Thusly Matthias Neeracher spake unto All:
MN> a) Capitalizing on the strengths of the platforms, move as quickly as
MN> possible
MN> to a faster hardware platform, and, while this move is underway,
MN> maintain
MN> the existing market share with competitive prices.
MN> b) Recoup some of the acquisition cost by turning a fast buck selling
MN> overpriced systems to the customers locked into the Amiga. Don't
MN> spend
MN> much on hardware and software development beyond making 68060 Amigas
MN> and
MN> keep producing small series of Amigas until the user base has rotted
MN> away.
MN> Now, while the *rhetorics* of AmiTech have suggested strategy a), their
MN> actual
MN> *actions* suggest that Escom is in fact planning on b). If this suspicion
The price supports strategy a) equally well, IMO. I personally see these
10,000 A4000s not really as a serious product line, but as custom built
machines (if memory serves they would be built on demand, right?) meant
more or less as a service to important customers until production ramps
up. Building on demand will surely add cost to the machine, as will
having to start up very quickly. I also suspect that ESCOM will focus
primarily on Europe, so most of the RAM, diskdrives etc they do manage to
procure will go into those 100,000 A1200 slated for Europe, while the
A4000s are on backburner.
To sum it up: those who really need A4000s can get one, at a premium. The
others will have to settle for A1200s until production is ramped up.
Offcourse, you might be right and Escom is only trying to make a quick buck,
but it seems like a rather roundabout way to do it (hiring developers,
contracting retailers, setting up offices etc).
Quote:>> You have a working Amiga setup, you have the software
>> and you have people trained at using it - are you really going to
>> get new software and retrain the personnel if you need to expand?
MN> No, but what if the software is available on another platform?
You're thinking of, ie, Lightwave? Well, my guess is that you might
save a few bucks by buying a Pentium instead, but that's provided you
don't have a lot of custom written software (which many companies do).
I'd guess that the makers of ones software wouldn't charge full price
for the version for the new platform, though.
The point is that the hardware price alone is a fairly minor issue
for commercial setups.
Quote:>> Especially considering that the software alone for that cheap new
>> PC might cost more than a whole new AmiTech priced Amiga.
MN> I don't know anything about pricing strategies for video softwares, but
MN> in most
MN> other markets, high end software is not a one time expense anyway, but
MN> needs constant upgrade & support fees.
Yes, but that's equally true of any platform (provided you don't get it
to work perfectly or the supplier goes bust). Switching platform wont
lower that cost, and the initial cost of the new software (+ licenses if
needed) will still be hefty.
Quote:>> much. For a company which has already invested in this technique, or
>> for which no suitable software exists on other platforms - it's peanuts.
>> Hell, let's not forget that Unis bought Macs which cost TWICE that
>> just a year or two ago.
MN> I agree that for corporate users, the difference is not that significant,
MN> but the *signal* that this pricing sets *is* significant.
But just what is the signal? If there is a signal yet, it's very muddled.
I wouldn't make big decisions based on it.
Quote:>> in short supply. I guess that is exactly the reason Escom tries to
>> get a few A4000s out the door even though they'll have to sell them
>> at this incredible price.
MN> Do they *have* to sell them at this price? Although I hate to contradict
MN> Dr. Kittel, who has infinitely more knowledge about the situation than
MN> me, I
MN> simply can't imagine that AmiTech wouldn't be able to profit from Escom's
MN> established supply channels for most parts (in particular RAM, which he
MN> mentioned). How many PCs does Escom build per year? How difficult can it
MN> be to
MN> sequeeze in some orders for 10'000 Amigas?
I cannot really comment on whether there is a very large margin of profit
on this price. It seems likely, but if they are built on demand (perhaps
more or less by hand) and since it seems certain there wont be much
economy of scale for teh A4000 - who knows? As to how difficult - they
have to find a plant with the right equipment to do it, and that plant
may not be contracted to do something else. That might well be tricky.
Quote:>> That's what the pricetag is trying to tell you.
MN> And what it's actually telling many customers is that the Amiga as a
MN> platform is dying.
To me it sounds more like the company making it is having difficulties,
as no doubt AmiTech is right now (understaffed, overworked, and with an
extremely tight schedule). In about six months the picture should have
cleared considerably.
MN> Matthias
MVH: Mike Noreen
Fido: 2:201/411.14
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