Hi,
As I was thinking on Wildside, I came upon the question "how much of the future is disposable and how can I measure it?"
The easy answer is of course a commlink. The commlink is such an ubiquitous piece of technology that it is a bit like living without a phone or a car. So to see if you can buy a cheap commlink I put together one. Not to be further outdone I put together a mid-priced, expensive, and exclusive commlink.
http://www.2shared.com/file/3415382/afbeeb..._CA_100608.html
As can be seen in the commlinks that even the cheapest commlink with the cheapest OS and no applications is still 300 nuyen. It cannot even handle AR.
The mid-priced commlink with what you would expect to see in a mid-priced laptop. A few low level programs and a few utility programs. This one does come with the Sim Module, but not much more. The cost is 1,900 nuyen.
The third one is the more expensive model. A modern day comparison would be the Sony Vaio models. The OS is not as good as it could have and the software while more of it is pretty much the same as the mid-priced one with a little bit more functionality. It comes with a Sim module and skinlink. Mot likely it would come bundled with trodes as well. The cost is 4800 nuyen.
The exclusive commlink for the businessman or kid with expensive tastes comes with the newest in portable electronics, has a custom OS, and comes with Sim module, skinlink, and satellite link. Most of the software bundled is near professional level. The cost is 14,950 nuyen.
From this we can see that there is an immediate jump from cheap commlinks to mid-priced and again when it comes to exclusive models.
Een the cheapest commlink with nothing but the commlink and software cost 300 a far cry in price for being ubiquitous. Even the mid-priced commlink is the equivalent of half the monthly income of a middle class lifestyle.