RPi with 512mb Memory?

Back at the RasPi Forum thread, liz has denied RasPi is releasing a $50 512MB model and explains the au.element14 product page as follows:

liz wrote:

 

... we are NOT releasing a $50 512MB model...  that supplier has read that it's a frequently requested thing, and had put a placeholder on their site in case because they wanted to talk to us about whether we wanted to do it.

 

We don't, and you will notice that there is no longer a placeholder on their site!

 

We do encourage speculation and discussion of what future Pis might be like - but we will ANNOUNCE them when they happen. Promise.

Edit: the element14.au "2191863" link still works for me.

well, kudos to element14 then for taking the initiative on this issue.

512MB PoP chips have been in mass production for quite a while now,

and since no board redesign is necessary, it's a no-brainer upgrade.

The quantity prices I've seen for DDR3 ram are about $1 for a 256MB

part and about $3 for a 512MB part.  If PoP prices are similar, it would

add about $2 to the BOM cost, and about $10 or more to the profit.

Liz promises to announce the 512MB board when it happens, but

we saw what happened with the polyfuse and D14 issues, where you

heard about the changes first from actual customers.

JamesH said recently that even if the 512MB part was only $0.10 more

than the 256MB part, it wouldn't be an obvious choice. 

http://www.raspberrypi.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=13908&start=95

Perhaps this startling bit of value-engineering wisdom is what convinced

element14 to take matters into their own hands.

I wish we knew more about the supposed 512MB limit, and what would

be required to increase it.  There was a brief discussion on that here:

http://www.element14.com/community/thread/17561?start=102

We don't know much about the contract element14 has with RPF.

Does it prevent parts substitutions, such as 512MB ram?

Does it prevent surveying potential customers for what they

would like to see in future versions of the product?

p.s.

we also don't know if the polyfuse fix was initiated by element14

or by RPF.  I haven't seen any reports of 0 ohm boards other

than from element14 customers.

well, kudos to element14 then for taking the initiative on this issue.

512MB PoP chips have been in mass production for quite a while now,

and since no board redesign is necessary, it's a no-brainer upgrade.

The quantity prices I've seen for DDR3 ram are about $1 for a 256MB

part and about $3 for a 512MB part.  If PoP prices are similar, it would

add about $2 to the BOM cost, and about $10 or more to the profit.

Liz promises to announce the 512MB board when it happens, but

we saw what happened with the polyfuse and D14 issues, where you

heard about the changes first from actual customers.

JamesH said recently that even if the 512MB part was only $0.10 more

than the 256MB part, it wouldn't be an obvious choice. 

http://www.raspberrypi.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=13908&start=95

Perhaps this startling bit of value-engineering wisdom is what convinced

element14 to take matters into their own hands.

I wish we knew more about the supposed 512MB limit, and what would

be required to increase it.  There was a brief discussion on that here:

http://www.element14.com/community/thread/17561?start=102

We don't know much about the contract element14 has with RPF.

Does it prevent parts substitutions, such as 512MB ram?

Does it prevent surveying potential customers for what they

would like to see in future versions of the product?

p.s.

we also don't know if the polyfuse fix was initiated by element14

or by RPF.  I haven't seen any reports of 0 ohm boards other

than from element14 customers.

Since element14 is at the point where it has neither a large

backlog of orders, nor a large inventory of completed boards,

this would be the ideal time to offer a 512MB version, since

there would be no worries about large numbers of customers

cancelling existing orders, or about warehouses full of completed

boards becoming unsellable.