iFixit has already dissected Microsoft's new Kin Two handset, revealing the internal components. Although images from the teardown show vague references for the CPU, Chipworks utilized x-rays and other advanced methods to confirm the placement of Nvidia Tegra components underneath a Numonyx package on the main board. The processor and memory stack span four dies mounted together in two layered packages.
An iSuppli teardown today reveals that the Motorola Droid is ultimately one of the most expensive smartphones to build in the current market. The Android handset has a materials cost of $179.11 and an assembly cost of $8.64, putting its pure manufacturing cost at $187.75. The number is higher than the $178.96 16GB iPhone 3GS and higher still than the Droid's fellow Android device, the $174.15 Nexus One.
The companies responsible for manufacturing parts in the next major iPhone release have potentially been named by industry contacts of DigiTimes that also predict ship dates and numbers. The Taiwan-area site reinforces its previous claim that OmniVision is making a 3.2-megapixel sensor for the Apple handset's camera and now says that Largan Precision is making the rest of the imaging unit. Infineon is continuing to provide the cellular baseband (likely upgraded to 7.2Mbps 3G) as well as the GPS chipset.
Bolstering its NAND flash memory lineup, Numonyx on Wednesday revealed that it has developed some of its first 32 gigabit (4GB) chips. The storage comes as the result of a newer, smaller 41 nanometer manufacturing process and lets the company double the amount of storage it can offer. Embedded MMC memory and other storage formats can use stacks of up to eight chips to make a single 32GB package, while microSDHC can hold up to 8GB.
