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Kevin Rose demos Square payment system for iPhone
Digg's Kevin Rose is the newest investor in this Square iPhone payment system that we've been seeing lately, and as you can see above, he's demo'ed the unit for everyone over on YouTube. It works as we've heard: there's just an addon that you plug into the iPhone's headphone jack, and then an app takes information from the swiper, and transmits it out for an actual credit card payment, with a finger doing the signature. The app, as Kevin says, will even upload GPS information, so you can make sure that payments are happening in the right place. Unfortunately, what he doesn't mention is the actual price to get payments up and running. Square's website says that there's "no contracts, monthly fees, or hidden costs," but they've got to pay for the system somehow, so you'd expect there to be a fee for setup, for the accessory, and then a fee per charge through the system, but we haven't heard what any of those will end up being yet. Depending on how steep they are, this could be a gamechanger -- accepting payments anywhere, any time, with an online record and receipt for each one, no cash involved. Would be incredible for small business owners, and probably a lot of other sales folks, too.
Droid more valuable than Nexus One or iPhone 3GS according to iSuppli
Ah, here we go again: another report from iSuppli breaking down the bill of materials (BOM) for one of our favorite smartphones. This time it's the Droid / Milestone under scrutiny, Motorola's beefcake slider that currently sells for $560 month-to-month on Verizon ($199 on contract). According to iSuppli's analysis, Droid brings a $187.75 bill of materials that breaks down into $179.11 worth of components and $8.64 in manufacturing costs. Naturally, the BOM does not include licensing fees, software costs, accessories, or the massive outlay this device has received in advertising support. Nevertheless, it makes for interesting apples-to-apples fodder when comparing costs with the Nexus One ($174.15 in materials only), iPhone 3GS ($178.96 materials and manufacturing), and original Palm Pre ($138 materials and manufacturing). The single most expensive component on the Droid is the 16GB removable microSD card ($35) bundled with the Droid. And after a controversial MOTO report that demonstrated a lackluster capacitive touchscreen on the Droid, it's interesting to compare the Droid's 3.7-inch TFT LCD ($17.75) and capacitive touchscreen overlay ($17.50) with that of the iPhone 3GS ($19.25 spent on a smaller 3.5-inch LCD and cheaper $16 touchscreen overlay) and Nexus One (whopping $23.50 for 3.7-inch AM-OLED display and $17.50 for the touchscreen assembly). Rounding out the top-end costs are the Droid's 5 megapixel autofocus CMOS sensor ($14.25), Qualcomm baseband processor / RF chip ($14.04), and TI application processor ($12.90).
MacBook prices around the world
While researching MacBook Pros, the folks at cmyplay produced an infographic charting the relative prices of MacBook Pros around the world. The variation is amazing. The lowest cost was found in the US ... mostly. Certain models cost less in Hong Kong, but as the author notes, that could be due to exchange rate fluctuations. Prices were significantly higher in South Africa. For example, an entry-level 13" MacBook Pro 2.26GHz in South Africa retails for about the same prices as a mid-level 15" MacBook Pro (2.53GHz) in the US. Note that Apple does not have official representation in South Africa. However, the highest prices were found in Brazil (where Apple does have official representation). As cmyplay notes, "For the amount to purchase a top-of-the-line MacBook Pro 2.8GHz in Brazil, a person could buy two of the same machine in the US." One Brazilian commenter noted that Brazil's import duties and sales tax, especially on electronics, is very high. Good work, cmyplay! Your graphic is beautiful and offers a perspective we might not otherwise have considered. Make sure you visit the post to see the full image. [Via Gizmodo]
Nexus One hardware costs $174.15, US multitouch still priceless
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.
Shipping costs removed from Authenticators
We'd already noticed last week that the Authenticators in the US store had gone free shipping, but now official updates on Blizzard's site say it's true in the EU as well. American authenticators still cost $6.50, but you no longer have to pay anything extra for shipping, and EU authenticators have had their price dropped to €6.99. That's still over $10, but they're at least cheaper than they used to be. There's a drawback, however: apparently they went with cheaper shipping, because you can no longer track shipments of authenticators, and shipping will take a little longer (up to 15 business days in the US). Which makes sense, given that you want these things as cheap as possible. Ancilorn answers some other Authenticator questions as well -- there's no discount for buying multiple units at all; what you see is what you get. And while the only authenticator for purchase at the moment is the Corehound branded unit, there may be more art available in the future, and of course you don't need a Corehound-branded Authenticator to get the Corehound Pup pet. Any Authenticator will do that, including any of the authenticators made for mobile phones, as long as it stays attached to your account. Whew -- that should answer all the questions anyone has. As we said the other day, if you don't have one of these yet, it's probably time to look in to getting one. Not only will your account be more secure, but you'll get that free pet as well.
