TSMC may have at least some involvement in Apple's device supply chain based on claims by Taiwan's Economic Daily News. The business newspaper asserted that the contract manufacturer had landed deals for power management parts designed by Dialog Semiconductor for future Apple hardware. TSMC had supposedly already involved itself with iPads and iPhones by manufacturing Broadcom, CSR, Cirrus Logic, and Qualcomm.
One of Apple's supplier partners, Cirrus Logic, recently encountered manufacturing problems with an "audio device" that went into mass production last month, according to Dow Jones. Cirrus says that an earlier test for one of the product's functions was flawed, and that a newer one found fewer working chips than anticipated, with losses rising as production volume increased. "The semiconductor industry is inherently an extraordinarily complicated business, and while we strive at all times to have zero issues, from time to time, and despite everyone's best efforts, 'stuff happens,'" explains CEO Jason Rhode.
Apple's sixth generation iPod nano costs just a third of its selling price to make, iSuppli estimated in a cost breakdown today. The bill of materials and manufacturing for an 8GB iPod nano reach only $45.10. The device is the second least expensive iPod to make so far, being beaten only by the fourth generation $40.80 nano.
The raw cost of making an iPad is just over half of its $499 retail price, according to an iSuppli cost breakdown. Not including development, patents and sales, building a 16GB Wi-Fi iPad costs about $259.60. Apple's largest cost is the unique 9.7-inch multi-touch screen, which is made by LG Display along with help from Epson, Samsung and Wintek; it should cost about $95.
Apple's newest iPhone actually costs slightly more to make than the older version in spite of the more modest update, iSuppli says. The iPhone 3GS' total bill of materials amounts to $178.96 for a 16GB model, or slightly more than the previous $174.33 of the 8GB iPhone 3G. Some of the cost difference is attributed to recent rises in the prices of NAND flash memory; although 16GB costs less to make than it did a year earlier, a small rebound due to economy-driven supply cutbacks means Apple has had to absorb some costs to double its storage.
Native Instruments had announced two of its latest products, the Guitar Rig Mobile and the Audio 4 DJ. Guitar Rig Mobile is a portable bus-powered USB 2 audio interface. The device is equipped with a selection of three amps, 12 speaker cabinets, and effects from its Guitar Rig 3 LE modeling software including time-based, distortion and overdrive, modulation, and filter effects. Roughly the size of a cigarette box, the interface contains 24bit/192 kHz Cirrus Logic converters. Amps provided are Twang Reverb for the sound of classic amps, Bass Pro to deliver a more gritty sound, and Lead 800 which gives lead sounds with flexibility options.
