Well I guess I didn't make my point very well. The reason prices on
computers are dropping is because they are sold by the hundreds of
thousands. For example, Dell computers sells more computers in one hour than
A blindness company is likely to sell in five years. When a manufacturer
develops a new product it cost a lot of money in or&d. It takes months if
not years to developed a new product line and it takes a team of dedicated
and talented people to do it. These people don't work for free. As a matter
of fact they usually get paid very well. It also cost an amazing amount to
make test models and to developed a case to put it all in. If Dell spends
$800,000 to developed a new product and it sells 100000 of them, it only
cost them $8 per unit to developed it. If on the other hand a blindness
company spends $800,000 to developed a new product and only sells a thousand
of them, then it cost $800 per unit to developed it. Also manufacturing cost
are much less when you produce tens of thousands of something than when you
produce hundreds of units.
The next area of course is sales and support. If you go to Office Depot
and buy a computer, the salesperson spends maybe ten minutes with you, takes
your money and you go home and will probably never see that person again.
When I sell a product, It is usually after making a trip to see the
individual, in many cases tens or hundreds of miles away. Once I get to the
person, I usually spend at least a couple of hours showing the product,
answering questions and teaching the person at least the basics of how to
use the device. Then once I make the sale, I usually spend time on the phone
answering questions and helping the user get the most out of their product.
I'm not complaining. I believe that I owe it to my customers to make sure
they have the best experience possible with my products, but it is still a
far different relationship than people have with their department store.
You also state that the price of Braille displays is not dropping but is
instead increasing. This is certainly not the case. When I first started
working with Papenmeier displays, the IB-80 cost around $18,000. Now a
comparable model sells for around $10,000. It's still not cheap, but it is
certainly less expensive than it used to be. We have also increased the
reliability of our products. For example, back then you got a one year
warranty, now our displays come with a three year warranty. This is also
just the opposite of what most companies are doing. For example, Dell used
to provide a three year warranty with all of their systems. They now offer a
one year warranty and charge extra for additional years.
Don't get me wrong. I do wish the products I sell were much cheaper. I
would love to see the price cut in half or even better. I don't believe it
will happen anytime soon though. You also ask about the statement concerning
Linux software. The point is that with the ELBA you will be able to run off
the shelf software that is free or very inexpensive. You can download a
title and use it instead of or in addition to what we provide.
Tommy