We knew that the 32GB version of the Samsung Galaxy S 4 would be coming to AT&T to complement its 16GB sibling for an extra 50 bucks, but the carrier kept pretty quiet about when it would show up. A tweet from AT&T's official account has finally confirmed that we'll be able to grab one starting May 10th for $250 with a two-year commitment. This is a solid option for those who have been looking forward to buying the flagship phone but aren't so keen on how much onboard storage is taken up by the OS itself.

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile, Samsung, AT&T

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Source: AT&T (Twitter)

LTE's frequent gotcha has been indoor coverage: as it often relies on high frequency ranges outside of the US, the signal can drop off quickly at home or in the mall. There have been LTE femtocells before to fill in the gaps, but NTT DoCoMo claims to have the first mini cell site that would cover our needs much more thoroughly. The Japanese carrier's new base station run simultaneous 112.Mbps LTE and 14.4Mbps HSDPA (sorry, no HSUPA upload speeds) on the 2GHz band to keep 3G data and voice working side-by-side with 4G, piping both through a wired broadband connection; there's no need to sacrifice the basics or legacy support just for a better LTE signal. NTT DoCoMo plans to sell the dual-mode femtocell to local homeowners, offices and stores in December. Sadly, there's no immediate word of plans for femtocells that support networks abroad, although the technology's existence gives us hope that we'll see it spread to other providers -- and that black holes in cellular coverage will be distant memories.

Continue reading NTT DoCoMo readies first dual-mode HSDPA, LTE femtocell for December

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Networking, Mobile

NTT DoCoMo readies first dual-mode HSDPA, LTE femtocell for December originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 16 Nov 2012 10:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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European LTE deployments might just be getting started, but the European Commission is already trying to head off any bandwidth problems at the pass. The organization has ordered that 120MHz of normally 3G-only spectrum around the 2GHz band has to be reusable for LTE and other 4G networks by June 30th, 2014. Once the airwaves loosen up, the Commission sees its home continent having an advantage over an LTE-happy US: it expects to have as much as 1GHz of spectrum available for 4G, or potentially twice as much as what Americans might claim. Officials are also mulling plans to repurpose extra slices of 2GHz spectrum that haven't even been used for 3G and could offer that much more headroom. While an edge over the US in bandwidth might not last after policy changes, it's hard to complain if the EC move leads to future smartphones whose downloads stay speedy.

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile

European Commission clears 2GHz bands for LTE use by 2014, claims 4G pipes wider than the US originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 05 Nov 2012 13:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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While Google and LG have kept quiet on the subject of any prospective Nexus phone, the leaky ship that is the LG E960 "Mako" popped another hole today as Belarusian site Onliner.by has apparently gotten its hands on a prototype unit. According to the site the specs match many of the previous leaks saying it's similar to the Optimus G, rocking a 1.5GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon CPU, 1280x768 4.7-inch display and 2GB of RAM, but only 8GB of storage built-in and an 8MP camera. It's running the just-released Android 4.1.2 for now, so unfortunately there's no hint of any potential Android 4.2 features. Hit the source link to check out a few more quality snaps of the "with Google" handset, but at this rate we'll probably have more details any minute now.

Continue reading LG's rumored Nexus, the E960 Mako, poses for Belarusian glamour pics

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, LG

LG's rumored Nexus, the E960 Mako, poses for Belarusian glamour pics originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Oct 2012 06:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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What do you get when you raid HTC's parts bin and combine the camera from the One V, the screen resolution from the One S and the design language from the One X? Say hello to HTC's One VX for AT&T, a stylish mid-range smartphone running Ice Cream Sandwich and Sense 4. It features a 4.5-inch qHD Super LCD 2 display with Gorilla Glass 2, Qualcomm 1.2GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor (MSM8930) with GSM/EDGE/UMTS/HSPA+/LTE radio, 1GB DDR2 RAM, 8GB of on-board storage and a five megapixel f/2.0 autofocus BSI camera with flash and 1080p video recording.

