[nfbcs] Independence with a Price Tag

[John G. Heim]

I've often wondered about the issues you bring up.  About a year ago I 
remember seeing an announcement for a GPS system that was supposedly a price 
breakthrough. The price? $850. For just a talking GPS.

So I understand your frustration. But how can you be sure the prices for 
adaptive equipment are inflated? I think you have to have more than vague 
suspicions before formally making a charge like that. In fact, doing so 
might do more harm than good. People might demand that government agencies 
stop buying  adaptive equipment if they suspect that the equipment their tax 
dollars are paying for is over priced. Rather than lowering the price for 
adaptive equipment, the result might be that government agencies just stop 
buying it.

A new Pac Mate with a 40 cell display costs about $5600. That seems like an 
incredible amount of money for a product that doesn't even have built in 
wireless, right? But if the Pac Mate is so over priced, why doesn't one of 
Freedom Scientific's competitors come out with a product that blows it out 
of the water for price/performance?

Another data point is the KNFB Reader. The NFB itself came out with the KNFB 
Reader. But at a base price of $1600, its not exactly a breakthrough product 
in terms of price. I doubt that the NFB is part of a conspiracy to keep 
prices high.

We've been over and over the issue of the cost of the Pac Mate on 
thepacmateger.com email list. And I have come to the conclusion that it just 
costs that much. You can put together the hardware for a lot less and 
install a free screen reader. But if you figure in the cost of jaws vs nvda 
and the cost of support (and you have to give Freedom Scientific credit for 
providing great support), $5600 doesn't seem far out of line.  Honestly, I 
am no fan of Freedom Scientific. I think their licensing policies are 
draconian and I am fed up with their tendency to sue their competitors. 
But when I really think about it, I have to admit that the Pac Mate isn't 
that much over priced.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Joe Orozco" <jsorozco at gmail.com>
To: "'National Association of Blind Students mailing list'" 
<nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
Cc: "'Discussion list for NABS,National Alliance of Blind Students.'" 
<nabs at acb.org>; <tabs_students at googlegroups.com>; "'NFBnet NFBCS Mailing 
List'" <nfbcs at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, February 02, 2010 10:45 PM
Subject: [nfbcs] Independence with a Price Tag


> Dear list,
>
> I'm continuously appalled at the price tags associated with adaptive
> technology.  While you're in college you might receive assistance from 
> your
> rehab agency to purchase equipment.  You may get some assistance after you
> find a job, but inevitably there comes a point when the expense comes
> directly from your own pocket.  I wonder how many people have had to 
> settle
> for outdated technology because they simply cannot afford it.  But, that's
> the thing.  I'm only assuming there are tons of people who cannot afford
> this technology.  I'd like to lead a campaign to call public attention to
> this monopoly, and, I'd like to hear your thoughts on whether or not you
> think me crazy.  If my assumption is wrong, I'll keep my views to myself.
> If there is a high number of people unable to tap into emerging software
> simply because they cannot pay for it, I'd like to hear from you.  I
> understand the technology itself costs a lot of money to develop.  Yet, it
> seems more of the price boost is owed to extravagant government contracts
> that allow the few players to charge something like $6,200 for a device
> that, despite its best advertisements, does not perform completely on par
> with its mainstream counterparts.
>
> At this time I have only a vague idea for a strategy.  Yet it's something
> I'm willing to build up if the need can be clearly identified.
>
> Looking forward to your input,
>
> Joe Orozco
>
> "A man who wants to lead the orchestra must turn his back on the
> crowd."--Max Lucado
>
>
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