T-Mobile USA’s G1 is $16 cheaper to make than the Apple iPhone.
Research firm iSuppli has determined the G1 costs about $144 to build, while the iPhone sets Apple back $160.
There’s the issue of the handset subsidy debate: operators charge less for handsets than they cost, and to cover the loss they rope customers into hard-to-get-out-of contracts that only allow for slim windows for affordable upgrades to better phones during that time. But don’t be ready to cry foul in this case. The iSuppli cost doesn’t take into account any surrounding “soft” costs like marketing and R&D, and does not include the actual manufacturing costs.
