scrosland;255176 Wrote: 
> Surely the new Jive software stack could be made to run on the Nokia
> tablets? Then we'd have the benefit of a decent tablet with browser and
> so on, and a decent Squeezebox controller all in one.
> 
> Simon

This is exactly what I wish they'd done.

Had the controller debuted with a $150 price tag, I would have easily
justified the purchase. At $299 it doesn't make sense to me. It's
currently a single-purpose remote whose value is being justified based
on its potential for third parties to exploit its DAC, expansion slot,
headphone jack, and platform potential. Personally, I'm only marginally
interested in seeing what the community does with the controller's
platform potential because I think the form factor is too limiting for
it to ever become a compelling multi-purpose device in my home.

On the other hand, the Nokia N800 has all of these capabilities of the
controller and much more (touch screen, built-in camera for video
conferencing, FM radio, Opera, multiple expansion slots, ...). The N800
currently retails for as low as $239. With its touch screen and
on-screen keyboard, it has the potential to smoke the competitive
offerings (namely Sonos), but it isn't achieving this with the
SlimServer web-browser based experience. I would love to see a native
$29.99 app from Slim which brings the features and performance of the
new controller to the N800/N810. Sling Media (SlingBox) has gone this
direction with custom apps for a variety of platforms, and I think it's
a great model.

On an different note: I miss the era of the $200 wired SqueezeBox.
We're a multiple SqueezeBox household. My six-year-old daughter has her
own SqueezeBox in her room. My three-year-old son is about due for his
own. Today's SqueezeBox costs 33% more than the last one I bought in
Summer 2004.

Overall, I feel a bit left at the side of the road by the current
product line and prices. I suppose the new line works great for new
adopters who are willing to buy receivers and controllers such that the
receivers outnumber the controllers. Deployed like this, Slim is
definitely less pricey than Sonos. With my existing setup, though, I'm
suffering from sticker shock and can't figure out how to evolve it
short of the used market on eBay.

I do hope you guys have great success with the new products, and I hope
you'll consider pursuing native apps on the N800/N810 platform.


-- 
Greg Friedman
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Greg Friedman's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=286
View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=41813

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