The real deal on G1's virtual teardown
No disassemble!
(Credit: Wikimedia, Matt Hickey)Tuesday, I linked to a Dow Jones story on CNN's Money Web site about a virtual teardown iSuppli did on T-Mobile's fancy G1, the first commercial smartphone to run Google's Android. Some readers had issues with the story, and I'm going to address those here.
First, I quoted the price of the G1 at $399 instead of the $179 new customers typically get. This was due to a communications mixup between me and one of my T-Mobile marketing contacts. He was giving me the unsubsidized price, not the retail price, probably thinking I was inquiring to buy a G1 for myself, not get a quote for a story. Sorry for the confusion.
Second, we'd like to stress that virtual teardowns like the one iSuppli did on the G1 (which showed it's 10 percent cheaper to manufacture than the iPhone) can't be taken at face value. The research firm didn't disassemble an actual device, but rather did a "best guess" as far as the parts involved. In addition, the pricing comes from sources in the Taiwanese parts market, and is an estimate.
Besides the hardware and manufacturing costs, other factors--such as marketing, R&D, shipping, and testing--aren't accounted for in any teardowns, even the real ones. The numbers in Tuesday's post were for manufacturing only, meaning raw parts and assembly. I'm sorry if I wasn't more clear on that point.
In conclusion, the reader feedback was great. Comments are the key to blogs. It's you guys who keep us on our toes. And up late. And stressed. And we thank you for it.
With more than 15 years experience testing hardware (and being obsessed with it), Crave freelance writer Matt Hickey can tell the good gadgets from the great. He also has a keen eye for future technology trends. Matt has blogged for publications including TechCrunch, CrunchGear, and most recently, Gizmodo. E-mail Matt.
You don't have the ability to edit the original article? Because to a layperson reading it for the 1st time they just might not click to this page. Or they may not take the time to read all the comments and just assume what you wrote is true.
http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=g1+iphone+price+to+make&fr=yfp-t-501&toggle=1&cop=mss&ei=UTF-8
Go figure what the 1st search result is....
Seriously, if i was Google, T-mobile, or HTC i would be pursuing a libel case against you.
Umm, it took nearly 24 hours to get a correction of something that you should have known if you're writing about the topic, or you could have verified by searching any tech site (even Crave and Cnet!).
Firstly I'd like to say, good for you to post an apology and correction, I personally think that shows that you and CNet give a damn.
Secondly I'd like to point out that if some of the commenters were actually face to face with you and said the things they posted on the original article they would be viewed as seriously inapropriate, so why do they think they can write it in comments. People need to get a perspective here, we are talking to real people in these comments, not faceless entities. That's not to say these things should be hightlighted and people pulled up on issues, just not in a such a downright rude way.
If the article is fixed how is this still in there:
"What's not explained is why the G1 sells for twice the cost of the popular iPhone" Argh, how can this be an article on Crave!?
Cmon and just take down the article. It's *STILL* completely incorrect.
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by stigmattaman
November 13, 2008 4:51 PM PST
- So, the breakdown's based on estimates (which is fine) - but the reason's everyone's complaining is because the original article was completely erroneous, and if you removed the error there was no point to it besides saying "The G1 costs $144 to make, based on parts estimates"
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(6 Comments)And I would say that directly to your face. And I did e-mail you personally and there was no response.