A recent teardown of Amazon’s new Kindle Fire tablet reveals that the company is likely selling its new Android-powered slate at a loss. Market research and intelligence firm IHS iSuppli on Friday published its findings after disassembling the new Amazon Kindle Fire tablet and examining its components. Following its analysis, the firm determined that Amazon’s Build of Materials cost is $185.60, and its total cost including manufacturing-related fees is $201.70 per Kindle Fire. Prior to obtaining a...

Apple is looking at another big-margin device launch next week when the tech giant’s fifth-generation iPhone finally hits store shelves on October 14th. Market research and intelligence firm UBM TechInsights on Wednesday estimated that Apple’s 32GB iPhone 4S carries a materials cost of $203 per handset for the Cupertino-based company. UBM arrived at that number by using component costs from its iPhone 4 teardown as a base and then making slight adjustments for known changes in iPhone 4S components...

Amazon will reportedly turn a profit of approximately $49 for each Kindle Fire it sells following the device’s launch next month. Earlier rumors painted a very different picture of Amazon’s strategy with its first media tablet, suggesting the retailer would be selling the slates at a loss of between $10 and $50 per device. The theory, these reports claimed, was that Amazon hoped to make up the difference and then some thanks to deep integration with paid Amazon services such as Amazon Video On Dem...

It could very well be that Android’s best hope for a competitive tablet offering in the near term lies in Amazon’s hands. Retrevo Labs, a division of consumer electronics shopping site Retrevo, surveyed more than 1,000 U.S. consumers in June to find out what people are looking for in a tablet. While 50% of those surveyed who intended to purchase a tablet this year said it would be an iPad, Retrevo determined that the most important feature to prospective tablet buyers is a low price point. Consid...

Apple, AT&T, and Verizon Wireless have independently fired off press releases letting us know exactly how and when we can acquire yourself an iPad 2 tomorrow, March 11th. Starting at 5:00 p.m. local time, interested parties can head to an Apple, AT&T, or Verizon Wireless retail store to purchase the 16GB, 32GB, or 64GB tablet in white or black. Verizon will be offering four data plans for the iPad 2:1GB per month – $203GB per month – $355GB per month – $5010GB per month – $80...

Thanks to several leaks, we have a pretty good beat on what Motorola’s ATRIX 4G will retail for — $150 — and now, according to some new intel, we’re starting to get an idea of what the handsets accessories could cost. According to a page posted by online wireless retailer Fommy, the ATRIX’s HD multimedia dock — complete with HDMI-out and three USB ports — will set you back a very reasonable $59.95. If earlier rumors about the ATRIX 4G’s laptop dock turn out to...

On Friday, we told you about a rumor we were hearing surrounding the release-date and pricing for Sprint’s ZTE Peel; the iPod touch case that provides 3G internet access. Today, we’ve got cold hard evidence to confirm our previous scoop. As you can see from the above screen shot, the ZTE Peel will indeed be hitting the Now Network on November 14th and will retail for $79.99. The plan that Sprint will provide Peel customers is a $29.99, month-to-month, offering that will include a 1GB data allowanc...

Today, during their Q3 2010 earnings call, WiMAX network operator Clearwire announced that it would be slashing 15% of its workforce and instituting several “cash conservation measures” in an attempt to raise “short-term funding.” As the earnings brief reads:While the Company is cautiously optimistic it will resolve its short-term funding needs in the near future, there can be no assurances. Thus, it is implementing a series of significant cash conservation measures to reduce costs, in...

Analytics company iSuppli has completed their analysis of Apple’s sixth-generation iPod nano. The company concludes that the small, square, touch-screen media player costs the Cupertino company $45.10 to manufacture; $43.73 in materials and $1.37 in manufacturing costs. The most expensive components on the device are the 8GB of NAND Flash memory ($14.40), the display ($11.50), and the Samsung processor ($4.95). Apple sells 8GB model of the device for $149. Not a bad profit margin, eh? (more…)

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that BlackBerry maker Research In Motion sold right around 150,000 Torch handsets during its opening weekend. The sales estimates come courtesy of RBC Capital Markets and Stifel Nicolaus. Curiously, the launch numbers keep being compared to the first weekend sales figures of the iPhone 4; which launched on June 24th of this year in five countries and on multiple carriers. The WSJ also calls into question the profitability of the handset for RIM. Research firm iSuppli peg...

In a note to investors, Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty predicts that Apple will introduce a new iPhone model which will set a new standard for affordability. Huberty maintains that cost is the largest barrier to greater iPhone adoption and believes Apple will address this shortcoming during its next iPhone announcement expected at WWDC in June. Whether Apple can undercut the low $99 price point for the 8GB iPhone 3G remains to be seen, but Huberty’s prediction takes into account the total cost of o...

iSuppli is certainly the authority when it comes to pegging manufacturer costs in the world of handsets, but its latest report has a giant question mark stamped on the cover. Without actually having a handset on hand, the firm has placed Palm’s cost at approximately $138 per unit to build the Pre. Now, we know iSuppli knows its stuff but we have to take issue with the fact that it reached this conclusion without actually, you know, having a Palm Pre on hand to analyze. Instead, iSuppli based the majorit...

It’s a recession people, and in a recession the name of the game is to keep sales as steady as possible while reducing costs as much as possible. For countless companies this means unloading employees but as RIM’s market share continues to surge, the Canadian handset maker is taking a different approach; use its solid sales to squeeze better prices out of its suppliers. Based on iSuppli’s estimates, BlackBerrys do have a fairly substantial cost to RIM with the Bold running the company approx...

Yesterday we relayed the news that Sony’s Playstation 3 sales for the holiday period were lower than expected, yet Sony was remaining optimistic. Apparently, some good news on the production front sheds some light on how the company can manage to keep its chin up amidst some pretty terrible sales performance. iSuppli has broken down the production cost of Sony’s latest PlayStation 3 and Sony has reportedly shaved 35% off the cost of the original PS3 unit. Through changes to various components and ...