Nexus One costs $174 to build

Nexus One costs $174 to build
According to a new materials cost teardown performed by iSuppli, the new Google Nexus One costs $174.15 to build, with the most expensive part being the extremely powerful Qualcomm SnapDragon processor, estimated at $30.50 USD.

The most interesting revelation is the fact that "Touchscreen Assembly (capacitive multitouch)" costs $17.50, about 10 percent of the entire bill of materials, even though Google has disabled multi-touch on the Nexus One.



Google is selling the phone unlocked for $530, or $180 with contract via T-Mobile.

The full teardown results:


Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 9 Jan 2010 14:20
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  • 36 comments
  • biglo30

    Thats all and they have it priced so high unlocked and whats up with not having the multitouch ability?

    9.1.2010 17:59 #1

  • borhan9

    Sounds reasonable to me.

    9.1.2010 18:16 #2

  • Rebel11

    Originally posted by borhan9: Sounds reasonable to me.$530 sounds reasonable to you?
    A phone that you won't even be able to get insurance on?
    Wow.

    9.1.2010 19:08 #3

  • Morreale

    Quote:Originally posted by borhan9: Sounds reasonable to me.$530 sounds reasonable to you?
    A phone that you won't even be able to get insurance on?
    Wow.
    Then buy it with a MasterCard :/

    9.1.2010 19:28 #4

  • 5fdpfan

    That's outrageous! So that's how much of a top of the lone smartphone costs to make and we're forced to pay half a grand for them? An eye opener for sure, assuming these stats are acurate. To that persn on here who said this price sounded fine to them. I hope you were just be sarcastic. IF not, then would you mind enlightening me as well as others on here as to how that is so? To now realize how much profit the manufacturer and phone companies make off of these phones(we have to sign people to contracts in order to subsidize the price of our phones. BS!)about makes me want to throw up. Ought to be f'ing illegal.

    9.1.2010 20:15 #5

  • ddp

    don't forget all the engineering time, prototypes, research, programers times & manufacturing of molds for the phone has to be recuped from that remaining money. it is like buying a model warship kit that costs between $30 to $300 dollars. the plastic maybe cost $2 but have to factor in the cad designs, research & mold manufacturing. depending on how complex a mold is & what metal it is made from determines the price of mold from $100k to over a $1 million each.

    9.1.2010 22:12 #6

  • cyprusrom

    Originally posted by 5fdpfan: That's outrageous! So that's how much of a top of the lone smartphone costs to make and we're forced to pay half a grand for them? An eye opener for sure, assuming these stats are acurate. To that persn on here who said this price sounded fine to them. I hope you were just be sarcastic. IF not, then would you mind enlightening me as well as others on here as to how that is so? To now realize how much profit the manufacturer and phone companies make off of these phones(we have to sign people to contracts in order to subsidize the price of our phones. BS!)about makes me want to throw up. Ought to be f'ing illegal.
    Ha, there's a joke right there!
    I bet you never had to build anything in your life. If you buy $10.000 worth of materials from a hardware store to build a garage, unless you have a genie or a magic wand, you gotta pay a lot of extra cash do actually get the building up,like design it, maybe some excavation and leveling, maybe someone to pour a slab of concrete for you...and someone to actually do the building.
    Puke as much as you want, $500 is more than reasonable. If you don't think so, order the parts online and try to put one together yourself,then you'll see how much someone else's knowledge/time/talent is valued.

    10.1.2010 00:27 #7

  • shaffaaf

    R and D people R&D!

    google (well actually HTC) have probably put millions into this, researching and developing this, $530 is EXTREMELY reasonable.

    10.1.2010 01:17 #8

  • xboxdvl2

    i wouldnt pay $530 for a phone especially one that cost $174 to make.

    PS2 with 12 games.

