Why does this thing cost more than a new PS3? (serious Q)

[Trevsweb]

i think craig would say something on the lines of get a ps3 then!
the price goes back into the development of the device in the first place. time is money, designing of the console wasnt done for free and these losses need to be drawn back before making any profit.
its always been the same, that early adopters have to pay for having the gadget first but at the end of the day my £270 was better spent on a pandora that a ps3.
my wii gathers dust and my xbox gets a quick look in monthly.

my only concern is that i hope for my money i get quality parts and a decent manufactured product

 

[samuraicrow]

Sony loses money on every PS3 they sell. They expect to make it up later with license fees on the games they sell. Linux games do not require any license fee to be paid to the company that manufactures the hardware. The long and the short of it is that it's actually Sony trying to trick you with artificially low prices.

-edit-
Some states in the US have laws against selling certain items at a loss to drive out competition so the idea that the PS3 is cheaper in your area might not hold true in all locations.

 

[Dauric]

Sony loses money on every PS3 they sell. They expect to make it up later with license fees on the games they sell. Linux games do not require any license fee to be paid to the company that manufactures the hardware. The long and the short of it is that it's actually Sony trying to trick you with artificially low prices.

It's the same kind of marketing sleight-of-hand that gives us "Free" phones with exclusive, minimum-duration service contracts that will cost you thousands, or "Adjustable Rate Sub Prime" home loans...

And it's a trick that any savvy consumer should learn to recognize.

 

[Dauric]

As for the PS3 price I mentioned. I can get a 40gb PS3 for $289.99 at a few of the stores around here. Though perhaps that price is an attempt to clear them out since I don't believe those are in production anymore.

Those have got to be on clearance, or they're refurbished units (A lot of places only mark refurbished units with a microscopic sticker on the bottom next to the fine print). The 40 isn't in production any longer, and a lot of the features being built by Sony aren't supported by the 40Gb. After one update now my 40Gb won't connect to the wireless network or even recognize the ethernet cable connection for more than a half a minute, and half-a-dozen updates later the problem hasn't been solved. The PS2 emulator has cautions not to use it on the 40 Gb model, and with relatively few games for the PS3 on my shelves, they all have enough HD data, updates, patches and just the free content has all but filled my 40Gb.

On one hand I consider spending -yet another- $500 to get a 160Gb model that will actually connect properly so I can update and play online again, but on the other hand how many weeks, days, hours will it be until they release the 320 Gb with it's own set of exclusive features, followed by the 640, then the 1Tb.....

 

[Sugar_Kane]

Although the price may seem high when compared to a ps3, when you consider the higher cost of parts (as others posters have highlighted) and assembly for a small team compared to a multi-national company with it's own production plants, I think the price is still relatively low. The key here though is that had the Pandora been developed and released by sony, it would no doubt have cost significantly more than a ps3.

 

[Dauric]

As far as the cost reflecting "Difficulty" or whatnot, the "Sob Stories" as they've been called, I really don't see that that is at all a factor in the Pandora's cost.

Consider that the only reason that iPhone-like devices are as cheap as they are is because it has become common practice to move the costs to the mandatory monthly bill, and game companies have long done the same with software licensing fees. Then consider that the last run of non-phone Palm devices ran in the $400 range with no after-market costs (Palm Tungsten gen.), and the Pandora also has no long-term contract after-market fees associated with it so you're paying everything up-front, the price is completely reasonable.

Even aside from that, pulling together all the functionality that a Pandora has in a portable form would cost much more than the Pandora, and not be nearly as portable.

The Pandora is expensive only when you compare pricetags without context. If you take even a little effort to really evaluate what the Pandora is, and the functionality that it provides compared to other devices currently on the market, the Pandora is a bargain.

 

[hedwards]

-edit-
Some states in the US have laws against selling certain items at a loss to drive out competition so the idea that the PS3 is cheaper in your area might not hold true in all locations.

That would be called dumping, and as a general rule it's only an antitrust violation under certain circumstances. Generally if the company is losing enough money that the competition couldn't reasonably afford to do so or raise the price as soon as the competition goes out of business.

In terms of Sony, Nintendo and MS are concerned, they have a developed business model where they make their money licensing companies to develop on their platform.

 

[cools]

But what it comes down to is price. $330 is a lot to drop on a device of any kind, questioning it's price is justified.

The Pandora has no real competition.

Comparing it in price to a PS3 is daft. They're both electronic devices, and both can run software of your choosing or development, but that's the limit of their similarity. A PS3 will not fit in your pocket. Comparing a PS3 to a PC, or 360, is far more valid.

Find a portable (open or not) that has the same form factor, size, and human interfaces - and that would be a valid comparison. Unfortunately there isn't one - hence the Pandora's existence in the first place

 

[mrtymek]

I've even seen lately a bluetooth GPS, so that gives me an idea, that if any kind of an open gps app exists. that would give you the possibility to use the pandora as a navigation system if google maps ain't enough for directions

Another thing I would like to mention. The sob stories, and efforts. I really realize the differences between a huge corporation, and a couple of developers that have decided to create a device for all of us, that "accidentally" happens to be da most powerful handheld ;p
When money becomes reality to me, somewhere around october I intend to get both, the and the p&|a if the p&|a would be available at this point, and probably, since it's the cheapest, the Dingoo, just to support the idea of creating such open platforms, and therefore show MS, Sony, and others, that i sincerely screw them ;p

If I didn't do anything in terms of development, programming, or artwork, I can at least throw some money in there.

