Interesting $35 tablet running Linux

[Richard Pieri]

On Jul 23, 2010, at 1:12 PM, David Kramer wrote:
> 
> The short of it is that it's not physically possible to even buy all the
> components for anywhere near that money, let alone design, assemble, and
> market such a device  They used the cost breakdowns from similar
> devices, then assumed a super cheap crappy screen and smaller battery.

All of which is based on a possibly false premise: that the device in question is at all similar to today's state of the art mobile devices.  I can easily see something like the N770 being made today for under 50 bucks.  A passive matrix 800x480 panel can be had for under $50 in singles; bulk orders for less, of course.  That'll probably be the single most expensive component.  I can find 2GB SD cards for under 5 bucks.  A chipset comparable to the OMAP1 system architecture should similarly be quite cheap.  So, yeah, I think it's possible if you don't expect iPad or Droid Incredible performance but instead expect Nokia N770 performance.  The profit margin is going to be almost nonexistent but it is feasible.

--Rich P.