Yes it seems a 'catch 22' thing.
First of all why do you think technomate have slashed the price?
Technomate became so popular with the 1000 series totally due to the amount of support. Now with the 9100 support is needed more so, since its so much more difficult. However, the main forum that is used for tm support (that we all know and hate) doesnt even allow talk of cardsharing and networking. How the hell can that be anything like the good support thats needed.
The fact that only 2 guys write the 2 different images will mean that its limited and cant be supported as much as rivals receivers. Without mass users, and without the users being able to chat and support each other, how can the box be taken seriously?
Technomate have had to do something to shift these, lets just hope its followed by a boost of support before its replaced by something new and completely forgotten.