The front glass incorporates the earpiece, AT&T logo and VGA shooter up top along with the usual capacitive buttons (back, home and recent apps / menu) below the display. A silver plastic rim traces the sides of the handset -- it's a simple and familiar layout, with the power / lock key, headphone jack and secondary mic on top, micro-USB port and primary mic at the bottom, and the volume rocker on the right edge. Pop the white plastic back cover and you'll find micro-SIM and microSD card slots, a non-removable 1810mAh battery and the NFC antenna.

Unfortunately, we were given a non-functional dummy unit to play with so we can't comment on things like screen quality or subjective performance. We can tell you that the phone is light, thin and feels good in the hand -- it slots somewhere between the One S and the One X in terms of size, and looks nice despite being made of cheaper materials than its stablemates. AT&T and HTC are still mum on availability but we were told to expect aggressive, budget-friendly pricing. Want to see more? Take a look at our gallery below and our hands-on video after the break.

Update: we expect to see a working One VX at today's AT&T announcement so stay tuned for more impressions.

Continue reading HTC One VX for AT&T hands-on: mid-range style on a budget (video)

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, HTC, AT&T

HTC One VX for AT&T hands-on: mid-range style on a budget (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Oct 2012 17:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Motorola were quick to tell us that we're testing on pre-release RAZR i here -- software updates may arrive before the device does, but these figures below should give you a good estimate at what the 2GHz Intel processor can do. We've pitched it against the US-bound Droid RAZR M, with a capable dual-core Snapdragon S4 clocked at 1.5GHz, and ZTE's Grand X IN, which houses Intel's 1.6MHz Medfield Z2460 and Android ICS.

	Motorola Droid RAZR M	Motorola RAZR i	ZTE Grand X IN
Quadrant	4,944	4,125	2,710
Vellamo	2,442	1,906	1,550
SunSpider 0.9.1 (ms)	1,951	1,062	1,355
AnTuTu	6,364	6,175	N/A
GLBenchmark Egypt Offscreen (fps)	56	41	N/A
CF-Bench	9,392	2,973	873
SunSpider: lower scores are better

So what do all these numbers mean? Well, Intel's 2GHz processor is pretty capable. Although the RAZR i only bests the RAZR M on SunSpider browser performance (something that Intel's been focusing on with its mobile hardware), it's a substantial score difference. Otherwise, the Europe-bound RAZR skates pretty close, if behind the RAZR M's benchmarks. There's a hiccup on the CF-Bench score, something that we also noted on the Grand X IN. While both the ZTE and Motorola devices are running Android 4.0, there's still a tangible difference in these early benchmarks -- perhaps testament to both Motorola and Google's proximity and the debut of Intel's faster 2GHz Medfield processor. We'll be testing out those power-saving promises from the chipmaker over the next few days.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

Motorola's RAZR i: benchmarking Intel's first 2GHz Medfield smartphone originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 18 Sep 2012 07:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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While we've seen similar things from the RAZR M already -- and even reviewed it -- we reckoned those 2GHz Intel internals and HSPA-only radio inside the RAZR i (as well as European availability) warranted another tour of the hardware. In summary, there's decently bright, if a little jaggy, 4.3-inch AMOLED screen, with a water resistant coating covering the already hardy Kevlar backing. There's space for microSD expansion, and thanks to that tiny bezel, it's a phone that very happily resided in the palm of our hand. We're booting up our benchmark toolkit to assess how Intel's processor fares, but until the final scores are revealed, take a look at our hands-on video after the break.

