![]() However, it is worth pointing out that the Dana's odd screen size causes problems with a lot of PalmOS software. The Dana is pretty impressive for a PalmOS machine. I worked for the company that makes the AlphaSmart machines for a while. It is sturdily built, well thought out, and well supported by the company. Lastly, to AlphaSmart's credit, the machine isn't a sloppily assembled Chinese piece of crap toy. We also refurbed the units for schools on a regular basis (send us your entire stock, and we'll clean them up, put the latest software, etc.) dirt cheap. Often times, we'd be rebuilding machines for free, or for parts-cost if it was a broken display. I worked in their repair shop (at least a number of years back, they did ALL of their repairs here in the US), and you'd be surprised what kids can do to these things in an educational environment. A lot of the cost of the device included after-sales support. ![]() you think the $3000 plasma sets at Circuit City cost more than $600 to make? They don't.Īdditionally, AlphaSmart used to be very "friendly" with repairs and returns. That margin is totally in-line with a lot of other specialized electronics. I don't know if you've ever done small-run production before, but it would not surprise me if it cost them (today) $50 per unit to build at a typical job shop. The Neo is currently $219, which seems totally in line with a mature product based on a low-end 16-bit CPU (IIRC, the Neo is a 68000-derived chip) and Flash memory. A lot of the larger educational customers weren't paying full list for the product, but even so, it's been priced at under $500 for quite some time. They never intended to market the device to end users: it was designed, marketed, and sold primarily to the educational channel. ![]() Part of the reason why the machine had an "outrageous" price is mostly because it's a specialty device manufactured in small quantities, and AlphaSmart provides a whole lot of support to their purchasers. ![]()
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