After iSuppli performed its customary teardown analysis of the first generation iPod touch, the research firm once again confirmed that Apple's seeing some enviable margins on the device. According to the firm, the touch is nearly double its materials and manufacturing cost, with a bill of materials (BOM) coming in at $155.04 and the (8GB) device selling for $299. That's substantially more than either version of the new nano.
But what really sets this iteration of the iPod apart from its forebears -- and even from other slim devices like the iPhone -- is its design. Despite sharing close to 90 percent of the same components, iSuppli concludes that the Touch houses some of the most elegant real estate solutions and compact components they've ever seen in an Apple product.
Says iSuppli analyst Andrew Rassweiler:
With Apple making a little over $140 on each touch it sells (and with the company churning out some 8.5 million of the first-generation iPods), it looks like the touch is going to do quite nicely for Apple.
[Via iSuppli]
