New low price

[Ed Pawlowski]

A couple of years ago there was a discussion here about the price of GPS
units. I said it won't be long before they are $100. Someone told me I was
wrong. Months later, they were being sold for $100. Now they are dropping
even more. He who laughs last, laughs best.

http://shopping.yahoo.com/articles/yshoppingarticles/293/black-friday-prepare-for-the-fight/
CNN Money explains what shoppers can expect find at Walmart on November 27.
According to sources, there will be HDTVs, laptops, toys, and Blu-ray
players for the grabbing. Confirmed products include a 50-inch Sanyo 720p
plasma TV for $598, a Magnavox Blu-ray player for $78, and a GPS from TomTom
for $59.

[maceda]

"GPS from TomTom for $59."

Now cheaper to buy a new unit every year than pay for map updates

[Bob Muncie]

maceda wrote:
> "GPS from TomTom for $59."
>
> Now cheaper to buy a new unit every year than pay for map updates
>

Maybe that's something the manufacturers should be considering
(listening Garmin?).

[Bob Bailey]

I bought a second Nuvi 350 for $120 about four months ago. The component
parts for these things are incredibly small and cheap. I have a modest
electronics bench and am amazed at how cheap some Integrated Circuits
are. Logic ckts are generally under $1 and you can buy a computer on a
chip for under $5.

I suspect the manufacturing cost in China for one of these devices is
under $30 FOB.

fwiw.. Bob

[maceda]

> I suspect the manufacturing cost in China for one of these devices is
> under $30 FOB.

China's costs are generally assembly rather than manufacturing, and
probably under $10

Interesting article here on a similar subject:

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/finance/edmundconway/100002310/what-the-ipod-tells-us-about-britains-economic-future/