Microsoft Surface RT teardown reveals $271 worth of components
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About half of that, or $137, to be more specific, goes straight to Samsung as it supplies quite a few of the tablet's components. The Korean company is providing the memory chips, the battery, as well as the display for the Microsoft Surface RT. The device's processor, however – a quad-core Tegra 3 chip, is made by NVIDIA.
But that is not all: the guys also took a Microsoft Touch Cover apart only to find out that it is worth about $16. The accessory, which acts as a protective cover and a hardware keyboard of sorts, is actually priced at $120 online, or can be had for $100 if bought together with a 32GB Surface tablet. And that quite a profit margin for something that a fair amount of consumers are likely to purchase, be it intentionally or impulsively.
The Microsoft Surface tablet with Windows RT started shipping on October 26 and we already gave it a thorough review. Currently, the only models available online are the 32GB with bundled Touch Cover for $599 and the 64GB one for $699, which also comes with a Touch Cover included. The base $499 model is out of stock.
source: IHS via AllThingsD
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10 Comments
2. gothicheart posted on 05 Nov 2012, 05:04 10
and unlike the fruit company, you get you money's worth...
3. Birds posted on 05 Nov 2012, 05:31 2
It costs apple 5$ to make a damn iPad and they turn around and sell it for a trillion times the amount.....Smart company....As long as their are people willing to break a wallet and a bank for Apple, then they will continue to overprice their tablets....just staying....
6. PhenomFaz posted on 05 Nov 2012, 06:24 1
now this is a quality tablet with production costs being $271!
Compared to the ipad which has production costs of not even $200 but sells their tablet at a 50% premium compared to the surface
7. TROLL (limited) 4 days ago posted on 05 Nov 2012, 06:44 3
Wow Samsung is massively huge suppliers of semiconductors to Apple MS Nokia and others....
4. pikapowerize (banned) posted on 05 Nov 2012, 06:02 4
really considerable! i mean at least they dont get huge profit! unlike apple! heck iPad mini should only cost $250 for 16GB.... but heck.. its apple! they dont listen! they revolve on their own world! not considering that a lot of people cant eat!
"an apple a day will kill me and my pocket right away!"
sorry apple i love you but this is too much!
8. TROLL (limited) 4 days ago posted on 05 Nov 2012, 06:45 1
True over-priced midrange products with High-End hardwares. No wonder
5. jove39 posted on 05 Nov 2012, 06:11 1
$16 cover for $100...that just plain bad! MS should understand that Nexus 10 is significant competitor now...apart from iPad!!!!
9. sarb009 posted on 05 Nov 2012, 07:03 0
Ya thats plain looting selling a thing at 120 which costs them damn 16 or u throw 10 more even then its tooooo expenisve
10. blattlaus posted on 05 Nov 2012, 07:50 0
Remember these numbers don't include RandD, marketing and logistics. I imagine that on something like the Touch/Type covers, developement costs were huge.
