Google is set to make a tidy profit on their Nexus One ‘superphone’ despite prior belief the handset would be sold at cost price.
According to analyst iSuppli, the parts used to make Google’s Nexus One cost the manufacturers $174 (£107 whilst the phone retails for around $529 (£328) a difference of $355 or £221.
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It was initially expected by many that Google would offer the Nexus One smartphone at cost – making money from having more devices in the market running the Google backed Android.
Such belief has since been proved utterly false, and it seems that the HTC built device will actually make the manufacturers and, presumably, Google a nice slice of cash if iSuppli’s figures are correct.
Manufacturing, marketing, software and royalty costs do of course need to be factored in to that figure – not insignificant amounts of money, but unlikely to run to the $355 difference between RRP and parts-costs.
This revelation further sullies the Nexus One’s already troubled launch following large volumes of complaints received by Google concerning the Nexus One device, faults with its 3G function, and poor customer service.
Combining the most advanced features and components of other smartphones into one self dubbed ‘superphone’, the cost of Google’s first handset was never going to be at the lowest end of the market, however, consumers are unlikely look favourably on this pure profit making creating a hugely inflated retail price.
The most expensive components were the 1GHz Snapdragon processor – which iSuppli prices at $30.50 (c£19), the AMOLED screen (£14.50) and the NAND flash memory (£12.60).
Via: Techradar
