I don't know if I'll do a 4-chip right now. It's kind of a tossup; I'd prefer to focus dev on the 2-chip stick, and even that is going to depend on what the coder can do for driver support. I mean I could build a 2-chip stick right now that would run just fine on cgminer, but last I checked both chips got the same work so half the shares were repeats.
If I do a 4-chip, I was figuring on it being more of a quiet desk miner kind of thing (Jalapeno-type product as BaldToasty mentioned, or the U3 is a better comparison) so USB-controlled but not USB-powered given the chips can draw 10W each plus buck losses.
Okay, so here's something. I really want to do the 2-chip Compac. If I shoot for a small standalone (U3 type) thing, what power range do folks think is best? 40W? 60W? 80W? If I do something like a 3x5 of chips clocked at 200MHz and 3.3V to the string you'd see 165GH and it'd run off a 12V5A brick. Bottom clock of 120GH ~40W which puts it close to Avalon6 and 135-chip S7 for efficiency. This is the kind of thing that would have sold really well a year ago.
So what if I made a 2-chip Compac at $35 and a 15-chip pod at $60? Those are just ballpark prices, especially the pod since I'll have to find a heatsink and fan for it. If it's possible, they'd run off cgminer and have hardware-adjustable voltage just like the Compac. Nothing fancy at all, I know.
I am in for a 2 chip and maybe a 15 chip.