Re: the Papenmeir device that was supposed to be coming out

[Janina Sajka <janina@afb.net>]

Tommy, what did Papenmeier/Alva develop on this product? The OS? The 
telecomm progs that talk modem and ethernet? Maybe the word fileformat 
converters? Perhaps the calendars? What?

 On Tue, 13 Nov 2001, Tommy Craig 
wrote:

> Well I guess I didn't make my point very well. The reason prices on
> computers are dropping is because they are sold by the hundreds of
> thousands. For example, Dell computers sells more computers in one hour than
> A blindness company is likely to sell in five years. When a manufacturer
> develops a new product it cost a lot of money in or&d. It takes months if
> not years to developed a new product line and it takes a team of dedicated
> and talented people to do it. These people don't work for free. As a matter
> of fact they usually get paid very well. It also cost an amazing amount to
> make test models and to developed a case to put it all in. If Dell spends
> $800,000 to developed a new product and it sells 100000 of them, it only
> cost them $8 per unit to developed it. If on the other hand a blindness
> company spends $800,000 to developed a new product and only sells a thousand
> of them, then it cost $800 per unit to developed it. Also manufacturing cost
> are much less when you produce tens of thousands of something than when you
> produce hundreds of units.
> 
>     The next area of course is sales and support. If you go to Office Depot
> and buy a computer, the salesperson spends maybe ten minutes with you, takes
> your money and you go home and will probably never see that person again.
> When I sell a product, It is usually after making a trip to see the
> individual, in many cases tens or hundreds of miles away. Once I get to the
> person, I usually spend at least a couple of hours showing the product,
> answering questions and teaching the person at least the basics of how to
> use the device. Then once I make the sale, I usually spend time on the phone
> answering questions and helping the user get the most out of their product.
> I'm not complaining. I believe that I owe it to my customers to make sure
> they have the best experience possible with my products, but it is still a
> far different relationship than people have with their department store.
> 
>     You also state that the price of Braille displays is not dropping but is
> instead increasing. This is certainly not the case. When I first started
> working with Papenmeier displays, the IB-80 cost around $18,000. Now a
> comparable model sells for around $10,000. It's still not cheap, but it is
> certainly less expensive than it used to be. We have also increased the
> reliability of our products. For example, back then you got a one year
> warranty, now our displays come with a three year warranty. This is also
> just the opposite of what most companies are doing. For example, Dell used
> to provide a three year warranty with all of their systems. They now offer a
> one year warranty and charge extra for additional years.
> 
>     Don't get me wrong. I do wish the products I sell were much cheaper. I
> would love to see the price cut in half or even better. I don't believe it
> will happen anytime soon though. You also ask about the statement concerning
> Linux software. The point is that with the ELBA you will be able to run off
> the shelf software that is free or very inexpensive. You can download a
> title and use it instead of or in addition to what we provide.
> Tommy
> 
> 
> 
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-- 
	
				Janina Sajka, Director
				Technology Research and Development
				Governmental Relations Group
				American Foundation for the Blind (AFB)

Email: janina@afb.net		Phone: (202) 408-8175

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