I'm not sure how they price these devices but it could make sense to compare against labs. The question is not how many tests a device can perform but how many tests you can perform for all available devices and at a price comparable to larger lab installations. Maybe 100 devices is a comparable rate there.
Larger lab with a variety of specialized equipment and trained personnel vs. a wall of these machines; very different.
Can these machines do anything else after we're done with Covid-19? I assume they can run other tests?
they also simultaneously test for influenza A and B
There is a chance we will never be done with COVID-19.
Obviously its implied because that's the influx of patients a lot of hospitals are seeing.
Is this marketing?
Better (or worse) marketing: "a test takes almost 2.5 hours".
It's almost as if the decision makers that might buy these can't multiply by 10 very well. (Oh wait, they are probably politicians ... )
Is that true, or is it running multiple tests partly simultaneously?
Yes, and no. In runs nine tests in parallel (like Covid-19, influenza-A, influenza-B etc), but all on the same sample.