 

[banjeed]

I will extend my thanks, my question was indeed answered (price justification). However I will also implore those who read and frequent this place to try to extend a hand, rather than rabidly slapping at anyone who comes through and trying to chase them away. Though I must state that I plan on going nowhere. This device interests me and I will be keeping an eye on it, it holds much potential.

Welcome to the community. You have to understand that we've all grown tired of newcomers coming in with phrases like "How come this more expensive than Nintendo DS? It's the same thing" and "but what if I install Wine? Then it can play teh halo rite?" We are a very warm community and are always welcoming new thoughts and ideas, but when you enter asking why a portable open source handheld running an ARM processor costs more than a stationary, TV connected, Sony made console, It immediately flicks the "google it" switch in many of our heads. In my mind, the question made as much sense as "Why do parakeets cost more than pencils?" (serious Q)

 

[dajavax]

Find a portable (open or not) that has the same form factor, size, and human interfaces - and that would be a valid comparison. Unfortunately there isn't one - hence the Pandora's existence in the first place

the nokia n810... maybe not as powerful but it's comparable... and it's $130 USD cheaper than the pandora... i'm not critizicing the pandora in any way as i still don't decide which one to get... just wanted to let you know there is a comparable portable...

 

[Kramy]

the nokia n810... maybe not as powerful but it's comparable... and it's $130 USD cheaper than the pandora... i'm not critizicing the pandora in any way as i still don't decide which one to get... just wanted to let you know there is a comparable portable...

Reasons for higher cost:

1) Gaming controls.
2) Bigger/better/newer LCD.
3) Newer SoC.
4) Bigger/better battery.
5) Not mass-produced by a large company.

Keep in mind you get full access to the hardware, something a PSP, iPhone, n810, etc. all lack. :wink:

 

[PhillipJ]

The n810 looks similar on the surface but it's not really an alternative to the Pandora. It's significantly less powerful (It can barely run a GBA emulator), has no gaming controls (the little "d-pad" on the left is so bad it's like they really really wanted to prevent gamers using the thing), there is no driver available for the 3D hardware, it only takes MiniSD, and only one of them at a time. The slider/tablet form factor is pretty convenient for reading eBooks but that's about the only advantage I can think of.

 

[axenzoku]

It's not that it wouldn't be nice to see it popular, it's just that anybody who sees this as a commodity item is probably not looking for a device like this in the first place. Most of the features are tailored to a much smaller market that values the freedom that can only come from independent developers.

It might come off as a sob story to you, but for those of us that really want, and or need, an open platform we really need for the developers to at least make a minimal profit, if not enough to justify the effort. Even those of us that haven't done much if any work related have invested a lot of energy and emotion in this project and commoditizing it comes off as kind of insensitive.

Actually, from the smaller market suggestion... I bet you ask any person who's into technology and games, tell them about pandora, most likely they're gonna get hyped up about it... I think a LOT more people would like one (especially all the people who bought a psp or nds, but also use computers and play pc games)... Seriously, I know FCC testing isn't required because technically it's not being sold IN USA, but obviously they're going to get it FCC tested too (once a production model can be sent in). It would be pretty easy to sell these things at game stores, and way easy to get people hyped about some of the possibilities of what they can do with it... More often than not, most people love to customize anything they get, and be able to change what they buy in anyway they see fit... For example, more tech savvy and developer minded people would get their kicks tinkering with technical things, but other people would most likely just switch a theme or wallpaper and just game/chat/surf all day...

As a matter of fact, I experienced one of the most comfortable moments the other night... I walked out around my bro's apartment complex with his PSP looking for some WiFi.. ended up finding an unsecured AP over by the side of a building with some grass... Sat down, nice soft grass, nice fresh air, perfect temperature, and just proceeded to surf the web and download stuff... I just love that feeling of freedom... That's why I want a pandora.

 

[Pleng]

This thread has been very much so far about the technical side of why the Pandora is the price it is (by the way, everybody I've shown it to thinks it's a STEAL for what's being asked).

Looking at it from a business point of view, the OP makes the following observation:

I'm going to pick it up in a heart-beat.

And at the end of the day, that's how capitalism works. Something's worth what the customer is prepared to pay for it. And despite the consumer here having doubts over WHY the unit costs what it does, he is still prepared to pay the price.

Hence it seems that the OP team have pitched the price about right, at least to catch this particular fish.

 

[stimpyjcat]

Hi ^^

I freaked out after reading the question... well, because where I live, a ps3 is now around u$s800 at stores... if pandora will be around 330, thats the price of a mid/low end pc and the half of a crappy netbook (and like 1/4 more than the average salary but thats another story :lol: )

if that will be the price I can only say WOW

 

[phrawzt]

I can't wait to get a Pandora. I just bought a netbook for my wife back in March and paid $350. I considered saving up to get myself one, but when I thought about what I wanted the Pandora seemed to be the logical answer.

Compare it to a PSP, DS, console or a netbook and it has far more potential.
Extremely portable and contains game controls which is better than larger netbooks and laptops, better processing power and bettwe web browsers than a DS or PSP which can also run emulators which means better emulation, far more customization than any other option.

The price tag seems more than reasonable for all that it can do.

 

[Burgsie]

Do not question the price its only what $300 dont be a baby its the best handheld machine on market and $300 isnt that much im 14 and to most kids my age thats alot but in all actuallity its not. Get a job. then go buy this beast.

 

[crackerjacker]

I don't know why your complaining about the price. I decent hooker would cost about that much in just about any part of the world. Both the Pandora and the Hooker offer a fantasy service. While you might actually get to touch the hooker, the pandora fantasy lasts a lot longer.