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Freescale's Cheap Chip Could Mean Sub-$99 E-Readers

Posted by timothy on from the readership-growth dept.

eldavojohn writes "Last week, Freescale Semiconductor announced their i.MX508 chip and a few days ago released a rather bland and boring announcement that it's available. But there was at least one interesting line from that press release, 'The i.MX508 applications processor is expected to be priced at less than $10 (USD) in quantities greater than 250K units.' Yes, less than ten dollars. This sparked a wave of articles detailing how this new chip will allow the sub-$99 e-reader to emerge and according to market research, consumers are thirsty for something much more affordable than the Kindle."

6 of 158 comments (clear)

  1. But what about the cost of e-ink? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I seriously doubt it's the processor that's causing the Kindle to be so high priced. It's most likely the costs of using the e-ink screens.

    1. Re:But what about the cost of e-ink? by godrik · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I also think that the display is the main cost. But the network interface are not that cheap as well. And I think the main cost of the kindle may be the 3G internet access.

    2. Re:But what about the cost of e-ink? by Kell+Bengal · · Score: 4, Insightful

      See, that's what the sensible person would think. But note, if you loaded books via USB, how could they tether you to their expensive online bookstore? How would they upsell to you? Gasp - you might even buy PDFs from a competitor!

      --
      Scientists point out problems, engineers fix them
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  2. Re:Cheaper than the Kindle, and OPEN. by Lunix+Nutcase · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Except most consumers don't care about something being "open".

  3. Re:Really wont change the price by gad_zuki! · · Score: 5, Insightful

    >by sacrificing things like onboard wireless (which adds ~$40 to the cost of the Kindle).

    Its not wifi chips that are expensive its the EVDO and the deal Amazon has with Sprint that's expensive. I dont need a EVDO ebook reader. Wifi is good enough. Just give me an offline option if I cant get it on wifi someplace (copy file to USB drive and insert it into ebook reader). Really, there's a huge hole in the market for sub $150 dollar ebook readers. Its probably doable with a smaller eink screen and lack of bell and whistles. The Sony pocket edition reader is pretty close.

  4. Re:Why would I want one again? by Abcd1234 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Plus, they're great for reading in bed. Anyone who's tried to read lying on their side knows how much of an *enormous* pain in the ass regular paper books are. It's just not doable. But an ereader is perfectly comfortable.