infoTECH Feature

March 01, 2010

Freescale to Drive Down E-reader Price with Chip, but is it Enough to Drive Sales?

By Kelly McGuire
Despite the current economy slowing pulling itself out of the suicide hole it’s been in for the past almost two years, companies and individuals are still trying to save a buck.
 
Especially when it comes to seemingly overpriced electronic devices – no matter how funky and trendy they may be.
 
One of the most popular devices circling the telecom industry is the outbreak of e-readers. The only problem stopping people from using them more and saying bye bye to paper books forever? The pretty steep prices.
 
But now, Freescale Semiconductor (News - Alert) is reportedly releasing a new chip that will help drive down prices in the next generation of e-readers.
 
“Cost is really the main driver of the market's growth,” said Glen Burchers, director of global consumer marketing for Freescale.
 
Freescale's next-generation e-reader chip combines two important pieces -- an applications processor and a display controller -- into a single piece of hardware, which the company says will cut the retail price by around $30.
 
My question is this: is $30 really enough to get people to start buying? I know for me, the $259.00 Amazon Kindle would still be too expensive at $229.00.
 
What do you think?

Kelly McGuire is a TMCnet Web editor, covering CRM and workforce technologies, and anchor of its daily TMC Newsroom video broadcast. Kelly also writes about eco-friendly "green" technologies and smart grids, compiling TMCnet's weekly e-Newsletters on those topics, as well as the cable industry. To read more of Kelly's articles, please visit her columnist page.

Edited by Kelly McGuire
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