    10.1.2010 01:44 #9

  • cyprusrom

    Originally posted by shaffaaf: R and D people R&D!

    google (well actually HTC) have probably put millions into this, researching and developing this, $530 is EXTREMELY reasonable.
    Yeah, no kidding, right!!!
    I cannot believe that are people who think the net cost of a gadget like this is limited to the cost of the individual parts...is mind boggling... No one just wakes up overnight after dreaming about a super phone, orders the parts on ebay and slaps it together during a lunch break!!!

    10.1.2010 01:44 #10

  • khmernize

    I agree 530 is reasonable. If you look up your cellphone on the website to pay, it's usually around this much, if not more. Look up Iphone 3gs unlock, they go for USD 700 to USD 1,000 each.

    10.1.2010 05:21 #11

  • Rebel11

    Quote:
    Yeah, no kidding, right!!!
    I cannot believe that are people who think the net cost of a gadget like this is limited to the cost of the individual parts...is mind boggling... No one just wakes up overnight after dreaming about a super phone, orders the parts on ebay and slaps it together during a lunch break!!!
    It's "mind boggling" that people think a company that MAKES BILLIONS a year can just charge whatever they want for a damn phone. Sure 500 is fine. But with a contract I want it for 200. Well guess what?! No contract. So. I'll go with the Iphone. The cheaper, more established one. (oh btw, did I mention you can actually use the touch screen on that one?)

    10.1.2010 05:28 #12

  • shaffaaf

    lol it IS subsidised. bcurrently by tmobile and sson by verizon, and for t-mob its $180. Have you even used the N1 screen to base your opinion?

    10.1.2010 05:59 #13

  • cyprusrom

    Originally posted by Rebel11:
    It's "mind boggling" that people think a company that MAKES BILLIONS a year can just charge whatever they want for a damn phone. Sure 500 is fine. But with a contract I want it for 200. Well guess what?! No contract. So. I'll go with the Iphone. The cheaper, more established one. (oh btw, did I mention you can actually use the touch screen on that one?)

    Well, guess what, you can have it for for 200, since it would cost you 180 with a contract, you can give away a $20 tip!
    By all means, buy two iPhones, matters not to me!
    But here's some facts for you,
    -the hardware in an iPhone is less capable than the Google phone(processor, camera,battery, memory, USB...) which would indicate that making an iPhone should cost Apple something less than what it costs Google to make their Nexus(the logic is not flawless, but if you check the specs sheet, it is more than plausible).
    -Last I checked, Apple makes billions too;and how much would cost to buy an unlocked iPhone?!!
    So based on your logic, you would have another company that MAKES BILLIONS and charges a "ridiculous" amount for a phone that costs pennies to be made...But I love this second company:))), right, and that makes it OKAY!
    Be an iPhone fan-boy by all means,just be an informed one.

    Consumer choice friend, consumer choice is a good thing!
    It makes me laugh(or maybe sad?!) when I see people yelling and screaming about how much they hate a new product they never tried, and no one is shoving it down their throat.
    Personally, I have no use for either an iPhone or a Nexus,or a smart-phone altogether...I have an old Sony Ericsson 810i that I've been happy with for the past 3 years or so,and have no desire to change it any time soon, since it does everything I personally need.
    I am just replaying to BS...