Sony PSP Go game dev taken aback by lofty ESRB rating costs
Nothing really new here -- the ESRB has been charging a nominal fee to get its saucy logos on your game for years upon years now -- but the discussion of fairness has recently surfaced with the introduction of Sony's UMD-less PSP Go. A few game developers are voicing concerns about the amount the ESRB charges (we're hearing around $2,500) in order for their titles to receive a rating, particularly when those very same titles don't have such a costly requirement in Apple's App Store. Subatomic Studios, for instance, can charge $2.99 for the iPhone version of Fieldrunners, while the same game is priced at $6.99 on the PlayStation Store. Naturally, the ESRB would love to get in on App Store ratings, but it's hard to say just how long (if ever) that cracking process will take. So, any of you devs put off by the ESRB fee? Put off enough to sidestep PSP Go development altogether?[Via Joystiq]
Why the App Store is working just right
Edible Apple has an interesting analysis up about this Newsweek article claiming that App Store developers aren't getting rich. Newsweek basically claims that all those success stories we've heard about App Store developers have a darker side: if they aren't already buried in costs from developing that hit app, they're desperately scrambling to rise above the noise and get another one's sales up on the App Store. [For a similar perspective to Newsweek's, check out this post from Ged Maheux at the Iconfactory.] Edible Apple replies that that's true, but a closer inspection of the numbers shows that these devs are actually making plenty of money -- while their costs are going higher than they expected (one example has a developer paying over $100,000 to make $200,000) there is still money to be made. What developers are actually discovering, says Edible Apple, is that the App Store isn't a gold rush -- it's a business. That's an interesting point. In the beginning, the App Store was a gold rush -- you could hack together a fart app and come up with a few month's worth of beer money over night. But with almost 100,000 apps, it's a different ballgame. You either need to come up with an original idea that people are interested in, or polish an existing idea until it shines so bright it's unavoidable. And as Edible Apple says, that's actually a good thing. There is money to be made in the App Store these days -- multiple developers have proven that already. It'll take work and luck to do it, but isn't that the case with any successful business?
WoW back online in China
The long wait is finally over -- World of Warcraft's servers are finally back online in China after they went offline all the way back at the beginning of June, due to a switch between former host The9 and current host NetEase. It took a while for the government to approve the move (and some have even suggested that the delay wasn't completely legit), but things are finally back to business as usual, according to a few sources out of China.A few more interesting facts have arisen with this news as well: apparently NetEase has spent over a million yuan (about $146,000) per day to keep up and maintain the game and its servers during the past month of closed beta and free play. Of course, that includes customer support and all the other costs. Even with that price, however, the company is still expected to grow. We haven't heard any population numbers worldwide for WoW since this whole deal began, but you have to think that they lost at least a few players due to all of the problems. Of course, the release of Wrath over there may bring back some players, but even though they were planning to have it out before all of this happened, the switchover has delayed it even further. All they need is more government approval, but as the outage proved, that can sometimes be hard to get.
Florida school may trash 200 Macs to go PC-only
This could be the saddest thing I've seen all week (and I've watched a few Cubs games): a Florida school is declaring itself PC-only, and apparently was planning to toss almost 200 Macs in the trash to get new Windows computers for the kids and teachers. Hearing that kids will have to use Windows is sad enough, but tossing out working Macs, even if they're old G3 models? Not cool at all. The teachers were apparently also told originally that they couldn't buy them or give them away to kids either -- it was the trash bin for these machines. Cult of Mac also updates with pictures of the Macs, and we warn you, if all of those machines really are headed for the landfill, it's a little scary to look at. Fortunately, the outcry has caused school officials to reconsider (or at least state their position more clearly), and it looks like what they'll be doing is assessing the machines to see if they can be refurbished and then given away or sent off to a recycling center. The other problem apparently lies in the software -- giving away the machines is no problem, but the school has to make sure all the software is cleaned off of the computers, as they don't have licenses to distribute software that way. And as the school administrator says, the computers aren't much good without an OS on them. But surely we can save these guys. Apple, want to step in here and grant this school some licenses to keep these computers (208 in total, many of which are likely workable, even at "five to ten years old") in the hands of people who can use them? It would be a shame if the school had to toss working computers because their hands were tied by OS X software licenses.
