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| Todd Allcock wrote:
> At 05 Sep 2007 16:01:17 -0700 SMS wrote:
>
> sales
>
> I recall those that called the $220 "tear-down" manufacturing cost
> estimates crazy. Now that the MSRP of the 4GB unit is $299, that
> estimate seems in line with reality now, unless they believe Apple's
> dumping units below cost.
I think that cost excluded stuff like labor and packaging, and of course
it didn't include development costs, marketing, etc. Also, apparently
Apple has built far more units than was originally thought, so the unit
cost was probably even lower.
The $299 for the 4GB is probably just to clear them out, they are
probably losing money on them if you spread the burden of development
and marketing costs across all units sold.
At $400 it's still selling at a good margin for consumer electronics,
not even counting the monthly fees Apple gets if the buyer activates on
AT&T. Kudos to Apple for their shrewd marketing!
I think that Apple is also looking at boosting sales volumes because it
gives them more leverage when negotiating deals with carriers in other
countries. Probably a CDMA version for Korea and a PHS version for Japan
are in the works. They'll need the CDMA version anyway, once the
exclusive arrangement with AT&T is over.
[Copied to alt.cellular.attws. Cingular is no longer in operation, and
alt.cellular.attws is the proper venue for discussions regarding
wireless service from AT&T]
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