Low-end Google Nexus 7 carries USD 152 BOM

When manufacturing expenses are added, the cost increases to $159.25. The high-end model with 16GBytes of NAND flash memory has a $159.25 BOM, for a total cost of $166.75. When additional costs are considered, the IHS iSuppli Teardown Analysis Service estimates that Google will at least break even on sales of the 8GByte model, priced at $199—and will make a modest profit on the 16Gbyte version, which is priced at $249. Like Apple, Google has realized it can boost margins by offering more memory at a more profitable price point. Google is charging $50 more at retail for only $7.50 in additional memory cost at the BOM level. This adds $42.50 to Google’s bottom line on each sale of the high-end model. “Google’s Nexus 7 represents less of an attempt to compete with Apple Inc.’s market-leading iPad, and more of a bid to battle with Amazon’s Kindle Fire,” said Andrew Rassweiler, senior director, teardown services for IHS. “The two platforms are similar in many regards, including the use of the 7-inch display, the eschewing of 4G wireless connections in favor of Wi-Fi, support for virtually identical battery lives and the same pricing for the entry-level models. However, the Nexus 7 has superior specifications to the Kindle Fire, giving it a more attractive feature set that may make it more desirable to consumers.” The Nexus 7 distinguishes itself from the Kindle Fire with its higher-resolution display using in-plane switching (IPS) technology. Google’s tablet also employs a quad-core Tegra 3 processor from Nvidia Corp., compared to the Kindle Fire’s OMAP 4430 dual-core processor from Texas Instruments Inc. The Nexus 7 also includes a camera and sports a near-field communications (NFC) chip for wireless commerce—both features absent on the Kindle Fire. These additional features give the 8GByte Nexus 7 a BOM that is $18 higher than the current cost for the Kindle Fire. IHS iSuppli now estimates the BOM of the Kindle Fire has fallen to $133.80, down from $191.65 at its introduction in November, due to dramatic reductions in component pricing. These considerable cost reductions provide a breather for Amazon in terms of the subsidy it initially paid to penetrate the market. The component suppliers in the Nexus 7 offered few big surprises, with almost all the parts having been detected in other media tablets. © IHS iSuppli However, one novel part is the combination gyroscope/accelerometer from InvenSense Inc. “Although we have seen a lot of InvenSense gyroscopes , the IHS iSuppli Teardown Analysis Service has seen only one other combo device—a part from STMicroelectronics in the Samsung Galaxy SIII. Furthermore, the InvenSense part integrates onboard processing, a newer feature for MEMS sensors.”