Nexus One hardware costs $174.15, US multitouch still priceless
By Vlad Savov 
posted January 9th 2010 11:45AM
posted January 9th 2010 11:45AM
If, while perusing the Nexus One teardown, you were doing a mental tally of just how much each internal part may cost, here's your chance to compare your numbers to some professionally obtained figures. iSuppli reports a preliminary estimate of $174.15 for the cost of materials needed to build each handset. The research firm also congratulates Google on keeping a bill of materials comparable to most recent smartphones while having "the most advanced features of any smart phone ever dissected by iSuppli's Teardown Analysis Service." Costliest of all things was the 1GHz Snapdragon ($30.50), followed by the AMOLED display ($23.50) and memory ($20.40) from Samsung. The Bluetooth and 802.11n WiFi transceiver cost $8.20, and perhaps the most egregious spend was $12.50 on a 5 megapixel camera that many of us might never use. Hilariously enough, Google has spent $17.50 on what is clearly identified as a "capacitive multitouch touchscreen assembly" from Synaptics, though enabling it clearly remains a bridge too far.
Take it up with Apple or your ridiculous patent laws.
@MarkAnderson
Why Apple? Apple's multitouch patents are worldwide patents. If the Nexus has multitouch in EU, there's no reason it can't have multitouch in the US.
@Jack
Actually most of Apples multitouch patents only cover the US, and don't cover actual multitouch technology, just its implementations (such as pinch to zoom).
@Jack
Jack, since you can have multitouch in other countries then it's nor unreasonable to assume this is a vagary of the US patent laws so there's two things you can do:
1) Curse Apple for not licensing the technology although, in fairness, I understand why they don't.
2) Blame the bonkers US patent laws.
Your choice of which to rail against. Or both. Whatever.
@Jack Apple has quite some SOFTWARE patents in the US. Over here in Europe there are no software patents, therefore anyone can give a flying f*ck for those Apple patents
@MarkAnderson
Yeah that's why the Pre and other phones in the US have multitouch, go and blame Google, Apple got nothing to do with it.
@Goona
So you tell me why it's going to be available in Europe and not in the US then. The Pre and HTC Hero both allow multitouch so either they're doing it differently, have Apple's consent or are not impinging on patents.
Which is it?
@MarkAnderson
Remember how Apple threatened to sue Palm and Palm just answered by saying that there wre patent the Apple was also infringing upon? That's the reason why Palm can use multitouch, They have the weight to trade blow with Apple when it comes to mobile devices patents. And I'm sure it is the same thing with the rest of the OEM. OEM is even newer than Apple so my guess is they'd rather avoid any litigations. That or there is some sort of non-compete agreement between Apple and Google.
@Mojzu
In other words, you don't know why either. I'm assuming if you knew specifically why the EU Nexus has multitouch and the US one doesn't, you would have mentioned it.
As others have said, there are other phones in the US that have multitouch. Why not the Nexus?
@MarkAnderson
Or maybe Google is being cheap and don't want to pay royalty fees like others are doing. You have no clue why this phone doesn't have multitouch, blaming Apple is just a cheap shot considering other phones besides the iphone have multitouch in the US, blame Apple for Google's incompetence.
@ayle
Dude please show me where Apple threatened to sue Palm about multiotuch, stop spreading lies.
@Jack
Exactly, they don't know anything but they need to find a way to blame Apple. I mean Apple is the cause of everything negative these days, they are now blaming Apple for the Nexus One not being able to connect to 3g properly, lol.
@Goona
Yes. Google's incompetence for including it everywhere but where Apple's patents reign supreme (fact 1)
Then also it's not MULTITOUCH that is disabled it's PINCH-TO-ZOOM. So there's another mark for the patent theory since Apple's patent covers gestures and such. Not multitouch as a whole (fact 2)
Blaming Apple isn't being evil, biased, or whatever. Apple is a business (or did you forget that). Blocking (or going young and hip with cock blocking) is what businesses do to ensure that their "uniqueness' is preserved strictly for them.
If that's what Apple did (I'm not going to act like I know the reason), then that's what Apple did. Get over it. It's business...it's a war...it's what happens.
I honestly don't care. Personal opinion for my personal usage. I don't play games on my phone. I don't like holding my device with two hands just to zoom in and out (or awkwardly holding in one hand to get that all important pinch-to-zoom to work). I don't need a device that gives me the prettiest looking thing. I don't need a device that is over simplified so even kids can use it.
What I do need though is a truly one handed device (since I'm a dangerous driver and I do one handed phone operations and browsing).
Engadget's "review" was a HOAX (remember, it was posted before the phone was even officially available for purchase anyway).
