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Propeller and BS2 Pricing — Parallax Forums

Propeller and BS2 Pricing

piguy101piguy101 Posts: 248
edited 2011-07-07 08:59 in General Discussion
One simple question: Why is the Propeller so much cheaper than the BS2?

I don't own the Propeller, but it seems to me that it is much more powerful than the BS2 with its eight cogs and all. The reason that the Propeller is cheaper eludes me, is there something that the BS2 has that the Propeller lacks? Someone please explain the flaw in my thinking.

-Thanks

Comments

  • LoopyBytelooseLoopyByteloose Posts: 12,537
    edited 2011-07-06 08:02
    It is an interesting question that deserves a clear answer. I am not sure I can really achieve that.

    The BasicStamp has a huge following as it was the first home run that Parallax created. Before the Propeller came along, its prices were well established and it has become rather well known world wide.

    On the other hand, the Propeller is rather unique and more sophisticated. For the average techie, that may be a great thing; but I suspect that Parallax priced the Propeller lower in order to create market penetration. It is by far a better value in many ways, but the BasicStamp is still a great tool in a very small package. And the programing language is not as involved. So it has retained a higher price.

    And I also suspect that Parallax hopes to one day retire the BasicStamp via a wholesale migration to the Propeller.
  • John A. ZoidbergJohn A. Zoidberg Posts: 514
    edited 2011-07-06 08:11
    The BS2 contains a microcontroller with an intepreter, an EEPROM, and some other supporting peripherals, hence the higher price. The intepreter is carefully written by programmers too, and also that adds up to the price.

    A Propeller is a chip on its own. :)
  • JLockeJLocke Posts: 354
    edited 2011-07-06 08:11
    It could have something to do with the fact that the BASIC Stamp is more of a small pcb with multiple components (which have to be assembled onto the substrate). The Propeller is a single chip. Once the (huge) up-front engineering and 'tooling' costs are paid, it doesn't cost that much to produce huge quantities.
  • Mike GreenMike Green Posts: 23,101
    edited 2011-07-06 08:21
    The SpinStamp is roughly equivalent to the Basic Stamps in complexity and assembly costs. Currently, the SpinStamp costs $30 and requires the use of a PropClip or similar adapter which costs $15 and the BS2 costs $50. That's pretty comparable.
  • davejamesdavejames Posts: 4,047
    edited 2011-07-06 08:26
    ...also remember that the BS2 revolves around another vendor's microcontroller, which Parallax has custom programmed. That requires passing the cost on to the buyer at maybe 3 to 5 times the price of the raw chip.

    The Propeller is Parallax-owned from the get go so there's no added chip cost.
  • LeonLeon Posts: 7,620
    edited 2011-07-06 10:26
    It's a very cheap device, though. It probably costs Parallax 50c or so,with another 10c for programming.
  • Jimmy LiebJimmy Lieb Posts: 46
    edited 2011-07-06 17:37
    for a propstick USB, the BS2 equivalent of the propeller, it is the same price!
    I use a Professional Development Board, It is great for prototyping.
  • WBA ConsultingWBA Consulting Posts: 2,936
    edited 2011-07-06 19:18
    Zoidberg hit the nail on the head and there is another post somewhere on the forums with a post from Ken that states close to that. The BS2 isn't simply a bunch of parts on a PCB. If it was, the cost would probably be $25. Instead, you have a full featured, super easy to use, heavily documented, completely supported PBASIC interpreter programmed into the MCU. That's where the rubber meets the road. Eventually, I can see PropBASIC getting to the point where a drop in Propeller replacement will be available for any of the 24 pin Stamps (level translators and all). Would make it easy for existing BoeBot owners to migrate to the Propeller by simply swapping the module. With the number of BoeBots out in the world, the market is there for a device like that.
  • Duane DegnDuane Degn Posts: 10,588
    edited 2011-07-06 21:41
    piguy101 wrote: »
    I don't own the Propeller

    @piguy101, I still have a QuickStart board I need to give away. If you agree to try it out and if you PM your address, I'll mail it to you.

    I started with the BS2 but once I used the Propeller I didn't see a reason to keep using the BS2s (I'd only used them for a few months).

    The Prop can do everything the BS2 and a lot lot more. It's a lot of fun too.

    Duane
  • piguy101piguy101 Posts: 248
    edited 2011-07-07 08:59
    I forgot about all of the programming in the BS2 and it's interpreter that the Prop lacks and the fact that the Propeller doesn't have an EEPROM.
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