Hi, Jonathan. I agree with what you are saying, but let me bring another
example into play here. Perhaps this will make my point; perhaps not.
I do agree as I stated in my first message on this subject that many of
these devices are expensive for two reasons immediately apparent. One is
the relatively small market necessitating a higher price than if the item
were mass produced such as a computer or VCR, etc. Next is that companies
want to quickly regain their R&D and other development costs for the
product in a relatively small market and in a relatively short time frame.
However, I have to ask myself, why can I buy a copy of jfw for windows XP
home for several hundred dollars less than if I wish to buy one for XP pro?
It's the same program. Are devices or services being sold to the
handicapped knowing that a government agency is going to pay and tthus will
be willing to pay a higher price than a private individual? I don't know;
possibly.
Thes that on disk chip really cost somewhere in the high 300 dollar range
after a reasonable markup with the remainder of the price for installation
making the final price 425 dollars?
Does the supplier of this chip really charge that much to PDI? Is this
because this is a custom made chip and PDI doesn't buy enough of them to
warrant mass production at a cheaper price?
As a consumer, I may not have the right to know such confidential
information, but it does seem odd that the cost for and installation
price of a 48mb chip should be so high.
If 48 mb is that expensive, one can only imagine what the cost would be if,
in the future, we could go to 64 mb or even 128 or 256 mb. If cost is
prohibitive, then it may be better to just use a flash card.
Nevertheless, I willingly bought that 48mb chip fully knowing its price and
agreeing to that purchase. I am just left wondering why that chip is so
high and just how much markup there is on it.
The problem is that if you are going to be editing large files, downloading
lots of e-mail, and other things I can't even think of, you need that extra
memory. There is no way that I know of to direct all of the bn files to a
storage disk rather than the flash disk. E-mail, web, and keysoft are all
placed onto the flash disk by default. I don't think I have an
unnecessarily large amount of things on my flash disk. I don't even have
any e-mail there and I am already at 36mb. So, I have already used 12 mb
leaving myself only 4mb for e-mail, web pages, and work space.
I would recommend the 48mb chip to anyone even at the 425 dollar price tag
because it is the only way to get said chip.
I just want to have someone tell me why it needs to cost that much.
At 1/21/2004, you wrote:
Hi Paul. It would I think be good to seek an explanation from the company
first rather than jump to the conclusion that Pulse Data International is
out to rip customers off. After all, what would be the sense in that? Apart
from any moral issues involved, it doesn't make business sense for us to
leave customers with sour tastes in their mouths.
Let me first say that what you get when you update your Flash Disk to 48 MB
is not RAM. Indeed, your 16 MB Flash Disk isn't RAM. What you get is a disk
on chip. This is a big advantage over the BrailleNote compared with many
PDAs for the sighted, and even some others for the blind. Many other
devices store files in RAM, Randem Access Memory. The disadvantage of this,
as Dean has pointed out, is that when your unit goes flat or is reset, you
say bye bye to your data. When the BrailleNote was designed, we took this
issue extremely seriously. With some devices on the market today, if you
don't have a backup of your data or if you don't connect the unit to AC
power within about a half hour of the battery going flat, all your precious
documents, contacts, programmes and other files are gone. You can leave the
BrailleNote in a flat state for an indefinite period and not lose data in
this way thanks to the disk on chip technology we use. It is a bit
proprietary, it can't be user fitted, and yes, it's more expensive than
we'd like, but it sure beats the alternative in our opinion.
When we get inquiries about the 48 MB upgrade, we talk people through the
pros and cons. For example, clearly you can get much more bang for your
buck if you purchase a compact flash card. For the same price as our 48 MB
upgrade to the Flash Disk, you could get a gig worth of storage on a flash
card, or even more with a microdrive. Some people prefer the extra on-board
storage for convenience and for keeping large amounts of mail for example,
so we attempt to establish what the user's requirements are and recommend
accordingly.
All the best.
Jonathan Mosen
BrailleNote Product Marketing Manager
Pulse Data International Ltd
DDI: +64-3-373-6192
Fax: +64-3-384 4933
Mobile: +64-21 466 736
Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Internet: www.pulsedata.com
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