I think you're right that $49 is a sweet spot in the market. Our contacts at Google (the PowerMeter folks) say this is what they are hearing. Yet meanwhile, everyone making remotely interesting products is starting at 5x that price, and at Energy Circle, we're seeing significant volume for products selling at 20x that price (eMonitor).
Wattvision seems closest to me. Their component count is low, their value prop is high, cost of sales has to be minimal, so they just need to get volume up (buy, buy, buy!) and any extraneous costs removed. They can beat the competition just on simplicity.
Wattvision seems closest to me. Their component count is low, their value prop is high, cost of sales has to be minimal, so they just need to get volume up (buy, buy, buy!) and any extraneous costs removed. They can beat the competition just on simplicity.
Tom