On 8-May-2006, "Dico" wrote:

If Dell can deliver an entire computer system to my door for $299
Canadian, I'm guessing that it costs less to put together one of these
boxes.... the upgrade will probably run us 2 or 3 Dell systems!


If panel-mounted, IFR-certified GPS/NAV/COM units were bought in the volumes
that personal computers are, the GNS-430 would probably cost a few hundred
dollars. They would be manufactured in China, and there would be a dozen
companies competing for the business. Send one to the manufacturer for a
hardware upgrade? No way -- you would just buy a new one.

Bottom line: in electronics, cost of the product is far more sensitive to
manufacturing volume than it is to its functional sophistication or
complexity.

-Elliott Drucker