Remember the Old Days, When iSuppli Would Actually Wait Until They Could Take a New Apple Device Apart Before Making Up a Ridiculously Lowball Estimate for How Much It Costs to Make?

Arik Hesseldahl on a “preliminary estimate” of iPad component costs from iSuppli:

Research firms including iSuppli conduct so-called teardown analysis of consumer electronics to determine component prices and makers and estimate margins. Researchers at iSuppli didn’t have an actual iPad and instead relied on Apple’s public statements on its features.

The next step, I guess, is issuing “pre-preliminary estimates” of component costs for products that haven’t even yet been announced.

★ Wednesday, 10 February 2010