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How Much Are You Paying For Electronics Labels?
An anonymous reader writes "Interesting article on CNET about different consumer electronics brands selling identical OEM products, often at wildly different price points. The author also examines the phenomenon of manufacturers releasing "consumer" and "industrial" versions of the same product -- with the cheaper version aimed at businesses. Probably old news for the slashdot crowd, but it's worth reading to see how much Middle America is overpaying. Caveat emptor, indeed." And there are also product lines where the expensive version is aimed at business buyers, because a higher price implies greater credibility.
The author also examines the phenomenon of manufacturers releasing "consumer" and "industrial" versions of the same product -- with the cheaper version aimed at businesses
i don't know about other industries, but in the consumer electronics world (at least in chips and other electronics parts), "consumer" means that a part was rated for a specific { temperature, pressure, voltage tolerance, radiation, interference } range, while "industrial" was rated for a different (usually wider) range. you do NOT want the same microcontroller in your car's antilock brake system as there is in your TV remote control, even though they may be essentially the same device. sometimes they're the same part, sometimes they're not. sometimes the price is different, sometimes it's the same.
it is not uncommon for manufacturers to sell "industrial" parts as "consumer" rated, at a lower price point. this is usually because it is cheaper to make one part than two.