Oh, absolutely. But it's the cost to the manufacturer that's most important here. At $1/unit, they could well sign on, and then sell the "internet ready" appliance for an extra $100 or so.

Then some "savvy" consumers might decide that for the cost of a bottle of vino they'll add the $25 internet connection -- peanuts for anyone already buying the most expensive machines.

That's somewhat clever of EI -- making it cheap and easy for the factories to support the product, and leaving the major (well, moderate) portion of the cost up to the end consumer.

Cheers