The $129.99 price does not include programmability; you have to buy the "Command Module", for a further $59.99. That's kind of high, given that it's just a microcontroller with one USB gadget interface and four serial interfaces. I suspect they're undercharging for the Create, and overcharging for the Command Module, on the theory that nearly everybody will buy them together. That way they get to advertise the Create as "only $129.99".
Just a microcontroller and USB gadget interface? Go look up prices for microcontrollers and usb fifo's and you'll see that $59 is not a bad price for a prebuilt unit. Sure you can buy a bare microcontroller for a few bucks but building the circuit and adding peripherals adds up fast.
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The $129.99 price does not include programmability; you have to buy the "Command Module", for a further $59.99. That's kind of high, given that it's just a microcontroller with one USB gadget interface and four serial interfaces. I suspect they're undercharging for the Create, and overcharging for the Command Module, on the theory that nearly everybody will buy them together. That way they get to advertise the Create as "only $129.99".
Just a microcontroller and USB gadget interface? Go look up prices for microcontrollers and usb fifo's and you'll see that $59 is not a bad price for a prebuilt unit. Sure you can buy a bare microcontroller for a few bucks but building the circuit and adding peripherals adds up fast.