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It all depends on volume. You can buy a decent 8" tablet - with screen, battery, case, charger and everything that is on the CHIP - for $50 at retail. Cut out
by creeble 11y ago
It all depends on volume. You can buy a decent 8" tablet - with screen, battery, case, charger and everything that is on the CHIP - for $50 at retail.
Cut out all those parts and at sufficient volume, $9 seems possible.
- tyingq 11y agoThat's a very different situation. The no-name tablets were sold all over the world in HUGE volumes, and weren't $50 at the beginning. The initial higher prices covered the sunk costs. The volume for CHIP isn't even in the same universe. Likely, the tablet used the A33 Allwinner chip. Because of the volume, that would have been a cheaper option than the brand-new R8, but not by much. Maybe $1 less. That still doesn't get you to a < $9 bom.
- makomk 11y agoThe R8 isn't exactly new - it's apparently the exact same die as Allwinner's ancient A13 chip, which in turn is a cost-reduced version of their first single-core A10 chip for Android tablets.
- tyingq 11y agoSorry, yes. The R8M was CHIP's original plan, and that is new. The R8, though, is more costly than the A33, when you ask Allwinner directly. Olimex asked Allwinner directly why, and this was the answer: "R8 is new IC just published especially on IoT, it is not like A33 this one had used on a large scale forTablet PC. So R8 is more expensive as produced in lower quantities than A33 which is selling for tablets in big volumes."[1] [1]https://olimex.wordpress.com/2015/06/05/how-to-get-in-the-news-tell-people-that-you-will-make-and-sell-something-which-cost-you-20-for-9/ https://olimex.wordpress.com/2015/06/05/how-to-get-in-the-ne... (bottom of page)