The new iPhone is expected to carry an initial hardware Bill Of Materials (BOM) and manufacturing cost of US$ 173, according to a preliminary “virtual teardown” analysis conducted by iSuppli Corp.
If correct, the second-generation iPhone could be even more profitable for Apple than either the original iPone or the iPod.
Dr Jagdish Rebello, director and principal analyst for iSuppli, said that at a hardware BOM and manufacturing cost of US$ 173, the new iPhone is significantly less expensive to produce than the first-generation product.
He said this was despite major improvements in the product’s functionality and unique usability, due to the addition of 3G communications.
“The original 8Gbyte iPhone carried a cost of US $226 after component price reductions, giving the new product a 23 per cent hardware cost reduction due to component price declines,” he said.
Last week, a survey revealed that nearly a quarter of US consumers questioned in a survey highlighted price as the main reason why they were not considering buying an Apple iPhone 3G.
Dr Rebello said Apple was making a significant departure in its pricing strategy from the original 2G phone, which was sold at an unsubsidised price of US$ 499.
Unlike the first version of the iPhone, Apple will not receive a portion of the wireless carriers’ revenue from service subscriptions – making it more imperative that the company makes a profit on the actual hardware through the carrier subsidies.
He said the estimated subsidy to be paid by the wireless carriers to Apple would be about US$ 300 per iPhone.
“This means that with subsidies from carriers, Apple will be selling the 8Mbyte version of the second-generation iPhone to carriers at an effective price of about US$ 499 per unit, the same as the original product,” he said.
This represents a higher BOM/manufacturing margin than that on Apple’s iPod and original iPhone, which typically are priced about 50 per cent more than their BOM and manufacturing costs.
The analysts project that with BOM costs likely to decrease over time as component prices decline, the BOM/manufacturing cost of the second-generation iPhone will decrease to US$ 148 in 2009, down 37 per cent from US$ 173 in 2008.
If the design remains unchanged, this cost will decline to $126 in 2012.
iSuppli’s preliminary virtual teardown estimate of the 8Gbyte 3G iPhone’s costs doesn’t include other costs, including software development, shipping and distribution, packaging, and miscellaneous accessories included with each phone.
Once the 3G iPhone becomes available, iSuppli will perform an actual, detailed teardown of the new iPhone’s components and cost structure.
Tag: hardware-and-technology
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iPhone 3G costs US$ 173 to make – 23 per cent less than predecessor
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HDTV sets will need new features for sales to continue improving
Manufacturers will have to install features currently only available as paid-for add-ons in top-of-the-range HDTV models if sales growth is to be sustained.
That is the conclusion of a report by research firm DisplaySearch which suggests that sales of HDTVs will peak in the next two or three years.
It goes on to say that sales will then fall unless manufacturers can add compelling features that consumers are willing to pay for.
Calvin Hsieh, the director of research at DisplaySearch, said internet connectivity, full 1080p resolution, PVR capabilities and upgraded HDMI port specifications need to become standard fare by next year.
“Our research shows that the growth of the market will peak between 2009 and 2011,” he said.
“Thereafter, growth will be limited without the development of new, enhanced features for TVs.”
Less than half the digital TVs sold in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East with screen sizes larger than 40 inches have 1080p resolution – Japan has the highest penetration, at 90 per cent.
Mr Hsieh said that while internet access is beginning to show up in sets from Panasonic, Sharp, and Sony, among others, once network connections are integrated right into a chip instead of requiring an ungainly add-on box, more applications will emerge that take advantage of the connectivity. -
Mercedes provides mobile home for the iPhone
The popularity of the Apple iPhone in Germany – over 100,000 people have bought iPhones there since its launch in November 2007 – has prompted Mercedes-Benz to offer what it claims is an industry first.
The luxury car-maker has unveiled a new cradle specifically for the device which boosts reception and moves controls and display onto the steering wheel and dashboard.
A company report said the move was an acknowledgement by Mercedes of Apple’s current dominance in the mobile arena.
It said the cradle offered owners the means to seamlessly integrate the device’s music and telephone functions into their vehicles’ architecture.
The cradle is available now for the Mercedes-Benz C-, E-, CLK-, CLS-, S-, CL-, SL-, M- and R-Class – as well as the in the future for the forthcoming GLK-Class).
Available for € 249 – including VAT – the cradle is installed in the centre console, making it easy for both the driver and the passenger to reach out for the device.
The iPhone’s media player and phone functions can be controlled with the help of the multifunction steering wheel controls, so you never really have to take your hands off the steering wheel to control the device.
