Research firm iSuppli tore down RIM's latest device to see what was inside and find out the estimated cost of the inner workings. The total value of the Torch was estimated at about $171, plus $12 for manufacturing. The display and touchscreen came in at the high point of $34.85 while the memory chips came a very close second at $34.25. The rest of the breakdown goes like this:
- Mechanical/enclosures: $23.35
- Applications processor: $15
- Radio/Wireless: $24.50
- User Interface: $12.40
- Battery/Power management: $15.90
- Camera: $10.80
So you can see there is not a terribly huge profit on each device. Pretty crazy huh? [* update from Kevin: i'd better start proofing Adam's posts again. lol. Adam forgot that carriers subsidize the RIM retail price of a device - they bring down the consumer price by getting you to sign a contract and recoup the discount over the month's they have you locked in. There is a VERY good profit margin in device sales for RIM - just look at the off contract price!! *]. It was also noted that in the first weekend of sales, RIM sold around 150,000 devices, which shades in comparison to the 1.7 million iPhones sold in the first three days of launch. If you're eager for more on the inner goodness of the BlackBerry Torch, check out our Torch teardown photos and videos and see what makes it tick.
Source: WSJ