Continue reading Motorola RAZR i: hands-on with the 2GHz Android ICS smartphone (video)

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

Motorola RAZR i: hands-on with the 2GHz Android ICS smartphone (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 18 Sep 2012 05:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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India's Department of Telecommunications has issued guidelines for the forthcoming 2G spectrum auction, penciled in for November 12th. While the subcontinent has already flogged off its 3G bands, it withdrew 122 licenses in the 1,800MHz and 800Mhz waves due to allegations of serious corruption. The country has set the starting price of $2.5 billion, a figure that the networks have balked at, saying that it'll cause tariffs to increase -- but is less than half of the $5.61 billion the country had originally sought to raise during the first, scandal-ridden auction.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

India planning fresh 2G spectrum auctions for November 12th originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 28 Aug 2012 02:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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An $18 million dollar radio system purchased by the Oakland Police Department has been giving static instead of 10-30s in progress, and the interfering party has now been collared -- AT&T. Local officials and the FCC told the mobile network that its towers were blocking police communication, particularly when patrol cars were within a quarter-mile of one. However, some local pundits have said the problem is of the PD's own making, claiming it invested in an inferior system and didn't check carefully enough for interference before making the buy. As a result, AT&T has temporarily shut down 2G frequencies around the city -- giving the telecom giant an unplanned sneak preview of the upcoming phase-out.

Filed under: Cellphones

AT&T suspends 2G in Oakland after cell towers step on police frequencies originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Aug 2012 16:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MetroPCS may not be grand in scale, but it's certainly not lacking for ambition. Just over a year after announcing its eventual transition to Voice over LTE, the carrier has officially launched its VoLTE services. Moreover, it's announcing the first sale of a VoLTE-capable handset at one of the company's Dallas / Fort Worth store locations. The Android-powered LG Connect 4G is the outfit's first (and only, for now) VoLTE-capable phone, but the operator's promising more rollouts and phone options "in the coming weeks." For the consumer, those in range of LTE signals should notice clearer calls, and it's become something of a trend to see carriers (Verizon and Sprint, for instance) moving in this direction as 2G / 3G networks start to show their age. So, DFW residents -- anyone been able to try it out? Let us know in comments below.

Continue reading MetroPCS lights up Voice over LTE (VoLTE) services, starts selling LG Connect 4G

Filed under: Cellphones

MetroPCS lights up Voice over LTE (VoLTE) services, starts selling LG Connect 4G originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Aug 2012 18:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Well, you can't get Firefox OS on a phone yet, but you can fire it up on your computer and give the HTML5 and JavaScript mobile platform a try for yourself -- right now! Mozilla has begun uploading nightly builds of the project formerly known as Boot to Gecko to its FTP servers. You can pull down a nicely wrapped package for Windows, Linux or OS X, or you download the source and build your own. It's not as simple as installing an app, there is some configuring you'll have to do, but the process is relatively simple and you'll find complete instructions at the more coverage link. Obviously the OS is still in the very early stages and is can't be considered representative of what the final product will be like. Still, its a nice glimpse at the progress Mozilla has made in just a single year of development. So, go get your own hands-on time with the next player on the mobile scene.

Filed under: Cellphones, Software

Download nightlies of Firefox OS, get your own hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 19 Jul 2012 17:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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While in the US our LTE-equipped Galaxy S IIIs are packing dual-core Snapdragon S4 processors, the (so far) Korean-only Galaxy S III LTE that combines the quad-core Exynos processor of the international model with high speed data finally has a release date -- July 9th. Samsung's post indicates three carriers (SK Telecom, KT and LG U+) are lined up for the launch and confirms that the battery will remain at 2,100 mAH along with 2GB of RAM and DMB TV tuning. Having everything will likely come at a price of battery life since the quad-core CPUs are not as well integrated with LTE so far, but those willing to compromise for more cores (despite the dual-core Krait's not-at-all shabby performance) will likely look on with envy.

Samsung Galaxy S III LTE with quad-core Exynos comes to three Korean carriers July 9th originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 Jul 2012 01:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Each summer the world celebrates a time of warmth, fun and relaxation. For the tech community, however, it's traditionally the season in which Samsung unleashes the latest version of its Galaxy S flagship. But the now time-honored tradition is actually more of a one-two punch: first the unlocked international model is revealed, and later it's followed up by a litany of worldwide variants. US carriers intent on offering the "value" of differentiation to their customers have been the worst offenders in modifying Sammy's magic formula, ranging from motley form factors to egregious bloatware to clumsy naming schemes (Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch quickly comes to mind).