Check out some REAL comparisons:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blr7OtefrHM N1 Engadget Test (Note he clears the cache beforehand *ON VIDEO*)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuVyExV8SYo Google Nexus One Vs. iPhone 3GS (See 2:15-3:30) "I've seen the Nexus One have an edge in all the webpages that I've tested going head to head."
Needless to say:
A) Josh obviously sabotaged the N1 / Droid somehow, or doesn't know what he's doing. No phone loads webpages that slow, not even a G1. It should be *extremely* obvious he did something very wrong. I wouldn't be surprised if the Droid/N1 were on a neighbor's Wifi network.
B) Why test only a SINGLE website? Seriously?
C) The N1 *IS* faster than the iPhone, as these videos clearly show, and dozens others will soon show as well. (Josh: What the HELL were you doing?)
Just wanted to clear that up.
P.S. Enough with the multitouch idiocy. Install the Dolphin browser (free) and shut up.
@iDavey
Bla, bla, bla. You don't know squat. You don't work at Google, you didn't help in designing this phone. You are just talking out of your ass and choose to blame Apple because of your hate for them. Why are other phones in the US with multitouch enabled, why hasn't Apple prevented them from using it, go and blame Google for not including multitouch and stop looking to put the blame on Apple. I'm sure you're one of those blaming Apple for 3g problems in the Nexus One.
@Johnny Rockets
Dumbass, you know not everyone gets the same results. In fact I also did the same comparisons and got the same result as Engadget.
@Jack
No I don't know, I I don't like to make wild accusations based on very little evidence or suggest that Google is doing this simply to annoy us. The facts are that these same Google products have multitouch functionality in the EU, and since Google is run by pretty clever people they must know that the exclusion of multitouch in the US is hurting sales. Therefore the only conclusion that can be drawn is that there is a US specific issue regarding multitouch, it could be Apples patents, or patents from another company entirely. Only Google really knows what's going on here, and the way they answer these questions suggests that they are not at liberty to discuss it, so until they or someone else explains this situation it's unlikely that we will find out the specific reasons why they are excluding multitouch in the US.
@Goona
You obviously can't read.
And from your response I take it you're still a kid. So most will go over your head anyways.
I CLEARLY said I'm not going to act as if I do know why. Then I CLEARLY stated that IF that is the reason, get over it. It's the way businesses are ran to protect their interests and what makes their products unique.
Palm already stated that if Apple tried to sue them, they have a shitload of patents to throw back at them (since Palm did basically start this crazy PDA phone thing way back when).
You can sit here and think to yourself that there isn't something between Apple and Google. But obviously there is.
There could be an agreement, there could be a patent, hell...there could be someone holding their loved ones hostage. Who knows and who cares!?
The fact is...it's going to remain this way for awhile. They will not disclose the reason, so everyone should get over it and move on. You want multitouch...get a Pre, iPhone, Hero/Eris. You don't care...get your phone you want.
Whining isn't going to change the fact they don't enable it on native apps.
@Goona http://www.businessinsider.com/2009/1/apple-palm-multi-touch-patent
@Jack I'm sure some would realize that this one is not a rip-off and was way expected. Seeing the price of nexus one increase to 530. from the predicted 300, something tells you that google is having a 'super' profit for this superphone as well. Hopefully, they won't decrease the price abruptly just after users bought this one at 530 usd. Details: http://bit.ly/nexus-one-updates-detail-opinions
The price for the multitouch hardware was really the punchline..
@Goona
No, I'm pretty sure that's why it doesn't.
@MarkAnderson
Originally Posted by AndroidAppCritic
I hate everything about my new super sleek, super fast N1. What I hate most is its speed. Actually, I think I hate its awesome screen the most. Or that it's too light and thin for the power it has. I also hate how easily my contacts, calendar and email sync seemlessly with my device. I hate the fact I have to use a top of the line browser when going online and I especially hate that all my music plays so well. Watching all those HD quality movies I've converted and watching high quality YouTube videos is so boring. I can't stand my desktop full of all those widgets that provide me with useful information and those folders keeping my apps sorted just get in the way. But--and here's the most important thing I hate about my N1--I hate that I can make phone calls wherever I am. I'd much rather my calls be dropped. And that's all before I even rooted it to get access to more stuff to make my N1 terrible.
--------------
Response
----------------
Hi,
I am an executive for Engadget.com and I have taken an interest in your talent for reviewing new technology and writing reports. I would like to offer you a job on my staff for reviewing new phones on the market. I won't go into detail on public forums about the specifics of the job but I can tell you that we will supply you with a free Iphone3gs and free unlimited everything contract, compliments of our partnership with Apple and ATT. If you would like further details please private message me.