The vehicle’s display indicates the phone status, music functions and more.
Because the device automatically connects to the vehicle aerial when inserted into the cradle it actually boosts the iPhone’s signal.
What’s more, the iPhone is also constantly recharged when placed in its cradle.
For non-iPhone owners, the company says future cradles for other mobile phones are on their way. -
Samsung Instinct goes on sale 21 days before iPhone 3G
The Samsung Instinct, touted as a worthy rival to the iPhone, has gone on sale in the US at a reduced price.
Wireless phone network Sprint is offering the touchscreen handset for USD$129.99.
The drop in price from the expected USD$ 199.99 is a move clearly intended to fuel rivalry with the new iPhone before it comes on the market next month.
Sprint’s an unlimited data plan (at $69.99 per month) and two year contract agreement are similar to AT&T’s iPhone options.
A worthy and elegant rival to the Apple handset, the Instinct measures 117 x 56 x 12.7mm and weighs 127 grams.
It features GPS, EV-DO connectivity for high speed data transfers and a 3.1 inch TFT touchscreen display with 240 x 400 pixels.
There’s a full HTML browser, Sprint Email, Sprint TV, Sprint Music Store, Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP, Microsoft’s Live Search, speaker-independent voice dialing, a 2 Megapixel camera with video, and expandable memory (up to 8GB).
The handset is MMS-capable and its 1000 mAh battery can provide up to 5.75 hours of talk-time.
The Instinct can be bought online, from Sprint’s official website or in all of the carrier’s US stores. -
JVC launches HD camcorder with ability to record up to 50 hours of video
The first ever AVC/MPEG-2 HD camcorders are to go on sale this summer.
JVC’s Everio HD30 and HD40 are the first camcorders that capture picture in AVCHD (H.264) or MPEG-2 format with the ability to use either.
The dual-format provides access to the superior long time compression afforded by AVCHD, as well as MPEG-2’s superior editing and post-production environment.
With the ability to record up to 50 hours of 1920×1080 video in Extended Play mode, the HD40 also claims to be the “longest-running HD camcorder available”.
Full quality recording time is 15 hours.
The HD40 boasts a 120GB HDD and the HD30 offers the same recording capabilities but with a built-in 80GB HDD instead.
JVC is also offering a third HD camcorder aimed more at the entry level. The HD10 has a 40GB HDD and has a 1440×1080 resolution.
All three Everio models supports HDMI 1.3 output with Deep Color on compatible HDTVs, a newer HD Gigabrid Duo image processing chip and the option of using either Firewire or USB for transfers.
The camera lines come with Windows editing software and a plug-in to allow MPEG-2 editing in Final Cut Pro and iMovie. AVCHD support is already built into Apple’s latest software.
The camcorders are to go on sale in early August with price tags of $800 USD for the HD10, $1,000 USD for the HD30, and $1,300 USD for the high end HD40. -
Geek Brief star calls for low-cost live streaming hardware to satisfy growing network of internet broadcasters
First there were YouTube videos and podcasts made on webcams and camcorders, now there’s a growing network of video-podcasters streaming out near-professional HDTV quality live shows.
Some – like Leo Laporte and Diggnations’s Kevin and Alex – attract many thousands of viewers to their live network-style webcasts using portable productions systems such as Tricaster.
Yet while this technology has plumetted in price it’s still out of the reach of the new generation of low-budget producers – everyone from churches and community organisations to individual bloggers.
Now the American internet podcaster Cali Lewis has launched an appeal on her popular Geek Brief show.
She is calling for someone in the industry to come up with switching hardware aimed at this emerging market.
On her latest webcast Cali explained about technical problems they have encountered while streaming live using multiple cameras and admitted they had hit a “roadblock” in terms of finding a solution.
Having researched options such as Sony’s AnyCast (“too expensive”) and Datavideo SE-800 (cheaper but doesn’t “fit the mission”) Geek Brief is currently testing different software set-ups.
These include Mike Versteeg’s VidBlaster, which he is working so it can be used with streaming services like Ustream.TV.
But Cali said what was really needed was an “elegant solution that works for us and folks not able to drop $10,000 on a Tricaster”.
She added: “We are interested in streaming because it’s fun and difficult to do well. It’s especially hard to do well without spending some pretty big bucks.
“But there is a real opportunity for someone to build a hardware solution specifically for this emerging market.”
It would seem like a reasonable call and one that offers great opportunities for anyone able to offer a solution. -
Wireless high definition transmitter removes clutter of cables
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Monster Cable has unveiled a transmitter that wirelessly sends HD video signals from a device such as a Blu-ray player to a high definition TV up to 10m away.
