supply

What the Apple TV costs Apple

The second-generation Apple TV went under the knife again. This time iSuppli tore the TV down to reveal its cost to Apple at just less than $64.

The "Cadillac" of set-top boxes carries a bill of materials of $61.98, including additional items boxed with the product, according to a preliminary teardown analysis firm iSuppli. When adding the manufacturing costs, the Apple outlay rises to $63.95, iSuppli said. The assessment does not take into consideration other expenses such as R&D, software, licensing, and royalties.

As reported previously, Apple TV's internal design and key components are remarkably similar to those of the iPad. "The first Apple TV was built like a net top computer. The architecture was basically a stripped down, small-form-factor desktop PC," said Andrew Rassweiler, an analyst at iSuppli. "The second-generation Apple TV is more like an iPad or iPod Touch with no display. The Apple TV's A4 processor core, Wi-Fi/Bluetooth chip, and power management chip are the same building blocks used in the iPad, iPhone 4, and iPod Touch," he wrote.

And Apple has improved the profit margins this time around. The original Apple TV was sold at prices that weren't much more than the underlying hardware costs. But, at $99, the second-generation product's price is well above its bill of materials and manufacturing cost, according to iSuppli.

Hardware of note includes the Samsung-manufactured Apple A4 application processor and accompanying DRAM ($16.55), the Toshiba flash memory ($14), the Panasonic and Broadcom Wi-Fi/Bluetooth component ($7.65),… Read more

iSuppli trims forecast for 2010 semiconductor sales

Research firm iSuppli today lowered its forecast for semiconductor sales in 2010.

Chip sales around the world are now expected to hit $302 billion this year, a gain of 32 percent from $228 billion in 2009. That's down from iSuppli's prior forecast of 35.1 percent growth for the year, a change it attributed to weaker consumer demand for certain electronic devices and higher industry inventory.

Revenue in the fourth quarter is expected to drop by 0.3 percent from the third quarter, the first sequential drop since the market took a spill in the fourth quarter of … Read more

Report: iPad to rule tablet market through 2012

Apple's reign as king of the tablet market should stay strong for at least the next couple of years, says a new report from iSuppli.

Though a variety of tech players have been cooking up their own tablet devices, no true competitor is likely to surface until next year, giving Apple a dominant share of the market through 2012 if not further, according to iSuppli.

This year, the iPad is expected to account for 74.1 percent of all global tablet shipments, with the remaining percentage left mostly to an assortment of older PC-style tablets. Next year, it will … Read more

Analyst: Apple shifts chip balance of power

Apple is set to become the world's second largest semiconductor buyer in 2011, another sign of the shift in the balance of power in the chip world.

Driven by the success of the iPad and iPhone, Apple is expected to pass Samsung as the world's No. 2 chip buyer in 2011, second only to Hewlett-Packard, according to market researcher iSuppli.

The firm is projecting that Apple's semiconductor spending in 2011 will hit $16.2 billion, surpassing Samsung Electronics, which is forecast to be at about $13.9 billion. HP will stay in the No. 1 position with $… Read more

Mobile bandwidth caps challenging Web TV

AT&T's move to jettison its unlimited mobile data plan and charge more for heavier use puts a roadblock in the plans of media providers trying to push Internet TV, according to a report released Tuesday by iSuppli.

Faced with more people grabbing more data, AT&T recently switched to a tiered pricing plan in hopes of limiting the strain on its 3G networks from devices like the iPhone and iPad. And Verizon is likely to follow suit.

But those caps pose the question of how providers will satisfy the growing demand for streaming media without the … Read more

White iPhone 4 still on schedule but could see supply issues

Though Steve Jobs, after handing out free Bumpers to current iPhone 4 customers, assured users waiting for the white version of the iPhone 4 that the device is still on schedule to ship at the end of July, reports around the Web suggest Apple could see some major supply issues and availability could be limited.

Translated from Chinese newspaper 21st Century Business Herald, manufacturing issues for the white iPhone 4 are apparently related to problems with painting the glass surfaces of the device at the Lens Technology manufacturing plant (where iPhone 4 glass is processed, pressed, and painted).

According to Engadget, &… Read more

Samsung sees jump in portable PC shipments

Samsung is rocketing up the ranks in the portable PC industry, according to the latest stats released Tuesday by iSuppli.

Thanks to hot demand for its Netbooks, the South Korean computer maker shipped 1.9 million mobile PCs (notebooks and Netbooks combined), a 14.6 percent jump from the 1.7 million shipped during the fourth quarter. Those numbers helped Samsung outperform the overall portable PC market, in which shipments declined by 5.4 percent from the prior quarter due to the usual seasonal downturn, noted iSuppli.

Grabbing a 3.9 percent share of the global portable PC business in … Read more

Get an iPhone battery pack for $8.99

This shouldn't come as news to anyone: As iPhones age, their batteries wear out. It's just the unfortunate nature of rechargeable power cells.

Sadly, Apple makes it pretty difficult to swap in a new battery--not without some warranty-voiding surgery, anyway. But you can connect an external power supply, which is cheap, easy, and affordable.

In fact, it's more affordable today than I've ever seen: Meritline has an 1800mAh iPhone backup battery for $8.99 shipped. It's compatible with all iPhone models (the iPhone 4 isn't specifically mentioned, but it stands to reason the battery … Read more

Are supply issues putting Apple at risk?

Early demand for the iPhone 4 that exceeded supply could put Apple at risk and is prompting frustrated customers to consider competing smartphones, according to a new report from iSuppli.

Though Apple and its partners racked up 600,000 preorders for the iPhone 4 in one day and sold 1.7 million units in just three days, iSuppli believes the early heavy demand has come at some cost to the company.

The huge wave of preorders on June 15 caused the ordering systems of Apple and AT&T to stall, shutting out some customers and forcing the companies to … Read more

iPhone 4 teardown reveals $188 cost to build

The parts used to construct the iPhone 4 cost about $187.51, according to a teardown analysis conducted by research firm iSuppli.

iSuppli dissected a 16GB iPhone 4, which went on sale Thursday, and estimated the cost of each component based on the manufacturer and volume. iSuppli's analysis is only an estimate because Apple is able to negotiate costs with each manufacturer. It also does not include how much Apple spent on shipping and labor to build the phone, or advertising, software development, and patent licensing.

"Over the years, the iPhone has generally tended to hover in the $… Read more