Kindle Fire HD, Microsoft Surface teardowns reveal production costs for Amazon, Microsoft

Last year, IHS found that the original Kindle Fire cost Amazon around $187 to make and now they have taken on the new Kindle Fire HD to see exactly how much it Amazon pays to build one. The company redesigned the new Kindle Fire HD and IHS tore down the device to see exactly what’s inside. The results are quite interesting.
While it’s selling for only $199, IHS revealed that the components used to build this new device cost somewhere around $165. Unlike last year, LG Displays produced the new high resolution 720p display; Texas Instruments helped out with the power supply, video chips, and the new blazing fast dual-core processing chip; while Samsung, after Apple essentially stopped using them for many of their iPad/iPhone components, was able to get a deal with Amazon to supply the memory chip in the new Kindle Fire.

The end result of all these components coming together is a great tablet that many reviewers have recommended for parents and students alike. In today’s competitive market, Google and Amazon are going head to head with their tablets and, while the Nexus 7 seemingly has cheaper components, it seems safe to say that Google’s baby is outselling Amazon’s.
The same AllThingsD article mentions the Microsoft Surface’s component estimated value, as submitted by the same IHS. Unlike Google and Amazon, Microsoft is apparently not interested in creating a budget-friendly tablet, but rather, the company priced the Surface unnecessarily high to compete directly with Apple’s iPad.
IHS’ check of the Surface shows that the components that are being used to build the new tablet, when all put together, cost around $271. Now Microsoft could have easily priced their tablet at $300 or even $400 and still have had pretty good profit margins from it while, simultaneously, boosting the user base of the newly released Windows 8 OS — obviously that is not the goal.
The research firm also found that the new Microsoft Touch Cover, priced separately at $120, costs Microsoft around $16 to produce, and so they will undoubtedly enjoy the extra profit. This goes to show how much more customer-oriented the Nexus 7 and Kindle Fire HD are in comparison to the Microsoft Surface that seems mostly profit-oriented.
Now the question comes in, which of these tablets are you going to purchase this holiday season?

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Xbox SmartGlass for Android available for download in Google Play, ready to control your Xbox 360 consoles

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We talked about Microsoft’s Xbox SmartGlass app quite a few times since being made official way back in June. While the app is already pre-loaded on Microsoft Surface tablets, and will be available on various other Windows 8/RT machines, the company will not restrict SmartGlass access to its Windows ecosystem.
Microsoft will support other platforms as well, Android included, and today we have some good news for all Android device owners that also happen to own Xbox 360 console. The Xbox SmartGlass app for Android phones is now available as a free download – a lot earlier that previously rumored – and you can get it right ahead.
Unfortunately, the app is only available for Android smartphones that run Ice Cream Sandwich or higher.
Once installed on the device, the app will let users interact with their Xbox 360 console straight from the handset, with Microsoft expected to add more and more features to this app. Meanwhile, here’s what Xbox SmartGlass will help you do:

• Navigate your Xbox 360 with swipe and tap
• Use your phone’s keyboard to type to your Xbox 360
• Browse the Internet on your Xbox 360 with full keyboard and zooming
• Play, pause, fast forward, rewind, and stop videos and music on your Xbox 360
• Search the full Xbox catalog of music, video, and games
• Enjoy rich, interactive experiences from select game and entertainment content creators
• Track and compare your achievements with your Xbox friends
• Change up your 3D avatar
• Message your Xbox friends
• Edit your Xbox profile

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Microsoft planning more hardware as it attempts to catch up with Android

In the good old days, Microsoft did software and everyone else made the hardware, even on the Macintosh platform Apple made the hardware and Microsoft added Office etc. But those days are gone. Today, any serious contender in the post-PC era designs the hardware and the software. Apple do it, Google do it, Amazon do it and now, with the advent of the Surface tablet and Windows 8, Microsoft do it. Steve Ballmer, Microsoft’s CEO, has told the BBC that the Redmond company won’t stop at the Surface and that it has other hardware plans.
The tablet and smartphone market is moving quickly. There are new devices being announced every day. The problem for Microsoft is that if it only develops the software, there will always be a lag between the release of a new software version and the hardware that can run it. This is partly because Microsoft’s software isn’t open source like Android. For Android developers the source code is always available and devices can be built and tested quickly without having to wait for Google. The source code can even be modified and changes pushed up to Google if needed.
To remedy this Microsoft extended its hardware business from its existing Xbox business and designed and launched the Surface.  Early next year Microsoft will release the Surface Pro (which uses an Intel CPU and runs the standard version of Windows 8). However it clearly has plans for other devices:

“Is it fair to say we’re going to do more hardware? Obviously we are… Where we see important opportunities to set a new standard, yeah we’ll dive in,” said Ballmer to the BBC. ”We have committed ourselves on a path where we will do whatever is required from both a hardware and a software innovation perspective and the cloud innovation perspective in order to propel the vision that we have.”

The big question is, what do Microsoft have planned? More tablets? A Microsoft designed smartphone? A laptop? Is there anything that Microsoft could design that would tempt you away from Android? Please leave a comment below.

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