MPC = Madly Priced Computer?

[Darius Wey]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.handtops.com/show/review/35' target='_blank'>http://www.handtops.com/show/review/35</a><br /><br /></div><i>"Unfortunately, there are a few reasons that the Modular PC may not currently be a media darling like the OQO was when it launched. First and foremost is the price. We assume that manufacturing costs are behind the costs which may be prohibitive to some. Without the marketability of the OQO or the budget heft of Paul Allen's pet project FlipStart, the Modular PC has a steep climb ahead of it. Many OQO reviews complained about the high $1900 price tag, MCC may have a hard time convincing buyers that a $2,200 device (MPC + Dock) doesn't come with a screen."</i><br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/wey-20050422-MPC.jpg" /><br /><br />Okay, $2,200 is not cheap. Personally, I believe the MPC is in a market of its own (along with the OQO), so I don't see this being a PDA killer anytime soon. If you can justify selling your limbs just to afford this one, then it may be well worth a look. Otherwise, stick to your Pocket PC if you want some affordable mobility. ;-)

[twalk]

$2200 is more than not cheap. It's way, way, way too expensive. I always thought that this was a good idea, but that it would never stand up to the mass production efficencies of the competing devices.

Frankly, if MS would have designed the boot process for NT right, this kind of device would have never gotten this far. Mini portable hard drives are MUCH cheaper than this device could ever be. If NT/XP could boot from any drive, then you could just carry the drive (or flash drive even) from computer to computer (and use the drive as a mp3 player otherwise, like an ipod). I know that Macs used to be able to do this (can they still?).

Oh well, MS has never bothered to optimize XP for laptops, not to mention palmtops, either.

Todd

[Typhoon]

I can't be that expensive to make or produce, right? Because what is it made out of? A systemboard, some RAM, CPU, and harddrive...which all are not that cheap seperately. Or maybe is is more expensive to produce because of a low prodution from the manufacturer?

[Darius Wey]

I can't be that expensive to make or produce, right? Because what is it made out of? A systemboard, some RAM, CPU, and harddrive...which all are not that cheap seperately. Or maybe is is more expensive to produce because of a low prodution from the manufacturer?

Bear in mind that the market base is small. Not that many people are willing to shell out a couple thousand dollars for a portable PC. Sure, they could drop the prices, but then the amount of profit made falls, and in the interests of profitable business, that's a highly undesirable standpoint for the manufacturer. However, as with any other electronic good, once demand kicks in, the price will most likely drop, until supply can no longer meet the high amount of demand, and from then on, the price starts rising again. Economics seems to apply in all case scenarios, tech-based or non-tech-based.

However, I think it'll be many more years before all this happens.

[Typhoon]

lol probably