I passed a computer store this evening with a huge sign in the window boasting “Computers $299.” I doubt they’re talking about a full system, but this is terrific for making computers economically accessible to more people.
Along these lines, I see that Scoble bought his son a new computer today…for a meager $550. Great deal.
Too bad Scoble wasn’t able to swing a Tablet PC for his son. 🙂 A good Tablet would cost him at least twice this. That’s the reality. I’ve heard of several friends purchasing systems in the $600 price range too. It’s becoming more and more common.
This talk of inexpensive computers though, reminds me of my early days of micros. In the late ’70s I built my first computer–an 8080 S100 system–for about $600 or so. I purchased the components one at a time, so I’m not quite sure what it all came to, but it was incrementally inexpensive enough that I could afford to pay for everything from what I was making on a paper route.
Then in 1985 I purchased my first PC clone for $499 at a local computer store. It only had a floppy drive (no hard drive), 64K of RAM, and a Hercules (B&W) graphics card. I picked up a “green” monitor for $149 separately. The price was just about at the outer range that my meager college income could handle–but by limiting my meals to Taco Bell I was able to pull it off.
Although in subsequent years I started paying more–much more–for my computer systems, prices have been coming down over the last 6 years or so. The only “inexpensive” computers I bought during this time were a handful of PDAs–each around the $500 price point area.
The point is…I think there’s something magical about the $500 price range. Yes, you can get a lot more for your $500 today than 20 years ago, but it’s a lot more feasible to set aside the money and buy a computer for someone. You can get a $500 system for your kids or your grandparents or the local charity. It’s quite amazing.
So I wonder…what will it be like when Tablets reach the $500 price point? Who knows if we’re talking five or fifteen years out, but I bet when Tablets get down to that range, they’ll be a platform of choice for most of us.
