Zigbee and stuff

Many of you know that I got excited about a wireless protocol for controls and monitoring and have been trying to bring some of the products that use Zigbee to market for some time now.
So far, from what we've experienced, its been an uphill battle. We bought some development kits from a couple of the zigbee radio manufacturers, and it has been tough to get a working prototype together. One of the obstacles has been that we can't get a consistent setup.
I have a prototype that uses standard 802.11 networking to connect an embedded device to a customer's network- but so far no zigbee.
I also have several zigbee vendors who have allowed us to rep their products- but so far it's been difficult to find any takers. The barriers I have seen are:
1. Python programming with eclipse is still very sluggish and difficult to follow. I'm no slouch when it comes to programming controllers, and setting up networks- but having to use telnet to upload text-based routing tables? sheesh!
2. "out of the box" zigbee products are still very expensive. One of the reasons zigbee is supposed to be an alternative to wired solutions is supposed to be the price. Some of the thermostats we rep cost ME $7-800 dollars. Why buy an $800 wireless thermostat when I can sell a wired one for less than $100?
3. The customer doesn't get the concept of "data acquisition." I am finding that it is just too much of a learning curve to teach people that getting data is important before making changes or adjustments to their mechanical systems. They want a cheap, easy solution now- and are not interested in real-time monitoring.
I've got to admit I'm a little stalled right now with what to do as a next step. So here's what I'm thinking.
1. get back to making money in HVAC. I'm an HVAC guy, I'm good at it and I need money right now. So this is a no-brainer. I'm going to work for a local HVAC contractor, and I'm going to start teaching as an adjunct at a local tech school.
2. keep plugging along with the python programming. Sean and I have got to get a zigbee network of devices working and gathering data. Whatever the hurdle, whatever the frustration, one of these times running through the tutorial is going to work.
3. cobble together a demo that I can carry around made up of the "out of the box" products. I've got my hands on some cool stuff- I just need to get some capital together to pay for it. We can actually make money setting this thing up as a sophisticated data logging kit. nothing fancy- just 10 monitoring points hooked up to a gateway device.
I'm meeting with a couple of my vendors next week to talk about pricing and configuration, so I'll let you know how it goes. I still believe that the future of HVAC and facilties maintenance is in wireless- I just haven't figured out how to sell it yet.