By James Cathey
4 Jul, 2011 8:00 pm
A little inside cost makeover for the HP Touchpad shows a different story when compared to the Apple iPad
On Sunday, it was estimated that the HP TouchPad only cost $306.65 to make says iSuppli. i Supply also believes HP is to operate on similar qualities and profit margins as apple, fore example the raw parts cost for a 16GB Wi-Fi TouchPad model is around $17 less than that of the 3G iPad 2. If your interested in the 32GB version that costs around $328.65 not including the initial price of marketing, research, and other factors that go in to making and shipping the product in the end.
The most expensive parts of the product being the 9.7-inch LG Display and the IPS-based screen are very similar in comparison to both devises. iSuppli says it costs an estimated $69 to make the LCD itself and about $63.50 to make the touch panel on top. Also, Apple uses Broadcom and TI parts unlike HP which is using a Cypress touch controller chip set at $11.75.
As for the inside, little similarities. The 1.2GHz Qualcomm APQ8060 Snapdragon is slower in the graphics department and incredibly different than Apple’s A5. the APQ8060 has its cellular baseband components surgically removed while most Snapdragons still support it possibly lowering the price and maybe leaving the operating room available for 3G or 4G insertion. HP likely to have external chips for the TouchPad at $20 being simply fair on price.
While Apple relies on Samsung and Toshiba for its iOS flash storage, HP is using SanDisk’s iNAND flash memory. with prices as high as $32 for a 16 GB and $45 for a 32 GB flash card both Apple and HP are charging significantly more than required for the higher capacity to help render prices on lower end models and to account for the smaller volume.
although the design on the TouchPad is relatively thick, doesn’t this mean HP could either slim it down or add more components without enlarging the shape? Yes, but in terms of Wi-Fi trim the TouchPad has no native GPS and may save that for 3G and 4G models. As the battery and mainboard only take up some space on the inside of the device, HP might be taking advise from Apple.
Via, Electronista
