According to a recently published report, Samsung’s cost of materials for the new Chromebook is just shy of $350.
The device, which Samsung plans to charge consumers $500 for, will be Samsung’s first notebook PC to use Google’s new, fully-featured operating system.
Because it is not an extremely high-end device, and more importantly because there are no licensing fees to Microsoft for the use of Windows, it’s pretty affordable to make.
This is according to a teardown report from IHS iSuppli, which is known and regarded highly for its numerous reports over the years about how much it actually costs manufacturers to make their high-profile electronics.
Of course, the report only reveals how much the individual components that make up the device cost. It does not include other factors like labor and shipping costs.
Here’s a partial breakdown of some of the most important components of the impending laptop:
– Motherboard: $86.37
– 12.1-inch LCD: $58
– Battery: $48
– 3G module: $42
– SSD storage: $28
For $500, Samsung’s Chromebook model will not only earn the company a pretty nice margin but it will still manage to be highly affordable for consumers. It’s not a netbook because the processor is powerful enough to run more demanding PC applications.
