Dolemite wrote:
] HP gets the majority of their profit from the consumables
] division. They want you to replace the paper rolls in your
] phone all the time!

Oh, I know it makes sense for them. That doesn't mean it'll fly.

] How much do you think a bluetooth cash
] register would cost?

Conservatively, I could produce this for under $200 in bulk. Its a subset of the electronics in the cellphone.

] Remember, it's much easier for you, the consumer, to pay for
] the bridging technology.

Is it? Only if you can convince me to agree to buy a printerphone.

BTW, coupons are not a good thing to have people printing, because what you can print, you can copy. You have to control the scarcity of coupons or you can't control the costs of the promotion. The only way to control the scarcity of coupons that you print is with barcodes and a little bit of cryptography (same way I was going to sell phreaknic tickets online). The gear for that is going to cost about the same as a similar terminal using bluetooth. Thats why I don't see a cost savings with paper.

] There's a book that addresses this, called
] "Crossing the Chasm," that explains why this chasm between
] early adoption and mainstream exists, but you just got my
] synopsis... if the geeks like it, then it must be too hard
] for Average Joe to use.

There is some truth to the points you're making here, but I don't think they apply in this specific case. You know, I think this would make a good bet for longbets.com, although I don't have a grand that I could afford to wager on it. :)

RE: Can you hear me now, killing a tree?