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[milo christiansen]

While randomly browsing newegg last night I had an interesting idea: Buy a selection of peripherals plus a Raspberry Pi 3 and assemble them into an "all-in-one" style system for sale to those wanting a compact, cheap internet machine.

Basically I would use a laptop style screen with a lacquered plywood or similar case. The case would hold the PI, a small power supply, and the screen, and any other bits needed to connect the parts together or provide access to the USB ports on the PI. You would then take this stand-alone unit and plug in a keyboard, mouse, and power cable.

When I say "lacquered plywood" I don't mean some ugly lump of wood, I mean laminated layers of nice looking furniture plywood, polished and sealed. A second possibility would be an injection molded plastic case (for lower cost, provided I had sufficient sales). Plastic would probably be a bad idea though, as the computers would need to look good to compete against large companies. Maybe metallic or other options as well?

I figure I could match the price of a chromebook (or less), but with more options for customer customization and other options you would never get from a big company.

Software would either be a much customized Linux, chromium OS, Android, or something similar (probably several options with one as the "recommended" one for people who don't know what to choose).

Basically think of a pi-top, but as a much nicer looking desktop form-factor instead (also: a larger screen, probably cheaper).

Would anyone be interested in such a thing? Note that I am not trying to find customers right now, I am simply asking if you could see yourself (or someone you know) using a machine of this nature.

[ChairmanPoo]

I honestly fail to see why I couldnt buy the raspberry pi directly myself.

edit: or rather: people get RP for custom projects. If you were willing to tailor the RP rig in such a way that fit the role or roles I wanted, and wasnt more expensive than doing it myself (as factored by overhead costs and my average hourly wages), then we are talking.

[wierd]

I agree.  The thing I could see offering, is custom 3d printed cases for an rPi.

I bought a printer some time ago, and could do that, if people dont mind PLA. (I havent bought any ABS, but the printer DOES get hot enough.)

Personally I think a minnowboard offers more "oomph", but is radically more expensive. Some of the recent intel offerings are cheap enough though.  The rPi is not really meant for use as a workstation, so much as it is meant as the brains of DIY robot kits and the like, along with some arduinos. Similar in nature to a beaglebone.

One thing I have considered doing is making a beaglebone based Pipboy using the LCD and battery shield kits and my fancy 3D printer. (Just appropriate the mesh from FO4, then print it out after some modifications for fitting the BB and the shield kits.  Maybe use some simple script based daemons to monitor the GPIOs so I can use them to use actual knobs and buttons where appropriate. )

[milo christiansen]

Note that the PI is just the hidden "guts" of the system. The important part is the case, screen, and other little bits that go into it.

The idea is not to have a PI, it is to have a compact computing device with a larger-than-laptop screen (albeit a cheap one) in an attractive case. The target market is people who would never buy a PI on their own and/or people who want a nice pre-built all-in-one case for their PI that is not ugly.

For example I plan to make the prototype for my father. He would never use a PI normally, but a nice looking, compact, and easy to use desktop system would be something he would find useful.

The only reason it would have anything to do with a PI is that the PI is relatively powerful for a cheap price. If I wanted to produce lots of these things I would get my own SOC solution.

Of course advanced users could order the system sans-PI, but I think something like this would be more successful with non-tech savvy people just looking for a cheap system that's not a tiny laptop. Maybe I should have said "Do you think your grandmother would like something like this"?

[BigD145]

The demographic you may be thinking of do not want such a setup. The Pi is too slow for even casual use as a computer. Grandma will not like it. Or at least Grandma will not like it as a first computer. A fifth, maybe, but she doesn't have very long to get there. I know this from experience. I've built with slow tech and made it as easy as possible for a smart grandma. It collected dust. You need a modern setup with fast feedback for the user. None of this "I moved the arrow and clicked the button thingie and now what....?"

My grandmother now has a nice newish black plastic laptop on her old wooden desk. She does fine with it.

