Isuppli tore down a Touchpad and in doing so they found that the cost is $318, with another $10 for manufacturing costs. $132.50 for the display and touchscreen parts make up the most expensive assembly, which is 41.7 per cent of the cost.

The next most expensive part is the NAND flash memory, costing $45. The mechanical/electromechanical system is next at $30. The HP 32GB Touchpad sells for $599, so the markup is $271. It’s always fun to know what it costs compared to what it costs us.

It’s always interesting to know how much a device costs to actually build, compared to what you pay for it and what it is capable of. In the case of the now available Nintendo 3DS, research firm iSuppli has the answers.

They have taken a 3DS apart to figure it all out. The most expensive parts inside are the Sharp screens estimated at $38.80. The processor is about $10, and the memory subsystem costs about $8.36. The user interface with a gyroscope costs $6.81, $5.00 for a WLAN system, $4.70 for the cameras, and about $3.50 for the battery system. The total cost is…

The game lineup for Sony’s Xperia Play, also known as the PlayStation Phone, will range in price from $1.50 to upwards of $16, according to an interview with Sony Ericsson UK head of marketing David Hilton. Gamers are expecting 50 titles at launch, which include some PSOne classics and also some games that have been “repurposed for Xperia Play” from other platforms.

What do you think of these prices? They are in line with mobile gaming prices in general and the Xperia Play should allow for far more complex games if you believe David Hilton. Do you plan on buying many of these?

Sony’s SCEA president Jack Tretton hinted in an interview that the NGP might ease some of the worries on battery life, but not on price. He said that the company would “certainly look to improve” the PSP’s battery life even with the five-inch screen and quad-core hardware. Engadget thinks that means more than the 4.5 to seven hours of typical use.

Regarding price, he hinted that the device might be a bit expensive. We are talking more powerful hardware and hopefully good content. He said, “I think if the quality’s there, then the people will find a way to buy it, within reason,”.

You plan on paying $699 for your Samsung Galaxy Tab, right? So that headline doesn’t feel very good does it? Sadly it’s the same for everything we buy. There’s always a mark-up. iSuppli claims that the Galaxy Tab only costs $205 in materials, while costing $215 to manufacture.

Cheap labor is par for the course. The most expensive part in the Galaxy Tab would be its 7-inch display and NAND Flash memory, at $57 and $51. This news won’t stop most of us from buying one, but it’s nice to have all of the facts anyway.

Right now it is looking like Europe will pay a pretty penny for Samsung’s Galaxy Tab, but the 7-inch tablet may not cost as much here in the US. According to the Wall Street Journal, a Samsung executive claims it could run between $200 and $300 depending on carrier subsidies.

Meanwhile the Korea Times has chimed in saying $300 to $400 which they attribute to a different Samsung bigwig, who also said that the Tab “will cost slightly more than the Galaxy S smartphone.”

Apple’s recent offer of free bumper cases for the iPhone 4 is generous. Not as generous as a well engineered phone, but still. The move will cost quite a bit. One analyst had previously speculated that a full hardware recall would set Apple back $1.5B. Apple has announced a figure that is a bit easier to swallow.

The free bumper cases for the iPhone 4 will cost the company $175 million. But one still has to ask, how does such an engineering snafu get past Apple in the first place? One wonders if they were trying to save money for some reason. This whole issue is very unlike Apple.

Well, you don’t expect Apple to sell the iPad at a loss do you? That $499 pricepoint nets them some nice profit. After checking out the iPad’s internals, iSuppli has calculated a bill of materials as low as $259.60 for the 16GB iPad, including a $95 screen and $26.80 processor.

The device turned out to be more complex inside than iSuppli was expecting. They originally estimated the device at $219.35 in materials.

This rumor, if true, may be a sign that Apple wants to compete with netbooks or that in this economy, they don’t think that consumers will continue to pay a premium for the Apple name in the longterm. Either way, Apple may push the cost of the MacBook Air down while extending its feature set. Unnamed sources for SiliconRumors claim that an entry-level model will push the price down to between $1,300 and $1,500, or at least $300 less than the current model. Whether this would be a smaller model or just a price cut isn’t clear.

The same tips say that Apple will add at least an option for built-in 3G for wide-area wireless and may make solid-state drives standard on all models instead of a high-end option. GPS to locate the Mac is an option but “less likely.”

A recent report shows that the parts and packaging of the iPod Shuffle 3G cost only $21.77. That’s twenty-eight percent of the unit’s retail price. So with those numbers, you might be wondering where the clones are. According to Business Week, Samsung supplies not only the unit’s ARM-based processor ($5.98), but the storage ($6) on at least a few of the units as well. The lithium ion battery costs $1.20.

Maybe for some reason the pirates just can’t work that small yet. Who knows. Maybe they just don’t care about the Shuffle and have other gadgets to worry about.

Video: Laptop Hunters $1000 – Lauren Gets an HP Pavilion
The ongoing war between Microsoft & Apple continues. In this new ad, Microsoft exploits Apple’s Achilles heel, being outrageously overpriced. It’s a brilliant ad that hits them right where it hurts. Because it’s true.

The ad shows a customer looking for a laptop for under a $1000. She searches both the Apple store and a conventional electronics store and finally settles on an HP laptop for under $700. Unlike their previous ads, this one works because it actually speaks to the consumer, and what matters to them. Getting a decent computer for a fair price.

This device sounds too good to be true. It’s called the Blade and it screws onto the end of your tailpipe. Through extensive testing, it supposedly shows from 16-34% savings on gas! That’s an average of about 3.8 MPG’s. As an example, a US driver goes an average of about 30 miles per day or 10,800 miles per year. At the national average of 22 MPG that means about 490 gallons of gas. At $4, that’s roughly $2,000.

Apparently, when you add the BLADE to your tailpipe, you would only use about 418 gallons or about $1,675. Your savings would be roughly $325! Since I suck at math, I’m forced to take their word for it. The device costs $200, so you could make your money back in several months and still be saving after that. It saves gas, money and the environment. What more do you want?