[ajsnigrutin]

Why is this so expensive?

Raspberrypi zero 2w + some stripped down OS that boots directly to an editor, lcd display and a nice case would be much cheaper. Also easier to implement other stuff, like different fonts, use your own 'cloud' to sync stuff (and not being forced into a subscription), etc.

[the__alchemist]

I believe this is equivalent to lamenting that the price of tea in a shop is more than the tea bag's price.

[ajsnigrutin]

Sure, but here we're talking about 20euros for a PG Tips teabag and some water in a weird cup (eg )

At some point you ask yourself if it's worth it, and in both cases, for me, it isn't.

https://goat-story.com/collections/coffee-mugs/products/goat...

[scripturial]

Parts for something like this? $1 ESP32, $5 LCD, $2 lithium battery, $5 3D printed case. Assembly? (Depending on quantity) maybe $5. This is max $20 to build.

I guess if you want something like this but don’t have time to build it it could be worth $100

[ajsnigrutin]

And the regular (non-reduced price) is $200.

Which is already in the chromebook price teritory

[TylerE]

Because a bag of parts isn’t a functioning device, and things like labor and customer support cost money? Things like a “nice case” can only be done affordably when you’re stamping out tens of thousands of the things.

[ajsnigrutin]

Sure, but the full price is $200, which is already in the cheap laptop range. With much more functionality, more expensive parts and yes, with labor and customer support.

ASUS E410 is $159 currently on Bezos' website.

[numpad0]

  https://www.google.com/search?q=coolest+cooler

[nkrisc]

Wait until you find out the BOM for every device costs less than the retail price.

[ajsnigrutin]

Sure, but the retail price of a ASUS E410 laptop (some celeron, 4gb ram, 64gb storage) is currently $159 on bezos' website.

So for the same price, I either get some small gadget that is horrible to actually use (just try scrolling through tens of pages on this), or a full featured laptop (yes, performane-wise it sucks, but less than the gadget) and just run gEdit fullscreen. Keyboard included.

[nkrisc]

I’m sure with the volume of products that ASUS produces they can really lower costs due to economy of scale.