The transmitter sends the video signal using ultra-wideband, or UWB, technology from Sigma Designs Inc.
It will also upscale non-HD signals to high-def resolution before displaying on screen. A receiver plugs into a HDMI port on the back of the TV.
To back up the short-range wireless capability, the boxes can also connect via coaxial cable to reach each other in different rooms, up to 110m away.
Noel Lee, president of Monster Cable, which is better known for its expensive video and audio cables, said: “We had opportunities with lots of other systems that just didn’t have the quality of service.
“Sigma is the first partner we found … that has a robust enough technology.”
The Monster Digital Express HD boxes will be available in the US in October for $299.95 each.
UWB is just one of several technologies being utilised for wireless HD connections, an area that has presented problems in maintaining a steady flow of wireless data at very high speeds.
A consortium that includes Sony, Toshiba and Intel is promoting another wireless technology called WirelessHD, with transfer speeds that are even higher than UWB. -
Doubts cast on Autumn launch of Tru2way television set
Industry experts have played down reports that Panasonic’s Tru2way TV has failed to pass tests after being submitted for certification.
The manufacturer was expected to introduce Tru2way sets at selected retail outlets in test markets in September.
It had submitted units for certification testing at the industry’s R&D consortium, CableLabs.
Reports then emerged of “bugs” in the implementation which had resulted in the sets being failed.
CableLabs issued a statement saying it was unable to comment on specific test results.
However, it went on to say it was common for devices to require multiple test runs before achieving CableLabs Certification.
“Manufacturers generally account for such timing in their product plans,” said the statement.
“CableLabs conducts multiple test waves throughout the year in order to accommodate additional testing.
“Panasonic has entered an upcoming certification wave, which provides ample time for products to reach the marketplace to meet the company’s rollout schedule.
“Other tru2way products, including products from Samsung and ADB, have already been Certified by CableLabs.”
Tru2way technology is the inclusion of set-top technology inside the TV set units themselves, so removing the need for an external box.
Later, Panasonic released a statement saying they still expected to be selling the TVs for the Christmas season.
"Panasonics Tru2way-enabled VIERA HDTV is in the certification process at CableLabs. Panasonic expects to deliver Tru2way-enabled VIERA HDTVs to the market in time for the holiday season," the statement said. -
Consumer group claims Sony PS3 uses five times more energy than a fridge
An Australian consumer body has called for small consumer electronics devices to carry energy-usage labels following a survey into power consumption.
Tests carried out by Sydney-based CHOICE showed that a PlayStation3 left on but not in use would cost Aus$250 annually in electricity – over five times more than a medium-sized fridge.
The survey found the usage cost for the Xbox 360 was not much lower.
In Australia, white goods must carry the energy-efficiency star labels by law, but while the Federal Government has recently discussed introducing such a scheme for computers and monitors, currently there is no such requirement.
Christopher Zinn, CHOICE’s media spokesman, said consumers were unaware of consumption rates for some smaller electronic devices.
He said mandatory energy-usage labels should be introduced for computer products sold in Australia.
“While we hope no one actually leaves their games console on for a whole year 24/7, the figures are indicative of just how much electricity these small devices can chew their way through,” he said. -
Leading HDTV manufacturers take legal action against Vizio over patents
Mitsubishi, Samsung, Sony, and Philips have filed a patent suit against low-cost HDTV maker Vizio claiming the company is violating 15 patents key to supporting MPEG-2 video in its products.
The legal action is seeking an order to prevent Vizio from using the patents, as well as financial compensation.
According to the complaint – other parties to which also include Columbia University of New York, Victor Co. of Japan, and Thompson – the individual companies have pursued Vizio about licensing the patents, but the company has refused to deal with them.
It is claimed that Vizio has also declined to discuss the matter with the MPEG Licensing Authority trade group.
In response to the suit, which was filed in federal court in Manhattan on June 2, Vizio said it doesn’t need licenses for the MPEG-2 patents.
It claims its suppliers have licensed the patents and those licenses extend to Vizio’s products.
The company said it will fight the suit and expects its partners will support and cooperate in the defence.
Earlier this year, the MPEG LA trade group filed suit against Target over its Tru-tech brand of televisions (PDF) on similar patent infringement claims.
Vizio has made a name for itself in the US by selling comparatively low-cost high-definition televisions through mass retailers like Wal-mart, Costco, and Circuit City, often substantially undercutting prices for similarly-featured models from competitors. During the first quarter of 2008, Vizio was ranked as the number three seller of LCD televisions by DisplaySearch and iSuppli.