Thanks
@slipdisc
Or maybe Apple could have been talking about Palm hacking into itunes and using their vendor ID keys. What you posted doesn't show Apple threatened anyone with multitouch. It's all just hearsay by the deluded press looking to pit two companies against each other.
@MarkAnderson
You work at Google?
@Goona
Nope.
Do you work at all?
Now do you guys believe me that just like all other off contract phones the price on this is overly inflated? It really shouldn't be more then $350 off contract.
@reallynotnick
You underestimate the costs of marketing and software development.
@reallynotnick
You're complaining about this hardware at this price? Google and HTC will have spent a fortune developing the software and hardware for this phone. And considering the phones specifications they've done extremely well keeping costs this low, most phones are sold at a loss/no profit above manufacturing costs because carriers can make up the deficit through a lengthy contract and/or cancellation fees. Google/HTC selling this phone directly only get paid once and this must cover everything including manufacturing/design/shipping/advertising/investment/royalties/profit. Seems like a pretty good deal to me for an unlocked phone.
@reallynotnick
good thing you dont make phones. wouldn't want you to go bankrupt in the first week of underestimating things.
@Mojzu
Markup is still 100% +
@TT
All you have to do is look at the iPod Touch, we all know Apple makes hand over fist every product they make so no argument of them going bankrupt. Do you really think a GSM radio and FCC certification costs $200-$300? There is just very little competition for unlocked phone prices.
@reallynotnick
Price of hardware != cost of development.
Consider the following things:
1) Shipping costs
2) Manufacturing costs
3) Development costs: powering the buildings, paying the engineers, development equipment, developing the software, unit testing, FCC testing, etc..
4) Customer support
5) Warranty
6) And hopefully some profit in the end.
It should be noted that NONE of this is ever reflected in the cost of the actual parts to make a device. Which is why articles like this that point out that a device costs $174.15 to build but Google sells it for $529 is NOT a rip off. It is nearly impossible to calculate the value-added costs that comes from developing any electronics device.
@Jeff Kibuule
It's not impossible to calculate... how do you think they come up with the pricepoint in the first place?!
@dansus
That is just parts cost not the entire cost of the device.
There are still costs for assembly, engineering, marketing, corporate overhead, and support for customers.
These kinds of hardware cost estimates are amusing but very misleading. If you do a similar cost breakdown of the human body, you get estimated costs of a few dollars: http://www.coolquiz.com/trivia/explain/docs/worth.asp
@(Unverified) Fuck marketing and advertising, those people should go kill themselves.
@reallynotnick
Like I said elsewhere, the volume of iPods vs the Nexus One is likely quite different. The Nexus One is likely to be in the millions while the iPod touch sells in the 10s of millions. Besides from the missing hardware between the two, this volume difference will reflect on fixed costs such as factories and price savings from volume production. A similar principle applies to automobiles, where high volume cars tend to be cheaper.
And in general business is done on market price (how much the market will accept) rather than a fixed margin. $530 is already lower than the usual market price for this kind of phone. Google can only go so low without facing opposition from manufacturer partners.
ceiling cat says i can not has multitouch
@reiththestud
long cat is loooooooooooooooooooooong
@(Unverified)
You, sir, are and idiot :)
losers
Considering it's cheaper than the 3GS, why don't all phones coming out have AMOLED + Snapdragon?
@MONKEY
just wait. Google brought on the game, and others will follow soon.
@MONKEY
Money. Apple only releases one phone every year so they can have the best hardware. Other manufacturers make lots of phones, so they can't have one phone with the best hardware. They need to sell more phones so they make slight improvements each time they release a new phone.
I wonder why all smartphones cost around half a grand unsubsidized, when they cost so little to make, but video game consoles like the PS3 are sold at a loss...
@B3astofthe3ast
Most video game consoles are sold at a profit, it's just Sony who sells their console at a loss and hope to make it up through games + peripherals.
@B3astofthe3ast because you're not signing a contract so you pay less TECHNICALLY.
you get a high end phone for cheap or free if you sign a contract but those two years of fees add up.
@B3astofthe3ast
Its because console makers recoup there money in accessory and game sales.
And yes, both Sony and Microsoft sold their console at a loss initially. Nintendo is the only one that sold their console at a profit.
@B3astofthe3ast
because we arent constantly purchasing $60 games for our phones.
@va jj
That's the answer to a completely different question, and the fact that you pay fees is irrelevant.
You would have to pay service fees anyway. The only carrier that gives you a break in price by bringing your own phone in the US is T-Mobile.
@BigJayDogg3
and we are hoping other carriers will join to be competitive.