Interesting two comments. I have no information, but...
eigenlabs have done a really good job of making their innovation available at a *very* low price point compared to their lead product. So far they have not charged for SW upgrades and the SW is identical across models (of course, the sw is a bit of a work in progress so far as well). Indeed, they have been very good about supporting early adopters
I would expect that a few things might drive future price increases and or upgrade charging
- bundling of new 3rd party material
..... - customer gets more value but COGS is higher as well
- bifurcation into options for the lower price-point products (ie: optional components / bundles)
..... - less sw (and smaller bundle) to keep the lower price points in place
- funding the next great thing
..... - at some point the current platform will be "finished". It is reasonable to find a way to
..... fund the next great thing
- an eigenAPP store would be one way to make the product of opensourcing available
It does not strike me that when you buy makes any great difference in the value you get for what you pay. I think eigenlabs has done a good job of removing early-adoption as a barrier to entry but that at some point they will need to shift to a steady-state model of operation. Indeed, I *want* that to happen so we have a steady flow of innovation available at reasonable price.
cheers, m