Teardown Analysis - Sony Ericsson K300i Mobile Phone Teardown

Main Features

Tri-band GSM phone with CSTN 128x128 65K color screen, VGA/CMOS camera module (no flash), IrDA/USB connectivity.

Sony Ericsson K300i Mobile Phone Main Image

Where the K500i was a stripped down K700i, it appears that the k300i is yet again the little brother to the k500i with one more increment down the ladder in terms of functions and features. The formula is as follows k300i = k500i with lower end display (CSTN 128 x 128). Furthermore the K500i = K700i - bluetooth - FM Radio - Flashlight for camera + lower res screen - NAND flash. The k300i has slightly different look and feel from the k500i and k700i - but it's minor - the SonyEricsson aesthetic is essentially the same across the 3 models.

Like the k500i, K700i and T610, the K300i is also a tri-band GSM/GPRS phone. The K300i has a lower resolution screen than the K500i, 700i and T61x), but the same amount of memory as the k500i - in fact all 3 phones feature the same MCP (Intel #RD38F4050L0YTQ1) - but the k700i features an additional NAND flash chip.

The k300i seems to be aimed at the low-end of the spectrum - the new, upgraded space where giveaway phones dwell. Whereas before they featured monochrome displays and no cameras, the low-end of the phone spectrum has clearly upgraded, and the k300i is right in it.

We estimate that SonyEricsson have maintained their market share, and even grown slightly during the course of 2004 (based on global unit volumes), of approximately 6 to 6.5%. Furthermore, GPRS phones, such as this model, are expected to represent approximately 57% of the approximately 705 Million phones expected to ship in 2005 - or over 408K units . For that matter - if Sony Ericsson maintain their current share in 2005 they would see unit shipments of approximately 44M units, of which the k300i would represent a significant portion, with an estimated 2 year lifespan volume production of 3M units.

Teardown Analysis - Sony Ericsson K300i Mobile Phone Cost Analysis

Main Cost Drivers representing approximately 67% of total materials cost

TI/Dialog Baseband & Pwr Mgmt Chips

Memory (MCP - Flash 256Mbit, 64Mbit SRAM)

Displays (1.6, CSTN 128x128 65K Color Primary)

Camera Module

RF Transceiver & PA

Materials and Manufacturing*

* - The total materials and manufacturing costs reported in this analysis reflect only the direct materials cost (from component vendors and assorted EMS providers), manufacturing and test. Not included in this analysis are costs above and beyond the manufacture of the core device itself - cost of shipping, logistics marketing and other channel costs including not only EMS provider and SonyEricsson's margin, but that of other resellers. Our cost analysis is meant to focus on those costs incurred in the manufacture of the core device (the phone and packaging, in this case) itself.

Teardown Analysis - Sony Ericsson K300i Mobile Phone (iSi) - Main PCB Bottom

Made in Taiwan by unknown EMS provider (k500i was made in Malaysia, and the k700i in China). It has been assumed here that the major manufacturing processes (auto-insertion lines, and final assembly) are taking place in Taiwan, while sub-components (plastics and mechanicals) are sourced in China. Charger is labeled as made in China by supplier Salcomp.

These assumptions affect both the assumed costs of manually manufactured elements (based on relative local skilled and semi-skilled labor rates), and auto-inserted device (such as surface mount components on PCBs). These labor rate assumptions are outlined in the Overview section of the online presentation or the COO Notes tab from the Excel spreadsheet analysis.

Our total production volume assumption used here (3,000K units over phone life) may not be highly market accurate from a marketing point of view, however, it is used here for the purpose of estimating the amortization of certain test set-up costs and other NRE charges for such things as injection molding tools for the enclosures, etc.

Although this assumption affects the bottom line, changes in the quantity assumption generally produce a very small total cost variance, as typically in quantities of several hundred thousand and up, amortized NRE costs are usually quite small on a per unit basis.

Design

At the board level - the k300i and K500i appear to be identical. Furthermore, once again, the main difference they have with the k700i are the chips needed to support the bluetooth and FM radio functionality as well as a handful of minor components.

All of the major chips are SonyEricsson ASICs, with the manufacturer's listed below:

Main PCB

Baseband

• DBB - Texas Instruments - 751979AIZ (Same as k500i)
• ABB - Dialog Semiconductor - D0747EC ABB - (Same as k500i)

Battery / Power Management

• Power Management - Texas Instruments - TWL9300 (Same as k500i)

Memory

• NOR Flash / PSRAM -Intel MCP - RD38F4050L0YTQ1 - 256Mbit Flash + 64Mbit PSRAM (Same as T610, k500i, and K700i)

RF/PA

• RF Transceiver - Philips Semiconductor - - ZIF, Tri-band, GSM
• PAM - Skyworks - CX77313 - Quad Band, GSM850/EGSM900/DCS1800/PCS1900
• FEM - Tri-band

Display

• CSTN, 128 x 128 Pixel - Manufacturer Unknown - Fairly low end in current market.

Camera

• VGA/CMOS Module - No flash on this device.- Manufacturer Unknown

Teardown Analysis - Sony Ericsson K300i Mobile Phone (iSi) - Box Contents