iPhone 3G S costs $178.96 to build

So says iSuppli, which has completed a teardown of Apple's device.
The entry-level 16GB version of theiPhone 3G S carries a Bill Of Materials (BOM) cost of $172.46 and a manufacturing expense of $6.50, for a total of $178.96.

That's slightly higher than iSuppli’s estimate of $174.33 for the original low-end 8GB iPhone 3G, based on pricing in July 2008.

Andrew Rassweiler, director and principal analyst, teardown services at iSuppli, said: “Although the retail price of the 16GB iPhone 3G S is $199, the same as for the 8GB version of the original iPhone 3G, the actual price of the phone paid by the service provider is considerably higher, reflecting the common wireless industry practice of subsidising the upfront cost of a mobile phone and then making a profit on subscriptions.


“From a component and design perspective, there’s also a great deal of similarity between the 3G and the 3G S. By leveraging this commonality to optimise materials costs, and taking advantage of price erosion in the electronic component marketplace, Apple can provide a higher-performing product with more memory and features at only a slightly higher materials and manufacturing cost.”

http://www.mobile-ent.biz/news/33572...17896-to-build

Wow, so the iPhone 3GS costs just £74.80 to build per unit and we get bashed £440.80 to buy one off the Apple store tied up on O2 pay as you go. Yeah yeah, one could get pne free on a long 18/24 month contract but still that's a joke...