    10.1.2010 09:40 #14

  • 5fdpfan

    Quote:Originally posted by 5fdpfan: That's outrageous! So that's how much of a top of the lone smartphone costs to make and we're forced to pay half a grand for them? An eye opener for sure, assuming these stats are acurate. To that persn on here who said this price sounded fine to them. I hope you were just be sarcastic. IF not, then would you mind enlightening me as well as others on here as to how that is so? To now realize how much profit the manufacturer and phone companies make off of these phones(we have to sign people to contracts in order to subsidize the price of our phones. BS!)about makes me want to throw up. Ought to be f'ing illegal.
    Ha, there's a joke right there!
    I bet you never had to build anything in your life. If you buy $10.000 worth of materials from a hardware store to build a garage, unless you have a genie or a magic wand, you gotta pay a lot of extra cash do actually get the building up,like design it, maybe some excavation and leveling, maybe someone to pour a slab of concrete for you...and someone to actually do the building.
    Puke as much as you want, $500 is more than reasonable. If you don't think so, order the parts online and try to put one together yourself,then you'll see how much someone else's knowledge/time/talent is valued.
    You're correct. I've never tried to put together my own smartphone. And despite my feelings about the price it's not like I haven't paid the prmium before or will refuse to do again. That's the way of the land and will never change. I, though apparently in the minority here, found this news a bit hard to take. If there just wasn't as great of a disparity in the sell price and manufacturing cost it wouldn't have bothered me as much, as I would have considered the sell price to be more fair. As it is now, I feel like I'm getting taken to the cleaners for no legitimate reason other than, cause that's just what HTC, Nokia, and others feel like selling it for and so that's what I'll pay. I suppose you and others may have a point when brining up r&d. It's the only logical explaination that makes any sort of sense. On a side note, why would Google choose to disable the phone's multi-touch capabilities? They want to compete directly with the Iphone? Well that's one of the features it boasts and they want to deny Nexus users of that aweomse technology. Puzzling

    10.1.2010 09:59 #15

  • cyprusrom

    I don't know why they disabled the multi-touch on the North American version(it will be available on the the European market; I actually watched the live transmission, I just don't recall their explanation).

    Whatever the reason is, I am sure they are aware this is something might turn people off.

    10.1.2010 10:06 #16

  • DVDBack23

    Quote:It's "mind boggling" that people think a company that MAKES BILLIONS a year can just charge whatever they want for a damn phone. Sure 500 is fine. But with a contract I want it for 200. Well guess what?! No contract. So. I'll go with the Iphone. The cheaper, more established one. (oh btw, did I mention you can actually use the touch screen on that one?)- As per my article, $180 for the Nexus One with TMob contract.
    - The iPhone 3GS is not cheaper, and unsubsidized will run you $500 as well.
    - Google market cap= $191 billion, Apple market cap= $190.9 billion
    - Correct the iPhone can use multi-touch and Android devices (in America) cannot, but to base an expensive purchase on multi-touch and fanboyism is simply misinformed, especially given the hardware mismatch (Nexus One has better specs by a long shot).

    10.1.2010 13:30 #17

  • cyprusrom

    Quote:Quote:It's "mind boggling" that people think a company that MAKES BILLIONS a year can just charge whatever they want for a damn phone. Sure 500 is fine. But with a contract I want it for 200. Well guess what?! No contract. So. I'll go with the Iphone. The cheaper, more established one. (oh btw, did I mention you can actually use the touch screen on that one?)- As per my article, $180 for the Nexus One with TMob contract.
    - The iPhone 3GS is not cheaper, and unsubsidized will run you $500 as well.
    - Google market cap= $191 billion, Apple market cap= $190.9 billion
    - Correct the iPhone can use multi-touch and Android devices (in America) cannot, but to base an expensive purchase on multi-touch and fanboyism is simply misinformed, especially given the hardware mismatch (Nexus One has better specs by a long shot).
    Thanks, DVDBack, more eloquently said than I tried, and in far lesser words:)

    10.1.2010 13:49 #18

  • shaffaaf

    psssshhhht I used even less words :P

    10.1.2010 20:41 #19

  • creaky

    I'll concede that that new tech need money for R&D, however the one thing that always shocks me is how (too many) people justify the outrageous purchase price of (too many) of these gadgets. I don't care if new phones can do everything except teach me how to make myself invisible, i would never pay $530 ie the cost of an old but usable car (for example) for a damn phone. Some people need their heads read, even when earning very good money i don't get brainwashed into parting with such money. Unbelievable, typical of today's dumbed down society. Guess what, my kids like gadgets, and nice ones too, but (forgive me for using one of my now oft-used and favourite sayings) they have brains like their dad (and aren't afraid to use them) and they would never be suckered into wasting money on such things.
    Plus as it's Google we're talking about, i wonder if this phone will start phoning 'home' :p