But Samsung's brand cache has grown year over year, so much so that the company is starting to wield more power over carriers. No weird names, no exclusive agreements and no changes to the form factor. That's right, six carriers have signed up to carry the Galaxy S III so far, and every single one of these devices looks exactly the way Samsung intended, with the only major exceptions being the processor and memory allotment. So far we've had the opportunity to play with two of the six: AT&T and Sprint's. How close to the original GS III (also known as the GT-I9300) do these devices come? What advantages and disadvantages does each bring to the table? Can you expect comparable performance? Stay with us as we break it all down.

Continue reading Samsung Galaxy S III review shootout: AT&T vs. Sprint

Samsung Galaxy S III review shootout: AT&T vs. Sprint originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Jun 2012 00:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sure, it's late to the Samsung Galaxy S III announcement party, but we suppose AT&T is letting the other carriers duke it out for the attention first before it came out with its own revelation. Now that it has the platform all to itself, AT&T has now officially made its intentions known. The Snapdragon S4-powered device will offer three color options and will be available for pre-order on June 6th starting at $200 for a 16GB model. What's the third hue choice, alongside the white and blue? Red. That's right: seeking ways to customize the Galaxy S III as a means of differentiating itself from the other four Galaxy S III devices, AT&T will be proudly selling its new flagship smartphone in glorious red.

There's a bit of disappointing news to go with the good, however -- at least, if you're a fan of more storage. AT&T will sell only the 16GB model, and anyone seeking a total of 32GB will need to go with a $39 16GB microSD card. Aside from this, everything else appears to be exactly the same as the rest of the pack, which is encouraging news for anyone who wishes US carriers would shift to a state of existence as dumb pipes.

Continue reading AT&T announces Samsung Galaxy S III plans: preorders begin June 6th for $200, will be available in red

AT&T announces Samsung Galaxy S III plans: preorders begin June 6th for $200, will be available in red originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 Jun 2012 17:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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As mobile operators continue to move toward the promised land known as "the future," it grows ever more important for them to make some room for it. AT&T announced today that it has started the process of refarming its 2G 1900MHz spectrum in New York City, which should alleviate some of the growing demand on the carrier's 3G and 4G networks within the city. AT&T isn't volunteering specific details on how long the transition will take, and it's only saying that the freed-up bandwidth will be used for high-speed services. There are still plenty of customers on 2G-only devices that will be affected by the transition -- they may still have service for now, but it will likely degrade as the process goes forward -- but the company is reaching out to them and offering alternative options, such as free 3G-capable phones. Let's just hope those don't come with fresh contracts attached. Drift your eyes below for the full press release.

Continue reading AT&T begins refarming 2G spectrum in New York City

AT&T begins refarming 2G spectrum in New York City originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 23 May 2012 13:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ah, Japan. That far east country what begot Mario most always gets to profit from the industry's more delightful excesses. This time, however, the spoils have less to do with gaming flash and more to do with smartphone specs. In a document recently released by NTT DoCoMo, the carrier's upcoming dual-core Galaxy S III variant is listed as doubling up on the available RAM, bypassing the standard 1GB announced at its official unveiling. It's not the first time we've seen an OEM shoot for the silicone stars, considering LG's headline-stealing Optimus LTE2 and monstrous LS970, so the swap could be likely. Nothing's set in stone quite yet, but given this is Samsung's flagship wünderphone, we doubt the company wants to be caught playing in its Korean rival's forward-looking wake.

NTT DoCoMo's Galaxy S III to ship with 2GB RAM? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 May 2012 22:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We got to fiddle with Mozilla's HTML5-based mobile OS, Boot to Gecko, for the first time a couple of months ago, and found it to be a promising platform, but one that wasn't ready for prime-time. However, it appears that Brazilians on Telefonica will get the first crack at buying BtG phones, and the handsets are set to go on sale by the end of this year or in early 2013. The good news -- for our South American readers, at least -- came from Gary Kovacs, Mozilla's CEO, who made the announcement in Sao Palo today. Unfortunately, Kovacs failed to say what kind of hardware will run the web-based OS, but Pablo Larrieux, the chief innovation officer of Telefonica Vivo, indicated that the handsets will be unlocked and priced to move: they'll cost as much as a featurephone.

