Decius wrote:

] ] How much do you think a bluetooth cash
] ] register would cost?
]
] Conservatively, I could produce this for under $200 in bulk.
] Its a subset of the electronics in the cellphone.

A cash register for under $200? If you can mass produce those things, you'll have a lot of customers lining up to buy your products. A $200 cash register today will get you a calculator and a lock box. Remember, too, that it's more than just a bluetooth receiver in the register, it's a software change that will accept input from the transmitter and process it through logic so that you don't get a 110% discount. This is where the coupon will at least have to be processed by human logic - hopefully it's not some slacker who doesn't care about his job, at least from the business' point of view.

] ] Remember, it's much easier for you, the consumer, to pay for
]
] ] the bridging technology.
]
] Is it? Only if you can convince me to agree to buy a
] printerphone.

Let me rephrase this as I made a mistake in that statement. It's *cheaper* for you, the consumer, to pay for the technology. This changes once you cross the chasm into mainstream acceptance...

] BTW, coupons are not a good thing to have people printing,
] because what you can print, you can copy. You have to control
] the scarcity of coupons or you can't control the costs of the
] promotion.

Apparently you've never worked for a pizza delivery place. Rule number one, never ask for the coupons when you deliver the pizza. Why? If the customer still has the coupon, they are more likely to repeat the order. Coupons are simply a catchy way of advertising so that the consumer thinks they are getting a special deal. As a business owner, I'd love it if you printed off a $0.50 off coupon 30 times and gave it to 29 of your friends. That's more business in the long run for me.

] The only way to control the scarcity of coupons
] that you print is with barcodes and a little bit of
] cryptography (same way I was going to sell phreaknic tickets
] online). The gear for that is going to cost about the same as
] a similar terminal using bluetooth. Thats why I don't see a
] cost savings with paper.

You're thinking in terms of gift certificates, which do need to be controlled. Cash vouchers are separate from coupons, which give a specific amount of discount towards a limited number of items to purchase.

We're getting way off topic, though.

I agree that from my point of view and definitely yours as well, having a printer on a phone is like having a PDA with a string dispenser so that you can tie one on your finger as a reminder. It doesn't make sense to me, but it doesn't have to. Paying $20 for a white t-shirt that has a Tommy Hilfiger label on it doesn't make sense to me, either, but it has been accepted as mainstream. Perhaps part of the marketing for crossing the chasm is to say, "This is so simplistic, hackers would never use it." I guess we'll find out one of these days.

Dolemite

RE: Can you hear me now, killing a tree?