‘Course. what makes the analysis just the tiniest bit speculative is that Portelligent has released its estimated cost of iPhone 3G manufacture based entirely on educated guesses as to what components are used in the device. The raw cost of materials to build the iPhone 3G could be nearly half that of the original model, according to Portelligent. While the first model had a build cost of c. $170, the new breed could cost as little as $100 to make, said Potelligent president, David Carey. “Gen2 iPhone pricing is aggressive enough that it made me think Apple’s really taking the gloves off on this one,” said Carey. “They are probably not as worried about iPhone hardware profits as they are about getting a piece of the action on service revenues and getting more Macs in homes and offices all around the globe,” he added.
From speaking to suppliers in Asia, Portelligent believes Apple uses an Infineon baseband and RF transceiver, a Samsung processor, an Infineon GPS chip.
