One of the most pressing issues when deciding on a new piece of technology is the cost. As a college student I often have to wait several months (or even years) to get a shiny new gadget because of the often gasp inducing price. The following article breaks down the cost of these new devices by how much it costs to actually manufacture them. I was pleasantly surprised that the iPad (my current object of techno-lust) sells for pretty close to its actual cost and was surprised at the mark-up on other devices that I thought were pretty affordable (nearly double cost for the iPod shuffle!) I find it facinating that you so often see information for the mark-up on other luxury items like diamonds and cars, but this was the first I had seen on electronics. It is a real eye-opener when you start to consider what you are really paying for on so many of these devices (I had always assumed that you were paying for the actual technology involved, but one of the chips was only $5 to make!)
http://finance.yahoo.com/banking-budgeting/article/108825/what-your-gadget-really-costs?mod=bb-budgeting
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Great article! Makes you wish you were tech-savvy enough to buy the parts and build one yourself! At least, that's how I feel about it.
ReplyDeleteThis article reminded me of one I had read a few weeks ago: Why Apple Could Have Etched "iPad" Into Some Rocks and Sold Millions (link below). I think the success of the Apple brand is their success in developing their brand as a lifestyle.
So, while I agree with you the pricetag hurts on much of this, it is a price that millions are more than happy to shell out to be a part of the brand/lifestyle/promise of the Apple nation!
http://mashable.com/2010/02/01/apple-ipad-column/