Is it? $35 seems pretty cheap for an SBC that does what you need it to, with you having to do zero of the engineering work yourself. I think most industrial SBCs cost way more than $35.
> ... requires too much power ...
Pi 4 consumes 2-6W. [1] Scooter batteries are 400-600Wh based on a cursory glance, so we're talking up to two weeks of idle time. The scooter only goes 12-15 miles, and at 10mph, that's going to be a significantly bigger issue.
> ... and has a vastly higher rate of problems than many other off the shelf, far cheaper and much more widely available products.
Which products would you recommend, and also, do you have any data on the failure rates of the Pi? I'm curious.
Is it prefect? No, probably not. But if you only need a few thousand units, and you're trying to prove out the product market fit, why isn't this a great solution? Think of all the millions in capital they didn't waste building a custom solution. Personally, I respect the hustle.
[1] https://www.pidramble.com/wiki/benchmarks/power-consumption