[milo christiansen]

The Pi is too slow for even casual use as a computer.

Actually you are wrong. With a full-up "standard" Linux install the PI is rather slow, but with an "only the essentials" internet-friendly OS it actually does quite well.

I can lots of other problems, but not that one.

[BigD145]

The Pi is too slow for even casual use as a computer.

Actually you are wrong. With a full-up "standard" Linux install the PI is rather slow, but with an "only the essentials" internet-friendly OS it actually does quite well.

I can lots of other problems, but not that one.

I've used Linux on modern hardware before (or tried to). The GUI does not always respond. Shortcuts do not always work. It would do nothing but confuse a grandmother. Linux distro's do not always do things in a timely manner and no grandmother is going to use the console. Has that actually gotten any better in the past couple years?

I'm used to less responsive GUI's. I grew up on green screen Apple's. I know a grandmother will not adapt as quickly as a child or a computer literate adult.

[milo christiansen]

It depends very much on what distribution you use. Some suck, some rock.

[ein]

i'd say it's more dependent on what desktop environment you use than necessarily what distro you use

everything gnome and kde based has been, in my experience, highly cumbersome and generally uncomfortable, but lxde and especially xfce are both very lightweight, responsive, and easily configurable, while still being similar enough to the windows environment that an average user can pick it up and figure it out

regarding the main topic, i think the niche definitely exists, it'd just be more a matter of marketing yourself and finding people who would be willing to buy your computers, especially considering that most people i know who might be interested in a cheap, all-in-one desktop aren't the kinda people who browse the internet for computers, they walk into best buy or the apple store and buy it in person

if you have the capital, i'd say give it a shot

[TheBiggerFish]

I...Don't really know what your product even is, nevermind whether anyone would really buy it.  Do you have concept art?

[Ghills]

While randomly browsing newegg last night I had an interesting idea: Buy a selection of peripherals plus a Raspberry Pi 3 and assemble them into an "all-in-one" style system for sale to those wanting a compact, cheap internet machine.

Basically I would use a laptop style screen with a lacquered plywood or similar case. The case would hold the PI, a small power supply, and the screen, and any other bits needed to connect the parts together or provide access to the USB ports on the PI. You would then take this stand-alone unit and plug in a keyboard, mouse, and power cable.

When I say "lacquered plywood" I don't mean some ugly lump of wood, I mean laminated layers of nice looking furniture plywood, polished and sealed. A second possibility would be an injection molded plastic case (for lower cost, provided I had sufficient sales). Plastic would probably be a bad idea though, as the computers would need to look good to compete against large companies. Maybe metallic or other options as well?

I figure I could match the price of a chromebook (or less), but with more options for customer customization and other options you would never get from a big company.

Software would either be a much customized Linux, chromium OS, Android, or something similar (probably several options with one as the "recommended" one for people who don't know what to choose).

Basically think of a pi-top, but as a much nicer looking desktop form-factor instead (also: a larger screen, probably cheaper).

Would anyone be interested in such a thing? Note that I am not trying to find customers right now, I am simply asking if you could see yourself (or someone you know) using a machine of this nature.

Your target market has already bought a tablet.

[milo christiansen]

For some reason I forgot to check this for several weeks in a row, I guess you can see just how often I visit this subforum...

Your target market has already bought a tablet.

Good point.

[Reelya]

The other problem is that "connect to the internet" implies they already have a wireless internet connection in their house. And if that's the case, then they're unlikely to lack some device or other that is already connecting. So there's a very limited set of scenarios where your custom device will fit the bill, adding on top of that that it won't allow standard office software, or other reasons people would prefer a desktop to a phone/tablet/laptop.

You can do better on these types of ideas by writing a checklist of things a likely customer would need to see your idea as a good thing to buy. i.e. what things would they need to have for your thing to work, and what other things would they have to not have to see it as a benefit / improvement.