This 3000 figure keeps getting quoted but I don't know what the legitimacy of that is. And I don't really see what problem that is anyway.DougieLawson wrote:... with a seriously large initial investment for 3000 units needed.hippy wrote:The Element 14 'Design your own Pi' service could be described as an, open to everyone, cloning operation ...
Many businesses have minimum order quantities, tooling costs, up-front payments. It may not be a service for one-offs and individuals, but that's nothing a commercial venture would not expect. Though I imagine if they were paid enough they would do a one off.
As with any venture it's up to those running it to decide if it is worthwhile and profitable enough to pursue. I believe I could easily sell 100K Pi Zero style boards at $10 to $20. The main issues would be if Element 14 could or would do that, how much they wanted to charge me, and how long delivery would take. The main obstacles would be having the funding to do it and any restrictions which came with what Element 14 offered.