[Thanks, Henrique]

[Brazil flag photo via Shutterstock.]

Mozilla: Brazilians to get first phones running Boot to Gecko originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 19 Apr 2012 14:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Let's temper our excitement -- the FCC is merely considering these proposals at the moment but, if either are adopted, it could permanently change the mobile broadband landscape. First up, the commission is considering reassigning the 2GHz band from MSS (Mobile Satellite Service) to AWS (Advances Wireless Service). If adopted, the new rules would clear the way for Dish to launch its LTE network and enter the 4G market. It will also irk AT&T, which has been trying to tie up the spectrum following the collapse of the T-Mobile merger, most likely because the carrier hoped to use the 2GHz band itself.

Secondly, and perhaps even more important, is a proposal that would place new interoperability rules on the 700MHz spectrum used by both Verizon and AT&T for their LTE service. Until now concerns over interference have kept most 700MHz devices from being able to hop between the different blocks of spectrum. This is a particularly big issue for small and rural carriers which own some chunks of real estate in the band, but lack the buying power to convince big OEMs to make handsets for their networks. Obviously, there's still some haranguing to do before either of these proposals become law and you can bet AT&T will do its best to derail both efforts. Still, it's a good sign to see the FCC even taking up the issues. You can watch the entire debate at the source link.

[Tower photo via Shutterstock]

FCC weighs Dish 4G network and 700MHz interoperability originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 21 Mar 2012 14:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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China Mobile may be the world's largest telco with 655 million subscribers, but it's missing one major ingredient that any top tier carrier needs -- the iPhone. Apple's exclusivity deal with China Unicom is about to come to an end and China Telecom is going to start selling the 4S next week. Yet, China Mobile, the state owned behemoth, won't be joining the iOS fray officially until it starts shipping with an LTE radio (which we assume will happen next year). Still, according to the company, it has managed to rack up 15 million subscribers using unlocked iPhones on its 2G network. Perhaps most amazing, is that it was only in October that China Mobile announced it had 10 million subscribers using Apple's pride and joy. We can only imagine the pandemonium that will break out when the world's most popular phone comes to the planet's largest cellular carrier.

China Mobile claims 15 million iPhone subscribers without selling Apple's handset originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 05 Mar 2012 11:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In a move that is sure to surprise no one, it appears AT&T is getting ready to send its trusty 2G GSM network riding off into the sunset. MarketWatch is reporting that some Ma Bell customers have received letters, urging them to upgrade to a 3G or (gasp) 4G device and warning that service may degrade in some areas as spectrum is repurposed. While the letter stops short of saying the 2G network is being shut down, it seems the writing is on the wall. With the collapse of the T-Mobile acquisition and Verizon's sizable lead in the race to acquire spectrum, AT&T is left with little choice but to use its GSM channels for HSPA+ and LTE service. So far the notices have only gone out to customers in the New York metro area, but it seems safe to assume other locales will follow. The only question is whether the carrier will lean on hold-outs the same way it did when the time came to kill off TDMA -- with a tax on primitive technology.

AT&T urging customers to upgrade to 3G, possibly killing off 2G originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 04 Mar 2012 02:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Here it is, folks: Mozilla's assault on the smartphone. Known as Boot to Gecko, the OS is geared toward hobbyists and consumers alike. Mozilla tells us that all Android users (with unlocked bootloaders) will be able to install the operating system onto their phones, and for less tenacious individuals, the non-profit group has begun lining up partners. We were given a quick demo of Boot to Gecko on a Galaxy S II, which included peeks at the dialer, messaging system, system preferences and, yes, the Mozilla Marketplace. Our initial impression? Boot to Gecko doesn't seem quite ready for prime time, as the operating system froze as we merely tapped through the settings and apps, which then required us to pull the battery. On the upside, the interface seems incredibly slick and the phone booted astonishingly fast -- it was good to go in about two seconds. Be sure to hop the break for the demo video of Boot to Gecko.

