01-22-2022, 01:51 PM
(01-22-2022, 12:38 PM)moonwalkers Wrote: Similar sentiments here, but we all should keep in mind that this "manufacture elsewhere" will almost certainly cost _much_ more. Just look around for some products that already have variants proudly manufactured in US of A vs ordinarily manufactured like everything else in PRC - that pride has a hefty price tag even people with much above median income like yours truly will think twice before paying on essentially mere hobbyist devices. That is, if my primary use case required ARM hardware or PBP could otherwise completely replace my primary laptop (a ThinkPad) in terms of features (primarily TrackPoint, ports, and general expandability/upgradability) and performance (meaning competing in mobile workstation segment with the most powerful CPUs and GPUs and crazy amounts of RAM), I probably would be willing to pay that extra price in a heartbeat. But as things stand right now, the only reason I bought original Pinebook and PBP - their low price.
By "elsewhere" I was thinking of perhaps India or Singapore, as examples. As for the western hemisphere, Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay come to mind as possible candidates, and if only mechanical fabrication and final assembly are considered, the Freeport free trade zone in The Bahamas could be VERY attractive cost-wise. But I have real fears about both the stability and the viability of both China and Taiwan, and stability is essential to a start-up company, even one with really lovely products and progressive engineering like Pine64. I'm a satisfied customer who's inn the process of replacing his top-grade six year old Pro-grade HP laptop with this Pinebook Pro and seeing no real difference in performance even though the Pinebook is 1/10 the price.
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