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| Author: | hsh [ Sat Sep 11, 2010 10:03 am ] |
| Post subject: | What Smartphones Really Cost |
Smartphones may be pretty uniform in price at the store, but what they cost to manufacture -- and their price without a two-year contract -- varies wildly. Apple iPhone 4 (16 GB) Courtesy of Apple Component Cost: $187.51 Price Without Contract: $599 Price With Contract: $199 Lowest Available Price: $197 (Wal-Mart) Unlike other smartphone manufacturers, Apple (NasdaqGS: AAPL - News) generally doesn't allow its devices to be sold for any less than in its stores, so $199 is almost certainly what you're going to pay for a new iPhone 4 with a two-year contract. Buying it at Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT - News) will knock that down a buck or two. With component costs of nearly $190, the iPhone 4 is the most expensive smartphone on the market to manufacture, according to research firm iSuppli. The largest single component of that cost is the iPhone's Retina Display, which costs an estimated $30 to make. But the real wallet wallop comes if you break or lose your iPhone 4 and have to replace it before your contract is up. Buying one without AT&T's (NYSE: T - News) subsidy will set you back a jaw-dropping $600. Samsung Galaxy S - Vibrant Courtesy of Samsung Component Cost: $165 Price Without Contract: $399.99 Price With Contract: $199.99 Lowest Available Price: $39.99 (Amazon.com, Wirefly) Samsung (KSE: 005930.KS - News) followed in Research In Motion's (NasdaqGS: RIMM - News) successful footsteps by launching what is more or less the same phone on each of the four major U.S. wireless networks. The phone is Samsung's Galaxy S class, and The Vibrant is T-Mobile's version. AT&T's Samsung Captivate can be had for about the same price with a new two-year contract, but without a new contract, it will set you back $100 more than the Vibrant. Sprint's Epic (NYSE: S - News), the 4G version of the phone, can't be bought for less than $200, however. Verizon's Fascinate (NYSE: VZ - News) version hasn't yet gone to market. With similar capabilities to other top-of-the-line Android peers, the Vibrant is bargain at $40 with a new contract. Without one, prepare to shell out $400. BlackBerry Torch Courtesy of Research In Motion Component Cost: $171.05 Price Without Contract: $499.99 Price With Contract: $199.99 Lowest Available Price: $99.99 (Amazon.com, Wirefly) The $200 price point surprised a number of people, given that Research In Motion's top-of-the-line BlackBerry doesn't match up all that well with the features and app availability of its high-end smartphone rivals, especially the iPhone or Android alternatives. But at $100 from retailers like Amazon.com (NasdaqGS: AMZN - News) and Wirefly, the Torch can be a pretty good deal. It's not quite as fast and doesn't have the screen resolution of some of its peers, but the BlackBerry QWERTY keyboard is a big plus for heavy e-mailers and texters. The touch screen makes the Torch more expensive than most BlackBerry phones, but surprisingly it's not the priciest: Verizon's BlackBerry Storm sells for $540 without a contract, and the Bold goes for $510 on Verizon. HTC Droid Incredible Courtesy of HTC Component Cost: $163.35 Price Without Contract: $529.99 Price With Contract: $199.99 Lowest Available Price: $69.99 (Wirefly) One of the most sought-after smartphones on the market, Verizon's Droid Incredible only recently became available for next-day shipping -- four months after it went on sale. So with such "incredible" demand and high-end features like an 8 megapixel camera and Android 2.2, it's a surprise that it can be had for as little as $70 on Wirefly with a new two-year contract. At $40 less than the Droid X and $10 less than the Droid 2 without a new contract, it's also the least expensive Droid-branded smartphone that Verizon offers. It doesn't have a keyboard like the Droid 2 or a 4.3-inch screen like the Droid X, but if you don't need those features, the Droid Incredible is competitively priced |
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