Rumor: PS3 now 70 percent cheaper to manufacture
If statements made during a Sony international investor conference call are to be believed, the company has managed to cut PS3 manufacturing costs by "about 70%, roughly speaking." Sony Corp CEO Nobuyuki Oneda stated that this was "on schedule." Concrete numbers haven't been revealed, but based on various reports since the PS3's inception, estimates are that the console now costs around $240 (£146) per unit -- way down from the original cost of $800 (£485).The upshot of all this is that at the current price Sony is guaranteed to be profiting from each machine sold -- and about time too! -- but there's also enough leeway for the company to announce that much-requested $100 price cut and still be profitable. Whether this will happen or not depends on how much Sony values consumer satisfaction and increased userbase over recouping some of those hefty losses the PS3 suffered in the early years.[Via Edge-Online]
Palm Pre: $138 to build according to iSuppli
With the economy in the tank (still) and the heat on, cost and profit margins are more important than ever to companies hoping to stave off the inevitable, apocalyptic doom of recession. Well, iSuppli's released an estimated report of how much its costing Palm to cobble together the Pre -- about $138, as it turns out. iSuppli has positively identified just two of the Pre's suppliers thus far -- that Texas Instruments OMAP chip, which runs Palm $11, and Qualcomm's wireless chip -- but they've formed a general picture of what's under the hood for the estimate. That price is about 46 percent of the $300 iSuppli suggests Palm will be charging Sprint for the Pre (a number that's completely unconfirmed at this point). To put it in perspective, the BlackBerry Storm costs about $203 to make and was sold for $199 initially, the G1 clocked in at $144, while the iPhone 3G costs Apple an estimated $174.33. Of course, we have no way of assessing the accuracy of the estimate yet, but if it's in the neighborhood of correct, Palm's profit margin should be pretty healthy.
iSuppli: $359 Kindle 2 costs $185 to build, Whispernet says shhh
Ever wonder how Amazon was able to bundle unlimited Whispernet (Sprint EVDO) with the Kindle 2? To start with, eBooks are small, really small in the context of digital media downloads (music, audio-books, movies) so there's little impact to the Sprint network. Kindle 2 is also sporting a pretty healthy markup to cover the data fees. After conducting its own teardown and analysis, iSuppli estimates that the Kindle 2 costs just $185.49 for materials and manufacturing. The estimate does not include the costs related to marketing, distribution, class-actions, or the pain you feel at having learned the true definition of free. Full press release after the break.
Mythic lets slip the dogs of WAR: Warhammer Online launches Sept. 18th
Electronic Arts and Mythic Entertainment have announced the official launch date for Warhammer Online: September 18th! That goes for the regions of North America, Europe, and Oceania.Additionally, game time pricing has been revealed. In North America, a month-to-month subscription will go for the standard $14.99 per month. Three month and six month plans will be available at $41.97 and $77.94, respectively. For Europe, it'll be one month for 12.99€ (£10.31), three months for 35.97€ (£28.55), and six months for 65.94€ (£52.34).Earlier today, the EA store was updated with an August 23rd date, but that apparently was an error. September 18th is it folks! Get ready for some Realm on Realm action! Check out the full press release behind the jump.
PS3: Sony's $3.32 billion gift to gamers
It's a well-known fact that Sony has been losing a lot of money on the PS3 this generation. Although it's the most expensive console on the market, it's also the most expensive to produce, thanks to the combination of bleeding-edge technologies, Blu-ray and the Cell processor. When the system launched in fiscal 2007, the Japanese electronics giant had to swallow a whopping cost of $2.16 billion. Fiscal 2008, however, has been much kinder to the company, with PS3 hardware costs eating up $1.16 billion, thanks to the lowered cost of manufacturing. Combined, PS3 has cost the company $3.32 billion dollars ... so far.The astronomical figure Sony has invested into the PS3 shows its confidence in its success. However, the company did note that unless it reaches "favorable market penetration," the PS3 would have a "significant negative impact" on the company's profitability.Software is where the company will the company will recoup costs, and with an excellent holiday lineup in store for PS3 gamers, we're sure that Sony has little to worry about for the rest of this generation. But remember, while other companies are eager to make profit off of you on day one, Sony put their necks on the line to give you a great deal on a monstrously powerful system.[Via Joystiq]
Revisiting epic flyer costs
Drysc has written a book about epic flying mount costs on the forums -- there aren't many goldsinks left in the game, but that 5000g you've got to pay for an epic flying mount is still there for sure (just ask anyone who doesn't have one).He says that yes, the flying mount is definitely worth it (it makes playing the game much faster, since most of the time spent in the game is actually travel anyway), but also that actually obtaining an epic flyer was always meant to be optional -- only for players who want to "go the extra mile." Not sure how he can say both of those things at the same time, but there you go. He also says the main consideration in the cost wasn't any effect on the economy, but rather simply making sure that it took a certain amount of time for players to obtain all that gold -- they averaged how quickly players could pick up gold versus how long they wanted players to work for the mount, and arrived at 5000g.There is some (kind of) good news on the horizon for players who don't want to spend all that money, however. If and/or when Blizzard releases a higher riding skill, Drysc says they'll probably drop the price on this one. Of course, that doesn't really tell us anything concrete -- with the onset of siege vehicles, there may be all kinds of changes to how riding and driving works in the game. Until then, keep grinding, because apparently the only thing that will get you flying fast is a whole lot of gold.
