Re: Cost
Since you seem so well versed in SoC availability and what the market wants, why not design and build your own competitor?
Or are you one of those people happy to complain because product A doesn't do exactly what you want but not so happy to actually get off their arse and do something about it?
There are already competitors out there trying to compete on price with the Raspi. None of them are doing very well. The BBB sales are terrible, the Banana Pi infringes more trademarks that you can shake a stick at, the Cubie is great but expensive. The rest come under similar categories.
Consider - if there are all these great chips and devices out there, why isn't there a faster better Raspberry Pi competitor out there? It's been TWO YEARS. You would have thought there would be one by now. And yet there isn't one at the same price point, with anywhere near the same level of sales or support.
Maybe, just maybe, it's a little more difficult than you seem to think? Maybe, just maybe, the Raspberry Pi has hit the sweet spot of price vs performance and no-one else can reach it? Even with all those cheap as chips high performance ARM chips out there.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
