why are sams so expensive?

[zylesea]

Why is the Sam Flex so expensive?

Because it gets produced in minimal quantity. Also the board has many layers, therefor it is rather expensive to build. If you can wait a little longer, better gor for MorphOS on a Mac Mini G4. A Mac mini costs a fraction of a Sam, but has much, much more power.
If you don't like to wait, you may consider an Efika alternatively. They are still sold by several distributors and are significantly cheaper than the SAM while delivering a nice user experience, too. Of course it is no powerhorse, but with the latest MorphOS 2.3 and OWB1.4 it is even  possible to surf the web *convenietly* (okay google maps still takes a while). I use it quite a lot. IMO it's worth to be considered seriously.

Edit: Just tried google maps again on my Efika with OWB1.4 - it is impressingly fast now. Not much worse than on my Atom (N270) Eee 900A with Firefox. Impressing!

[zylesea]

HERE is a question: at what price would you say SAM would be competitive???  (much more creative than whining about the current price).

A price tag not exceeding EUR 200 for the flex-board would be adequate. The Sam is not that much more powerful than Efika is - and that went for US$ 99. For EUR 200 I'd consider Sam to be a cool device.  I spent less for my Eee, Mac Mini and Efika together than for a Sam System alone.

[zylesea]

$99? Now there's a price that'll sell some operating systems.



edit: and the OS is free? Now there's a bargain.

There are free OSes for the Efika, but if you meant MorphOS. No, that is not included. The trial version is free though and has no restrictions except that it will reduce speed half an hour after each boot up to a minimum. If MorphOS meets your taste and you want the unrestricted version, the registration fee is 150 EUR (I was lucky paying only 111 EUR during the 1st two weeks after release).

[zylesea]

Indeed MorphOS license is a bit expensive for a low end computer like the Efika. Anyway, I don't regret to have bought a license though, but I am kind of addicted anyway ;-)

A viable solution to get a taste of it while spending as less as possible may be this: Get an Efika for 99, add the other necessary parts from #? (dumpster/attic/ebay) you end up at about 99 -250 total cost for the hardware. Then toy around with the MorphOS Demo, with Aros, with Linux and see what the Efika can and cannot do. If you feel you actually like MorphOS, but don't want to register for the Efika, you will soon have the chance to run it on a way more powerful Mac Mini (I expect 5 - 10 times the speed). After trying out on the Efika you will know if a Mini w/ MorphOS is worthwile for you or not.
99-250 for toying around - it's worth a thought. If you feel you don't like it at all, you can sell it off again with an expected loss of no more than 50.