Yesterday BusinessWeek published an article that provides a manufacturing cost comparison between the Motorola Q and BlackBerry 8700 handheld communicators. According to the article, the Motorola Q costs about $158 to make. Some of the key components in the Q are:
- LCD display, $25
- XScale microprocessor, $19
- Digital baseband processor, $14
The BlackBerry 8700c only costs Research in Motion about $123, however it lacks two key Smartphone features that would have increased the manufacturing costs: a media player for audio and video playback, and a camera.
A market research firm named iSupply provides these types of teardown analyses periodically to mainstream media for inclusion in stories. I think their main claim to fame is acting as a marketing consultant to electronics companies, and helping them determine which features should be included in their high style products.
Technorati Tags: mobile phones, Motorola Q, BlackBerry 8700, electronic gadgets.