Hasta La Gadget!

Andy Rubin has already made it known that Google isn’t planning to profit from the Nexus 7’s hardware — according to him, it’s being sold at cost. However, a teardown conducted by TechInsights (and reported by Fudzilla) suggests that the true extent of our ‘discount’ may have been underplayed, because the Nexus 7’s parts alone reportedly add up to around $184. That’s just $15 below the current asking price for an 8GB model, before you even get to all the added costs like packaging, distribution, support, marketing and the tidy $25 Google Play voucher that comes as part of the bundle. Now, these figures may not be reliable, because who knows what deals Google and ASUS managed to negotiate, but still, it’s further evidence (in case you needed it) that this tablet makes for a smart purchase.

Is Google selling the Nexus 7 at a loss? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 09 Jul 2012 08:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Qualcomm’s Snapdragon S4 chipset is certainly hot (well, not too hot), but it looks like demand is expected to grow even further, causing the San Diego-based SoC maker to turn to allies in the east to help beef up supply. According to China Economic News Service, United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC) and Korea-based Samsung will join Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) to manufacturer the 28nm chips beginning later this year, in an attempt to increase S4 availability ahead of the Windows RT launch. The article cites Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs as saying that a shortage is expected to continue, due to the complicated techniques necessary to manufacturer 28nm chips, and that the company may consider adding its own manufacturing plant in the future. All in all, it doesn’t seem like a terrible position for QCOM to be in. Full details are at the Taiwanese source link below.

Qualcomm enlists Samsung, UMC to help meet 28nm Snapdragon S4 demand originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 04 Jul 2012 16:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Google Nexus Q is a home media player that was just unveiled yesterday during the Google IO keynote. It is an Google experiment (in a crowded market) that is well designed, attractive and hard to build. Interestingly, the Google Nexus Q is also an experiment in USA-based manufacturing. At the bottom of the device, there’s a sticker which says “Made in the USA”. This is almost symbolic for a company that has had strained relations with the Chinese government.

Talking to the NYTimes, Andy Rubin (the Android business General Manager) said that Goole wanted to try manufacturing “something” in the USA, and thought ‘Why don’t we try it and see what happens?’ The google Nexus Q is an ideal test candidate as it is hard to build, but quantities should be low at the same time.   (more…)

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Nexus Q announced, Nexus Q leaked, no longer a rumor?,

Google didn’t touch on it during its keynote, but The New York Times‘ John Markoff has the story on one fairly unique feature of its new Nexus Q home media device: the base of the unit proudly boasts that it’s “Designed and Manufactured in the U.S.A.” That includes an unnamed company in the Midwest that manufactures the metal base and another in Southern California that makes the case, while the device itself was reportedly being assembled just last week at a large factory 15 minutes away from Google’s HQ. According to Google, it hopes that people will be willing to pay more for the device as a result ($299, if you missed it), but it has no plans to play up the “Made in the U.S.A.” angle in its marketing. Wired also has an in-depth piece of its own on the making of the device — you can find it linked below as well.

Check out our full coverage of Google I/O 2012’s opening keynote at our event hub!

Google Nexus Q is ‘Designed and Manufactured in the U.S.A.’ originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Jun 2012 13:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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