Anyone who has ever picked up an iPhone knows how incredibly well built the device is compared to everything else on the market. Sure, the decision to make the back of the iPhone out of glass was a mistake, but barring that … the thing is built like a German tank. The same can be said for many of Nokia’s smartphones, most of which sadly never make their way across the pond. Nokia’s Lumia 900 however, that’s a different story. It started shipping in the United States first, then after a few weeks it’ll arrive on store shelves in Europe. It may not have the best specifications on the market, but that’s more Microsoft’s fault than anything else. Microsoft dictates the hardware specs that you have to use if you want to build a Windows Phone. So with that in mind, how much do you think it costs Nokia to build their latest flagship? According to the folks at iSuppli: $217. How much does Apple spend to make an iPhone 4S? Just $196.
Ouch.
Why do we bother bringing this up? Because half a decade ago it was Nokia who could muscle component suppliers to get the best price. These days, that’s no longer the case. Horace Dediu thinks Apple sold 37.3 million iPhones during the first quarter of this year. Nokia just announced that they sold 12 million smartphones during the same quarter, with 2 million of those being Windows Phones. Assuming Horace is right, that would mean Apple sold more than triple the amount of smartphones that Nokia did. That sort of volume is why Apple can build their phones for less and why Nokia is struggling to make money.
All that being said, Nokia still has an advantage in volume when it comes to feature phones. The 103 that was announced earlier this week does only calls and text messages, but at 16 EUR it’s a bargain!