Estimate: Google Glass parts cost less than $ 80

I found today an article talking about the costs of all parts used in Google Glass. Knowing that profit is a must for companies to survive we need also to understand R/D costs and ofcourse all the marketing and sales efforts which you need to take to introduce a new product on the market.

Google Glass

Google Glass is a wearable computer with an optical head-mounted display (OHMD). It was developed by Google with the mission of producing a mass-market ubiquitous computer.Google Glass displays information in a smartphone-like hands-free format. Wearers communicate with the Internet via natural language voice commands.

Google Glass Explorer Edition, Picture by Tedeytan

 

Teardown.com

The technology analysts of Teardown.com took a look in the glasses - and estimate the cost of the components to almost 80 dollars, selling for $ 1500 with investing $ 80 for all parts is this to much ?

Teardown.com suspected that the lenses are worth only $ 3. At the same time, the tech experts admit that it was only a rough estimate based on a quick analysis. A more detailed investigation would follow, so that the estimated value would probably change.
  
The processor of the glasses from Texas Instruments falls, according to the study with $ 14 the most expensive component in weight. The 16-gigabyte memory from Toshiba is estimated at just over 8 dollars. 

The development costs of the technology were not considered in the analysis - on the glasses are working since 2011. Similarly, the analysis considers the costs of manufacturing glass by Google of the components into account. Nevertheless, the analysis shows how far the production costs and the market price could exceed the product apart.

A Google spokesman called the number told the Wall Street Journal "completely wrong" without express themselves more closely to it. But keep calm, in november 2012, Glass received recognition by Time Magazine as one of the "Best Inventions of the Year 2012", alongside inventions such as the Curiosity Rover.