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    11.1.2010 06:12 #20

  • cyprusrom

    You couldn't be more right creaky. But this stupidity is not just in the world of gadgets. There are people that sped the same amount of money or even more on a pair of jeans, and in 3 months or so will be out of fashion.
    Some spend that kind of money on a bottle of booze that's gone in two days, others on some fancy dinner that's gonna be history in just a few hours.
    The brainwashing runs deep, and everyone in the consumer heard will justify its purchase, everyone will "create" the need to have one.

    Quote:Plus as it's Google we're talking about, i wonder if this phone will start phoning 'home' :phttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKLOfm4itow&fmt=18


    Piss me off, and I Will ignore You!

    11.1.2010 10:33 #21

  • creaky

    Originally posted by cyprusrom: You couldn't be more right creaky. But this stupidity is not just in the world of gadgets. There are people that sped the same amount of money or even more on a pair of jeans, and in 3 months or so will be out of fashion.
    Some spend that kind of money on a bottle of booze that's gone in two days, others on some fancy dinner that's gonna be history in just a few hours.
    Indeed. I just dislike wasting keyboard characters on such pointless human beings, and such people only ever bite back with false and incredulous quips such as "you're jealous". Such people either know they are so shallow or are too dumb that they can't even see it. Either way that's why i rarely waste breath on such things. A $530 phone prompted me to respond though. I'll shut up before i get pelted by old cheapy mobile phones :p (wouldn't want my beloved Motorola Razr v3 to be mixed up with the old phones)



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    11.1.2010 10:41 #22

  • 5fdpfan

    Wel lit is what it is, so I'm through fussing about the outragous price. I just am curious as to hwy American Android phones can't have multi-touch? Is it because of some stupid patent issue with Apple or what?

    11.1.2010 10:48 #23

  • shaffaaf

    pssht, creaky, i bet yours rzrV3 cost about £400 on launch aswell :P

    im sad to say i spent about £250 on my palm pre, and that was second hand, but IMO to me the cost was worth it. its like a laptop for me (portable email/web) without the bulk :)




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    11.1.2010 11:08 #24

  • creaky

    Naw, i got it when was worth all of £30, however i did get it for free last year. I just think there are sensible price limits for things, and a phone over say £100 is a joke. As i say i'll leave it there, i'm getting out before i get buried under 600 million old phones needlessly destined for landfill



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    11.1.2010 11:15 #25

  • shaffaaf

    says the guy with hundreds of DVD drives :P lol




    My MGR (Micro Gaming Rig)
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    11.1.2010 11:16 #26

  • NeoandGeo

    Originally posted by ddp: don't forget all the engineering time, prototypes, research, programers times & manufacturing of molds for the phone has to be recuped from that remaining money. it is like buying a model warship kit that costs between $30 to $300 dollars. the plastic maybe cost $2 but have to factor in the cad designs, research & mold manufacturing. depending on how complex a mold is & what metal it is made from determines the price of mold from $100k to over a $1 million each.That is why a price of $299 would be more than fair, and create a very hefty profit.

    And isn't the Nexus One like the Droid where only Google apps lack multitouch capability?

    12.1.2010 10:59 #27

  • xnonsuchx

    This is why these iSupply reports (for many products) are bad...

    1) They're still simply ESTIMATES of PARTS ALONE (no labor, packaging, shipping, R&D, marketing, etc. costs)

    2) WAY too many people don't even seem to have the mental capacity to understand #1

    12.1.2010 21:42 #28

  • xboxdvl2

    i dont see the point in having a new smart phone.I own a nokia 6070 that was given to me as a gift nearly 3 years ago and it works fine.I consider a phone something to ring people and talk to people nothing more.if i wanted to post on facebook while im walking around or use the internet on the go i'd buy a cheap laptop for $400 and that would work far better than a mobile phone.I dont know all the features these new phones have but like i pointed out a phone is to ring people.

