[Arm-netbook] Pass through card. Was: TODO list EOMA68 campaign

[Xavi Drudis Ferran]

El Tue, Jul 19, 2016 at 05:59:04PM +0100, Luke Kenneth Casson Leighton deia:
> On Tue, Jul 19, 2016 at 7:18 AM, Xavi Drudis Ferran <xdrudis at tinet.cat> wrote:
> > El Tue, Jul 19, 2016 at 05:34:06AM +0100, Luke Kenneth Casson Leighton deia:
> >
> >> * i'm thinking of putting the "pass through" card on the campaign,
> >>   approximate pledge amount $40 (because in low-volume expected
> >>   it'll be about a $20 BOM), that would turn the laptop housing into
> >>   a battery-operated screen, keyboard and trackpad for any smartphone,
> >>   USB-HDMI-dongle-PC, laptop or desktop PC.  thoughts appreciated
> >>   on that one.
> >>
> >
> > Go for it !
> >
> > I'm not aware of the cost you would have to bring it in before the
> > campaign deadline (is it finished, tested, ready?), but if you can do
> > it, don't doubt.
> 
>  it's been planned for a long time, i can estimate the BOM (not a lot
> - about $6 of components) it's the PCB manufacturing that will be a
> bit more than usual if the quantities are small, even if it's a
> single-sided 2-layer PCB
>

No idea about those calculations. You said around $40 for the backer
to get one, that sounds about right. Psicologically it's still more
than half the price of a CPU card, and it doesn't carry SOC, RAM or
storage. That may be countered with just publishing the BOMs of both 
the passthrough card and CPU card (if they aren't already). But even 
without that, $40 it's not so off the mark.

If it can be 30$ or 32$ you may sell more. If it comes to $50 it
starts to look too close to $65 (CPU card) or to $55 (desktop, but I'm
not sure this is a valid comparison) and people might think twice.  I
can't calculate the point where the sales volume outweights the lower
profit per unit. No idea.

I'd even say ask for more PCBs than pledges to anticipate future sells, 
but it's not my own money I'm playing with so I'll refrain. I'm sligthly
surprised by the small amount of laptop orders so far, and I haven't thought
much, but I don't see the passthrough card+ desktop as even remotely as
interesting as pasthrough card + laptop. 

Other components are unique (like female connectors instead of male or 
something) or can they be grouped with components for other rewards
and so enjoy the price of larger orders ? I don't have an idea of 
MOQs, price/quantity intervals or anything.

Another factor is time. If it is ready to offer before the deadline it
makes sense. If prototypes, testing and so on takes longer, then 
maybe it'll have to wait to future campaigns...

> 
>  then again you've probably seen the USB-HDMI dongle PC connected to
> motorola atrix lapdock "version 1" instructables.... you can't use the
> version 2 as they DRM-locked it.
> 

I haven't seen that. I don't really imagine what it is right now. Worth
looking it up ? I lose interest when reading DRM...

Whatever it is it can't possibly hold the promise to host a EOMA68 cpu
card with someone's favorite SOC in the future, can it?