3 ms·

> If they still make all 32 flavours a year from now, I'll be supprised. They guarantee 7 years of availability for Compute Modules, including this one, so...

> If they still make all 32 flavours a year from now, I'll be supprised. They guarantee 7 years of availability for Compute Modules, including this one, so... prepare to be surprised. They had plenty of time over the last 16 months since the launch of Pi 4 to decide how many SKUs to make for the Compute Module. This certainly wasn't done on a whim by some inexperienced team, which is what your post seems to imply. They've been doing this for years, and they realize the commitment they're making.

Zenst 6y ago
My postulation was based upon how they dropped the 1GB model of the Pi4 as it did not sell as well as the other models and was able to furfill it's role with lowering the price of the 2GB model, which happened about a year after the initial release. It is perfectly viable for them to shift to socketed eMMC and still accommodate all available flavours. But then how they sell will set that and if out say 99% of sales are for only 5 models and a socketed eMMC consolidate the offerings whilst still providing exact compatibility with the initial guaranteed offerings, then I still would not rule out such a change a year on, once they see what flavours do sell. That was the basis of my comment - nothing more, nothing less.
- coder543 6y ago
  The embedded market isn't anything like the direct to consumer market. D2C allows for fine tuning like that in a way the embedded market simply doesn't. If they change the product at all, downstream companies may have to get their products entirely re-certified, which can be an expensive and time consuming process. Those companies rely on having a stable supply of exactly the compute module that they designed their product around. Every detail matters. These SKUs are fixed in stone. If they discontinue or modify them at all before the specified 7 year date, that would substantially damage their relationship with downstream companies. They have upheld their previous commitments, so I don't expect them to start breaking commitments now.

Zenst 6y ago

My postulation was based upon how they dropped the 1GB model of the Pi4 as it did not sell as well as the other models and was able to furfill it's role with lowering the price of the 2GB model, which happened about a year after the initial release. It is perfectly viable for them to shift to socketed eMMC and still accommodate all available flavours. But then how they sell will set that and if out say 99% of sales are for only 5 models and a socketed eMMC consolidate the offerings whilst still providing exact compatibility with the initial guaranteed offerings, then I still would not rule out such a change a year on, once they see what flavours do sell. That was the basis of my comment - nothing more, nothing less.

coder543 6y ago
The embedded market isn't anything like the direct to consumer market. D2C allows for fine tuning like that in a way the embedded market simply doesn't. If they change the product at all, downstream companies may have to get their products entirely re-certified, which can be an expensive and time consuming process. Those companies rely on having a stable supply of exactly the compute module that they designed their product around. Every detail matters. These SKUs are fixed in stone. If they discontinue or modify them at all before the specified 7 year date, that would substantially damage their relationship with downstream companies. They have upheld their previous commitments, so I don't expect them to start breaking commitments now.