[johansch]

(Yeah; I meant Broadcom, not Qualcomm.)

No specific allegations. I just find it odd that Broadcom apparently still sell these chips at a low price only (?) to the RasPi foundation - just because of a personal relationship - someone who worked at Broadcom then created the RasPi foundation.

What does Broadcom get out of this exclusive relationship? (Is it still exclusive?) It just smelled odd when I first heard about this way back in 2012 or so when it first launched. Four years later there's lots of volume, but the same arrangement is still going strong. I find this peculiar.

[justin66]

The arrangement is unusual, but I wonder why you're using words like "odd" and "peculiar" to describe it, as if Broadcom has ulterior motives.

Broadcom sells parts cheaply or at cost and in return gets some free advertising and the appearance of being altruistic. It all seems fairly uncomplicated.

[dispose13432]

Well, what _do_ you think Broadcom gets out of this?

And more importantly, what do I (as a RPi user) lose out?

[ZenoArrow]

>"And more importantly, what do I (as a RPi user) lose out?"

If nothing else, you miss out from the benefits of stronger competition. The Odroid-W is one example of a product that appeared to be cancelled because of the Raspberry Pi Foundation's close ties with Broadcom:

https://liliputing.com/2014/08/hardkernels-raspberry-pi-like...