get along even if we disagree with one another!
I'm from the US and I believe that the $320 price tag seems quite reasonable. However, in order for it to succeed, I believe that the design should incorporate the following features as well:
1. Have an integrated web browser with full Flash 9 support.
2. Have a strong media application to play music and movies (with all of the important codecs preinstalled like Cowon’s upcoming A3 media player)
3. Have a BOB with a handy remote control to hook up to a TV and play back media (and maybe even record)
By having these features, the Craiginator can target other potential customers besides the Gaming/Emulator crowd.
Let's look at item #1. Nokia introduced the 770 and the N800 for $399 and it is basically a web tablet (it doesn't play movies all that well and most people have to convert their movies to a format that the tablets can play well). Nokia wouldn't have introduced the new N810 if enough people had not purchased the 770 and N800. Basically, then, people are willing to pay $399 for a simple web tablet gadget. What's more when the N800 was first released, I went to Internet Tablet Talk (the most popular forum for 770, N800, and N810) since the N800 seemed appealing to me. I discovered that some users wanted Nokia to design their future web tablet with a gamepad since they wanted a better tablet design to play games. Consequently, there is an interest for gaming among Nokia's web tablet users. In addition, new MIDs will be introduced into the market early next year with a retail price of about $400-$500. Thus, a $320 device that can surf the web, play games, and play back movies would be a steal!
By covering item #2, the Craignator would appeal to all those who buy media players from Cowon, Archos, Creative, etc. Granted that the majority of these media players have a built-in hard drive, I still think that a Craignator with a strong media application would appeal to these users since they would now have a portable gaming platform as well. In addition, prices for SDHC cards keep falling all the time. You can now find a 16GB SDHC card at Newegg for $139. By the time that the Craignator is released, you can be assured that these 16GB SDHC cards will be under $100 and the new 32GB SDHC cards will be available as well.
By covering item #3, the Craignator would appeal to all those who would like a portable media center. With this incorporated design, anyone will be able to bring their movies anywhere, hook it up to a TV, and watch their movies (as well as play games and surf the net). How cool and convenient would that be!
There's no doubt that TI's OMAP 3430 is a powerful chip. It can definitely do all of the above. See a demonstration here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cy1uqv9nNGs
According to the video above, the TI 3430 will be capable of running at 1GHz! Nokia's N800 and new N810 run on TI OMAP 2420. The Archos 605 also runs on TI’s first generation DaVinci chip. You can bet your bottom dollar that the next generation of Nokia's web tablet and Archos media players will run on TI OMAP 3. Thus, if the Craiginator releases a well designed product using the OMAP 3430, they will automatically get a jumpstart on the competition and steal some customers from the Nokia web tablet crowd and Archos et all media player crowd.
Now, then, adding the above features may take some time. However, the team could concentrate on items #1 and #2. The BOB could be introduced later (but within a reasonable timeframe and price).
Again, all this would be a steal at $320 and could even make a significant penetration to the above markets at $399 as well.
I, for one, wish the team great success and am looking quite forward to their finished product!
-- Manny
P.S. No more anti-American bashing or politics please. We're a community, so let's get along even if we disagree with one another!
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