> I wonder what would be achievable, around the $15 mark WITHOUT needing a minimum order of 1000?
A Raspberry Pi Zero?
A Raspberry Pi Zero?
P.S. The RPi Zero does not come with a display and keyboard like the computer in this article does. So, we are talking about two different types of computers.
Look at the price of "WH" version with superficial changes that cost pennies to add (wifi chip and 0.1" header), and (used to be) easily obtainable with no limit on the order size. Or, at least that was the status quo before the the great chip shortage of 2021.
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1. We can ignore inflation adjustments because computer prices have generally stayed flat or gone down (the rule used to be that the PC you wanted was around $2000–3000 and nowadays if we're talking about a desktop system, assuming one even specs such a thing, it's less than that).
Raspberry Pi actually did that. [0] The RPi 400 is right around that $100 mark, fully assembled, and is basically a keyboard with a bunch of ports for the people who end up with it.
The only other option is a ZXSpectrum Next (Kickstarter that is having trouble with supply chain right now for the latest batch). It's freaking awesome though. You can directly download new spectrum games from the internet or just use the SD card. Someone wrote a new assembly language book. There is a BBS app...so many cool things going on. The commander x-16 will also be cool if it ever comes out.
It’s plenty capable, especially as compared to other sub-$250 options and has power supply, battery, screen, keyboard, trackpad, speakers, camera, and microphone included.