The latest project being touted is a $10 cellphone, but, one wonders, isn't that already here or hereabouts?
In February 2006, TTPCom announced a reference design for a $20 cellphone. Fourteen months on that may well have transitioned to $10 just by the process of Moore's Law.
Of course TTPCom has been taken over by Motorola (in July 2006) in the meantime which may have slowed down its evolutionary processes.
The new project to produce a $10 cellphone within two years is, allegedly, being mooted by UC Berkeley's Centre for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society (CITRIS) working with Taiwanese contract manufacturers Hon Hai Precision Industry, Compal Communications and Quanta Computer.
CITRIS seems a bit out of touch. Not only was TTPCom talking $20 last year, but Infineon has a single-chip solution which allows a BOM of $16 this year.
A couple of weeks ago I bought a MotoFone from Phones4U in Sutton High Street for £14.95 on a Pay-as-you-go (absolutely no handset subsidy) contract. A fine thing it is too.
So wake up UC Berkeley! Set yourself a reasonably tough target. How about a $5 handset in two years?
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Comments (2)
I concur - last time I was in the Valley I bought a Virgin/Kyocera phone for $20 at Best Buy, including a $5 call credit.
A loss leader maybe, but the price is right!
Posted by Dick James | April 13, 2007 3:29 PM
Posted on April 13, 2007 15:29
Dick, Thanks for that. That's exactly the same procedure a Virgin/Kyocera phone from Best Buy - which I went through 3 years ago.
Then it was $40-something, but included airtime, and recently they introduced a PayPal top-up for it which helps to keep it current.
Best wishes
David
Posted by David Manners | April 13, 2007 3:41 PM
Posted on April 13, 2007 15:41