4 ms·

From the start the promise of building a large touchscreen tablet for $300 was simply impossible. Either they were naive or dishonest. The 12" LCD touch panel a

by jsz0 17y ago

From the start the promise of building a large touchscreen tablet for $300 was simply impossible. Either they were naive or dishonest. The 12" LCD touch panel alone is likely $200-$300 in bulk or even more. How can you price a product at retail below the cost of an individual component? As the price crept up to $400, then $500 and probably more realistically $800-$1k I think Mr. Arrington needed an end game that didn't make him look dishonest or naive. An IP dispute solves that problem nicely. Of course he could be telling the truth but based on the pricing fib/naivety I'm skeptical.

elai 17y ago
I've seen large "touch panel" layer parts for various devices for well under $100 and 1080p 22" TN LCD screens with built in speakers for $100-$150, so a 12" touchscreen panel would likely be nowhere near $200.
- jsz0 17y ago
  In what type of volume?
  - nl 17y ago
    Here's a 15" panel at $97 for a single order: http://wholesale.alibaba.com/product-gs/261192316-15inch-SAW-touchscreen-water-proof-Metal-frame--wholesalers.html http://wholesale.alibaba.com/product-gs/261192316-15inch-SAW... Note that this a touch panel not the LCD, but they do work perfectly well
- krschultz 17y ago
  You're comparing apples to oranges.
DanBlake 17y ago
Its called pre-installed software, search engines and default services. Its worth alot- Both in "revenue now" and recurring revenue.
nl 17y ago
Here's a 7" tablet for under $274 at retail: http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.31523 http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.31523 A 12" device for $300 might be hard, but under $500 is doable for sure (even with a capacitive touchscreen). (Edit: another version, without Android support for $211: http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.27441 http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.27441)
- nl 17y ago
  12" touchscreen monitor for $249 for a single piece: http://wholesale.alibaba.com/product-gs/263506741-12-Inch-Touch-Screen-TFT-LCD-Monitor-wholesalers.html http://wholesale.alibaba.com/product-gs/263506741-12-Inch-To... That'll be under $200 in bulk, and as a screen (not a complete monitor). Based on those prices, $400 for the complete device might be possible.
- potatolicious 17y ago
  That's not a capacitive screen. Apple has effectively banished all other (mobile) touch technologies - capacitive is the only one that doesn't royally suck as far as user experience goes. A 12" capacitive touch layer... think at least $250 at volume.
  - nl 17y ago
    I'm not sure resistive screens "royally" suck. They aren't as good as capacitive, but Nokia still uses them. Maybe only "suck"? The pricing isn't clear. http://utouch.en.alibaba.com/productgrouplist-209605425/capacitive_touch_screen.html http://utouch.en.alibaba.com/productgrouplist-209605425/capa... has a range - I'd guess $250 might be about right.
    - potatolicious 17y ago
      Resistive is what was common before capacitive came along - I'm sure we've all played with them extensively at some point. Take my Garmin GPS for example, it's got a resistive screen that, coming from a daily iPhone user, just doesn't work. I have to practically stab it with a fingertip to get it to register, and even then it's pretty consistently wrong, and will often think I'm tapping the button next to it. Argh. The iPhone set the bar - and manufacturers have responded. I doubt you will find a single manufacturer now who is trying to peddle resistive touchscreen phones in their new products. Nokia, Moto, HTC, etc, appear to only have capacitive touchscreens on the roadmap - for good reason. Most tablet PCs are feeling incredibly dated for the same reason - IMHO the next product to enter this field will need capacitive sensing, or die.
vidarh 17y ago
I was involved in a similar project ten years ago. At the time we had no problems getting to ca. $500 with a 10.9" LCD/touch combo, obviously otherwise with very modest specs (a NS x86 clone, 32MB RAM, 16MB flash) but enough to get Opera running on a stripped down Linux with a number of other apps. Sourcing a reasonably priced touch screen was definitively not what killed that project. I'd be very surprised if $300 would've been impossible today, even with a larger screen, though of course that depends on the rest of the specs. Especially given the specs of my new $500 laptop. Sure, it lacks a touch layer, but its also spec'ed far higher than you'd need for a pad like this.

by jsz0 17y ago

elai 17y ago

I've seen large "touch panel" layer parts for various devices for well under $100 and 1080p 22" TN LCD screens with built in speakers for $100-$150, so a 12" touchscreen panel would likely be nowhere near $200.

jsz0 17y ago
In what type of volume?
- nl 17y ago
  Here's a 15" panel at $97 for a single order: http://wholesale.alibaba.com/product-gs/261192316-15inch-SAW-touchscreen-water-proof-Metal-frame--wholesalers.html http://wholesale.alibaba.com/product-gs/261192316-15inch-SAW... Note that this a touch panel not the LCD, but they do work perfectly well
krschultz 17y ago
You're comparing apples to oranges.

DanBlake 17y ago

Its called pre-installed software, search engines and default services. Its worth alot- Both in "revenue now" and recurring revenue.

nl 17y ago

Here's a 7" tablet for under $274 at retail: http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.31523 http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.31523 A 12" device for $300 might be hard, but under $500 is doable for sure (even with a capacitive touchscreen). (Edit: another version, without Android support for $211: http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.27441 http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.27441)

nl 17y ago
12" touchscreen monitor for $249 for a single piece: http://wholesale.alibaba.com/product-gs/263506741-12-Inch-Touch-Screen-TFT-LCD-Monitor-wholesalers.html http://wholesale.alibaba.com/product-gs/263506741-12-Inch-To... That'll be under $200 in bulk, and as a screen (not a complete monitor). Based on those prices, $400 for the complete device might be possible.
potatolicious 17y ago
That's not a capacitive screen. Apple has effectively banished all other (mobile) touch technologies - capacitive is the only one that doesn't royally suck as far as user experience goes. A 12" capacitive touch layer... think at least $250 at volume.
- nl 17y ago
  I'm not sure resistive screens "royally" suck. They aren't as good as capacitive, but Nokia still uses them. Maybe only "suck"? The pricing isn't clear. http://utouch.en.alibaba.com/productgrouplist-209605425/capacitive_touch_screen.html http://utouch.en.alibaba.com/productgrouplist-209605425/capa... has a range - I'd guess $250 might be about right.
  - potatolicious 17y ago
    Resistive is what was common before capacitive came along - I'm sure we've all played with them extensively at some point. Take my Garmin GPS for example, it's got a resistive screen that, coming from a daily iPhone user, just doesn't work. I have to practically stab it with a fingertip to get it to register, and even then it's pretty consistently wrong, and will often think I'm tapping the button next to it. Argh. The iPhone set the bar - and manufacturers have responded. I doubt you will find a single manufacturer now who is trying to peddle resistive touchscreen phones in their new products. Nokia, Moto, HTC, etc, appear to only have capacitive touchscreens on the roadmap - for good reason. Most tablet PCs are feeling incredibly dated for the same reason - IMHO the next product to enter this field will need capacitive sensing, or die.

vidarh 17y ago

I was involved in a similar project ten years ago. At the time we had no problems getting to ca. $500 with a 10.9" LCD/touch combo, obviously otherwise with very modest specs (a NS x86 clone, 32MB RAM, 16MB flash) but enough to get Opera running on a stripped down Linux with a number of other apps. Sourcing a reasonably priced touch screen was definitively not what killed that project. I'd be very surprised if $300 would've been impossible today, even with a larger screen, though of course that depends on the rest of the specs. Especially given the specs of my new $500 laptop. Sure, it lacks a touch layer, but its also spec'ed far higher than you'd need for a pad like this.