    @creaky my mum uses a motorola razr V3 and it works fine.

    PS2 with 12 games.

    13.1.2010 00:43 #29

  • shaffaaf

    Originally posted by xboxdvl2: i dont see the point in having a new smart phone.I own a nokia 6070 that was given to me as a gift nearly 3 years ago and it works fine.I consider a phone something to ring people and talk to people nothing more.if i wanted to post on facebook while im walking around or use the internet on the go i'd buy a cheap laptop for $400 and that would work far better than a mobile phone.I dont know all the features these new phones have but like i pointed out a phone is to ring people.

    @creaky my mum uses a motorola razr V3 and it works fine.
    than you are not the market ;)




    My MGR (Micro Gaming Rig)
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    13.1.2010 01:14 #30

  • NeoandGeo

    Originally posted by xnonsuchx: This is why these iSupply reports (for many products) are bad...

    1) They're still simply ESTIMATES of PARTS ALONE (no labor, packaging, shipping, R&D, marketing, etc. costs)

    2) WAY too many people don't even seem to have the mental capacity to understand #1
    Which is why $299 would be a great price to make a very hefty profit. Pricing 3x above parts is ridiculous. Look at the Samsung Omnia, it can't cost more than $100, and likely closer to $50 and it is "valued" at $450. You're an idiot for defending cell phone pricing schemes.

    13.1.2010 05:35 #31

  • jetyi83

    people that ramble and complain incorrect facts and about how much better the iphone is dont deserve an android anyway. If they cant learn to read or make real arguments, there is no way they would know how to utilize the android os anyway. stick to the iphone, they limit your functionality so that even the very simple can use it. obviously some iphone fanboys on here seem very simple.

    13.1.2010 19:02 #32

  • NeoandGeo

    Originally posted by xboxdvl2: i dont see the point in having a new smart phone.I own a nokia 6070 that was given to me as a gift nearly 3 years ago and it works fine.I consider a phone something to ring people and talk to people nothing more.if i wanted to post on facebook while im walking around or use the internet on the go i'd buy a cheap laptop for $400 and that would work far better than a mobile phone.I dont know all the features these new phones have but like i pointed out a phone is to ring people.

    @creaky my mum uses a motorola razr V3 and it works fine.
    Your opinion doesn't count when you hit 60. Stop spewing ignorant "facts" about your personal tastes.

    15.1.2010 09:59 #33

  • ddp

    NeoandGeo, says who?

    15.1.2010 13:02 #34

  • creaky

    Originally posted by ddp: NeoandGeo, says who? Indeed.
    Originally posted by NeoandGeo: Your opinion doesn't count when you hit 60. Stop spewing ignorant "facts" about your personal tastes. Actually it's your comments that are ignorant. I personally use a phone to call and text, but no more than that. Not because it's 'ignorant' as you call it, but because that's all i want and need from a phone. If you want to use a phone for more than that, good for you.



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    15.1.2010 14:20 #35

  • DVDBack23

    Quote:Originally posted by xnonsuchx: This is why these iSupply reports (for many products) are bad...

    1) They're still simply ESTIMATES of PARTS ALONE (no labor, packaging, shipping, R&D, marketing, etc. costs)

    2) WAY too many people don't even seem to have the mental capacity to understand #1
    Which is why $299 would be a great price to make a very hefty profit. Pricing 3x above parts is ridiculous. Look at the Samsung Omnia, it can't cost more than $100, and likely closer to $50 and it is "valued" at $450. You're an idiot for defending cell phone pricing schemes.
    I think we know who fits into the original poster's #2 reason lol

    15.1.2010 15:22 #36

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