Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!cbmvax!grr
From: grr@cbmvax.UUCP (George Robbins)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: On Amiga 500, 2000 and Expansion etc.
Message-ID: <3026@cbmvax.UUCP>
Date: 27 Dec 87 23:30:18 GMT
References: <1827@houxa.UUCP>
Reply-To: grr@cbmvax.UUCP (George Robbins)
Organization: Commodore Technology, West Chester, PA
Lines: 61

In article <1827@houxa.UUCP> shah1@houxa.UUCP (J.SHAH) writes:

> I recently bought an AMIGA 500 after doing some research on the AMIGA
> family of computers. The A500 cost me $539 plus taxes in New York City.
> 
> The A2000 has a robust power supply and that has a value of about $50 to me
> because my friends (EEs) tell me thats how much a more robust power supply
> for the A500 should cost. The power supply for the A500 is a very poor
> marketing and technical decision on the part of CBM. I would have been 
> more than willing to pay an incremental cost of $25 for a better power
> supply.

	You're simply repeating an unwarranted assumption that the A500
	power supply doesn't have a high enough rating for what we
	intended it to do.  This isn't so, make some measurements if you
	want. 

	On the other hand we did make a decision not to provide arbitrary
	amounts of power for external or internal expansion devices.  We
	had a fairly clear idea of what kind of expansion we thought the
	"typical" user would want, and tried to make this possible without
	penalizing everyone who bought the machine.
 
> The expansion capability of the A2000 comes to mind. I consider myself to be
> an average user. On my computer (A500) I need a parallel port, a serial port
> (I need two on the IBM because a mouse port on the older machines were
> not available), room for a multifunction card (which may include room for
> memory, math chips, clock etc), hard disk controller, possibly a memory
> card. The maximum number of expansion cards an average user will need is in
> the range of 2-3 and so the A2000 expansion capability is an overkill for the
> average user. CBM could have engieered an "AMIGA 1250" with 3 expansion slots
> and without any IBM compatible crap on it and still make the machine sell at
> the $900 (discounted) price range. Thats what I would have preferred to buy.

	Producing several versions of the same product with only minor cost/
	feature differentions between them is not necessarily a good idea.
	The only difference between your A1250 and the A2000 is a $/watt
	power supply cost and a few connectors.

> So to me the A2000 expansion capability is worth about $300 more not $1000.
> The A2000 focuses on a very small market segment and is very good for a 
> Byte magazine story on IBM compatibility. If CBM management is smart they will
> put their effort on the A500 and the "A1250". The peripheral vendors are
> already working on A500 expansions.

	The distinction between the A500 and A2000 isn't in terms of cost,
	but in terms of the profile of the user.  The idea is that anybody
	who want's one can afford to walk in and buy an A500, and the either
	expand it as he needs/can afford or upgrade to and A2000.  The A2000
	is intended to appeal the the person who has some definite needs or
	ideas about what he wants in terms of configuration.

	Assume that Commodore has limited resources to devote to engineering
	and product development/manufacturing.  Should we spend our time on
	intermediate products, or concentrate on "better" versions of what
	we have, and let the marketing people worry about the pricing for the
	existing products?
-- 
George Robbins - now working for,	uucp: {uunet|ihnp4|rutgers}!cbmvax!grr
but no way officially representing	arpa: cbmvax!grr@uunet.uu.net
Commodore, Engineering Department	fone: 215-431-9255 (only by moonlite)