The Nokia N8 device’s Bill of Materials (BOM) is almost the exact same as the Apple iPhone 4’s BOM, in spite of a number of key differences.
The N8’s BOM amounts to €187.47, according to iSuppli. This is just 4 cents off of the 16GB version of iPhone 4, which was $187.51 in June, though iSuppli states that since then, component prices have eroded for Apple.
“The N8’S BOM shows Nokia is targeting the product squarely at the touchscreen smartphone segment now dominated by the iPhone,” said Andrew Rassweiler, director and principal analyst and teardown services manager for iSuppli.
“Although the two phones differ markedly in key areas, including the camera and the core silicon, both are designed to hit similar production cost budgets.”
Adding in the manufacturing expense of $9.50, the total cost is $196.97.
At $31.08, the N8’s 12MP camera is the third most expensive subsystem of the smartphone.
Beating the iPhone’s 5MP camera, iSuppli found this is a key selling point for Nokia’s phone.
“Apple has never regarded the camera module as a key differentiating feature on iPhones, and has always spent its budget elsewhere within the design,” said Rassweiler.
“Clearly, Nokia wants the N8 to be distinguished in this aspect.”
The most expensive feature of the N8 is the display and touchscreen. The technology used is also much different to the iPhone 4.
Whereas the iPhone 4 uses a 3.5-inch LCD using Low-Temperature Polysilicon and In Plane Switching, the N8 uses an AMOLED display.
The display and touchscreen feature costs $39.25 for Nokia.