Cellphone bill on the rise? Check your SMS charges
If you've been paying attention to mobile carriers' SMS pricing lately (and something tells us you haven't) you'd be surprised to discover a fairly disturbing trend amongst providers: price hikes. Over the past year or so, nearly every major carrier in the US has raised their per-price cost of SMS messages, with Verizon and Sprint jacking up the fee from $0.15 to $0.20 a message, and AT&T and T-Mobile adding another nickel to their $0.10 charge. Of course, this trend of rising prices accompanies a major spike in the use of text messages amongst customers, with some surveys marking a 130-percent jump over SMS use since June 2006 -- and telcos are taking it to the bank. What's most insidious about the inflated costs is the fact that SMS data is particularly low-bandwidth, and analysts say that the price increases aren't related to higher operating costs -- these companies are simply gouging customers for a service which they have embraced. Companies say the hikes are meant to encourage customers to go for more expensive "bundles," though we're confident they won't mention it when your Mom uses more messages than her plan allows and unwittingly pays a few extra bucks on her bill -- that stuff adds up, you know?
Sony cuts PlayStation 3 production cost in half
In a piece primarily focused on Blu-ray over at Business Week, a bit of scrolling led to quite the interesting tidbit: Sony has apparently been able to slash the production cost of its PlayStation 3 in half. More specifically, it was noted that the firm has been able to "shrink the PS3's chips and tweak its design," which aided in getting the cost per machine "to around $400 now, from above $800 just before it went on sale in November 2006." According to Nikko Citigroup's Kota Ezawa, the biggest culprit for such an improvement is the "reduction in the parts count." Still, we wouldn't get our hopes up for yet another price cut just yet, but at least things are moving in the right direction.[Via PS3Fanboy]
PS3 production costs cut by half
Due to the removal of various components from the PS3's innards, coupled with smaller chip size, Sony has been able to cut the production cost of the PS3 by half since last year. Each console can now be produced at $400 a unit, rather than the $800 it was costing for each PS3 around November 2006. It's not clear whether this is the case for both the 40GB and the 80GB models, but it seems fair to assume that the 40GB is now selling at cost.What does this mean for consumers? More wiggle room with regards to pricing. We wouldn't at all be surprised to see a drop in price sometime this year. Don't expect it to come soon though. Sony are still riding a bit of a wave with regards to PS3 sales and with a number of high profile games coming out in the next few months, that can only improve.
Prices for Arena Season 1 items revealed
As expected, Patch 2.3 will bring Arena Season 1 items down to the battleground mark market, which means that for the first time ever, you'll be able to buy Arena gear with regular battleground honor and marks (good to know-- I've been saving up all my marks for just a day such as this). And MMO Champion has delved into the PTR and come back out with prices for every piece of Gladiator gear, so now you can know exactly what to save up for on the new patch.Almost across the board, you're going to need some EOTS marks, either 10 or 20 for most items. And you'll need to save up honor, too-- it's about eight or nine thousand for low ticket items like the Paladin's Librams and the Shaman Totems, all the way up to 25-27k for the major weapons. That's definitely not impossible, considering how easy it is to get honor in the BGs, but odds are you'll want to get EOTS bonus honor weekends on your calendar (what a coincidence-- this coming weekend is one) and plan to spend some time playing WoW on those days.Sure, the gear's not the latest and greatest (you'll have to get a great Arena rating for that stuff), but if you like the BGs as much as I do, these are still some great items that you can pay for with the points and marks that you're already getting anyway. Oh, and we need some help at Mage, if you can manage it. Thanks.Thanks, Boubouille!
Prepaid Data Packages and the iPhone
I recently had the chance to sit down with my iPhone and a prepaid SIM with a $50 account balance. I really got a chance to see how the iPhone would function with a pay-as-you-go plan and its data plan. What I learned was this: although using iPhone with pay-as-you-go means you can make occasional phone calls when you need to, you'll want to avoid EDGE data and stick to WiFi whenever possible. Here's the complete run-down.
