Actually, I think this is a bigger issue for the Outlaw clones than for Outlaw themselves. At the 950's price point, I wouldn't consider the unit "disposable," but it may be low enough for this type of product that many will be well served by its "snapshot in time." Remember, the upgrade pricing for competitive pre/pros often approaches the total cost of the 950! But buyers of the 950 clones, at higher price points, may expect a platform, not a box.

Of course, the high end receiver market completely contradicts this: I spent $2600 on a Yamaha DSP-A1 a few years back, and there's no way to upgrade it, the RX-V1 that replaced it, or the RX-Z1 that's replacing that. Nearly all the receiver manufacturers follow the same business model.

There's another reason in favor of boxes vs. platforms: accounting. As a product marketing manager, one of my biggest headaches was this: if you ship a product, you want to recognize the revenue (you sold it, you want the money you received to show up on your books). But if the unit is upgradeable, your accountants may not consider the sale complete - and you may have to defer some of the revenue until you ship upgrades.

-avi

http://www.greengart.com