Their main selling point is that "most projects die in the setup: a screen, buttons, power and sensors to wire up before you can even begin". With their product, you get plug-and-play blocks for everything. But that idea has been tried many times before. It's Aduino "shields", Beaglebone "capes", an entire ecosystem of Raspberry Pi accessories, etc. Maybe it'll take off this time around, especially if they can make i…
Kode Dot Programmable pocket device for makers, pentesters and geeks
21–30 of 39 posts
Re: Kode Dot Programmable pocket device for makers, pentesters and geeks
#22ESP32-C5 ~$10
ESP32-P4 ~$5
Display ~$10
Case is maybe 90 cents (let's round to $1) if you print out of ABS.
The rest of the components? Let's say another $15 worst case.
~$41 or around that much? Sure, but definitely not ~$193.
Re: Kode Dot Programmable pocket device for makers, pentesters and geeks
#23I get that the expense here is miniaturising and integration, but even at half the RRP, I'd be wincing. The maker market knows how to work out a napkin-BOM, and knows that this is a lot of money for what you're getting.
Re: Kode Dot Programmable pocket device for makers, pentesters and geeks
#24I understand the rationale, but it looks like they decided to go the Sisyphean route on this. ESP32-C5 ~$10 ESP32-P4 ~$5 Display ~$10 Case is maybe 90 cents (let's round to $1) if you print out of ABS. The rest of the components? Let's say another $15 worst case. ~$41 or around that much? Sure, but definitely not ~$193.
I don't get why the maker market complains so much about the idea of businesses selling products at a healthy markup. Just because you know how the sausage was made doesn't mean that the logic of operating a business is any different to how it works in the consumer world.
If you're skilled and motivated enough to make it yourself, you might save some money. You'd loose a lot of time though and that's worth something too (perhaps a lot more).
Re: Kode Dot Programmable pocket device for makers, pentesters and geeks
#25I understand the rationale, but it looks like they decided to go the Sisyphean route on this. ESP32-C5 ~$10 ESP32-P4 ~$5 Display ~$10 Case is maybe 90 cents (let's round to $1) if you print out of ABS. The rest of the components? Let's say another $15 worst case. ~$41 or around that much? Sure, but definitely not ~$193.
What about design, build, marketing etc.? I don't get why the maker market complains so much about the idea of businesses selling products at a healthy markup. Just because you know how the sausage was made doesn't mean that the logic of operating a business is any different to how it works in the consumer world. If you're skilled and motivated enough to make it yourself, you might save some money. You'd loose a lot…
The kickstarter was successfully funded, yielding in over $3.3M. The device back then was $149 at 20% off, with $169 being the full price. That's still not $193.
Again, this is just my personal opinion, but even taking everything into account and factoring in a nice profit margin, being OVER $100 is very, very hard to justify.
Re: Kode Dot Programmable pocket device for makers, pentesters and geeks
#26Re: Kode Dot Programmable pocket device for makers, pentesters and geeks
#27Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don't think this is for gaming. It has arrows plus two buttons, probably for conceptual equivalents to "tap/click/enter" and "back/escape". If you want a DIYish handheld for gaming there are much better options on the market.
Not to be rude but the page literally says "Browse what the community ships: games, tools and toys. Run them on your Kode Dot."
Re: Kode Dot Programmable pocket device for makers, pentesters and geeks
#28For £160 you can buy three JC1060P470, 7 inch proto-tablet systems with the same P4+C5 stack, with GPIO, ethernet in some models. I get that the expense here is miniaturising and integration, but even at half the RRP, I'd be wincing. The maker market knows how to work out a napkin-BOM, and knows that this is a lot of money for what you're getting.
Re: Kode Dot Programmable pocket device for makers, pentesters and geeks
#29I looked into ESP32, M5 Stack, Arduino, etc. but as someone without experience it's very confusing. Which parts go together? Which case fits? Does that have a battery? All of this can be found out if you study the specs but it's not intuitive.
If all you want is tinker with a device, this device here is optimal.
For the people saying you can build this yourself: Yes. You can also build your own guitar from invidual parts and it will be cheaper than a store bought guitar. (I have done this). Is it super fun to build? Yes. Can everyone do it? No.
Re: Kode Dot Programmable pocket device for makers, pentesters and geeks
#30I understand the rationale, but it looks like they decided to go the Sisyphean route on this. ESP32-C5 ~$10 ESP32-P4 ~$5 Display ~$10 Case is maybe 90 cents (let's round to $1) if you print out of ABS. The rest of the components? Let's say another $15 worst case. ~$41 or around that much? Sure, but definitely not ~$193.
What about design, build, marketing etc.? I don't get why the maker market complains so much about the idea of businesses selling products at a healthy markup. Just because you know how the sausage was made doesn't mean that the logic of operating a business is any different to how it works in the consumer world. If you're skilled and motivated enough to make it yourself, you might save some money. You'd loose a lot…