Continue reading Mozilla Boot to Gecko hands-on (video)

Mozilla Boot to Gecko hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 28 Feb 2012 09:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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So far, we have seen neither hide nor hair of that rumored LG-built Boot to Gecko developer device. Mozilla hasn't exactly been keeping quiet, though. The company announced a pair of partners on the web standards-based mobile OS: Telefónica and Deutsche Telekom. The German parent company of T-Mobile will be lending members of its Innovation Labs team to the development of the project. Telefónica will be bringing hardware to the equation. It revealed plans to build "open web devices" based on B2G for release this year. Qualcomm and Adobe are also throwing their weight behind the HTML5 platform. Before the week is through we should be able to scrounge up a few more details and spend some hands-on time with the OS.

Mozilla partners with Telefonica and Deutsche Telekom to further Boot to Gecko project originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Feb 2012 18:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mozilla hasn't exactly been quiet about the fact that it has some big stuff to show off at Mobile World Congress. We've already gotten a peek at Boot to Gecko and it's announced it'll be joining the app market fray. But, what we haven't heard anything about just yet, is hardware. A mobile operating system and software outlet are only useful if you've got a physical platform to run it on. Now rumors are circulating that LG is in cahoots with the makers of Firefox and will be building developer hardware for for its fledgling OS. Mozilla CTO Brendan Eich has said publicly his foundation will be at MWC with "partners..." plural. Who exactly those ally companies are isn't clear, but we'd say it's safe to assume there is at least one hardware maker in the mix. And, if the sources at ExtremeTech are right, that manufacturer already has a rather busy schedule. We'll just have to wait till we land Barcelona to find out for sure.

Mozilla rumored to debut LG-made Boot to Gecko device at MWC originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Feb 2012 19:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The fact that French ISP Free just began offering its own cellular service is pretty nice, but the realization that it did so by building its very own prepaid network -- rather than simply hopping on a dedicated cellular provider's towers -- is a noteworthy feat. Even more impressive, Free is offering the service, appropriately called Free Mobile, to subscribers at a price that matches the name of the company. Sure, you're not getting a ton of minutes with the basic free plan (60 minutes and 60 SMS / MMS messages), but you can get a load more (unlimited calls and texts, 3GB of data and unlimited access to the ISP's WiFi hotspots) for €15.99. If you're not a subscriber, fear not: you can grab the basic plan for €2 / month or the advanced option for €20. Free Mobile is still in the process of building out the network, which means that customers may find themselves occasionally roaming on Orange for a while. But hey, you can't go wrong with free, eh? Check out the source to see the selection of phones available for purchase.

[Thanks, Mohamed]

France ISP Free builds its own cellular network, offers free service to subscribers originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 12 Jan 2012 07:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink PCWorld Australia, TheVerge  |  Free Mobile (translated)  | Email this | Comments

The new iPhone is expected to carry an initial hardware Bill Of Materials (BOM) and manufacturing cost of US$ 173, according to a preliminary “virtual teardown” analysis conducted by iSuppli Corp.
If correct, the second-generation iPhone could be even more profitable for Apple than either the original iPone or the iPod.
Dr Jagdish Rebello, director and principal analyst for iSuppli, said that at a hardware BOM and manufacturing cost of US$ 173, the new iPhone is significantly less expensive to produce than the first-generation product.
He said this was despite major improvements in the product’s functionality and unique usability, due to the addition of 3G communications.
“The original 8Gbyte iPhone carried a cost of US $226 after component price reductions, giving the new product a 23 per cent hardware cost reduction due to component price declines,” he said.
Last week, a survey revealed that nearly a quarter of US consumers questioned in a survey highlighted price as the main reason why they were not considering buying an Apple iPhone 3G.