Huawei E5830 Wireless Modem Teardown

Overview / Main Features

The Huawei E5830 is a personal wireless hot spot device that essentially converts a wireless network data stream into a mobile 802.11g network. Specifically, the E5830 is a single-band HSPA/UMTS (2100MHz) and quad-band GSM/EDGE wireless modem which supports multiple Wi-Fi connected devices as well as direct USB plug & play connectivity to Windows/Mac/Linux computers.

Huawei E5830 Wireless Modem Main Image

Business Professionals & Heavy Wireless Data Users

Released

Per our understanding, first release in Q3 2009.

Huawei E5830 Wireless Modem - Main PCB Top

Pricing - This specific model is available via 3 Networks in the UK for approximately $100 USD.

Availability - This specific model is available on 3 Networks in the UK, however, based on supported frequencies; it can support operations in continental Europe as well as in Asia

Volume Estimations

For the purposes of this teardown analysis, we have assumed a lifetime production volume of 2M units.

As a reminder, teardown volume production assumptions are primarily used for our cost analysis in terms of amortized NRE and tooling costs, especially for custom components specific to the model being analyzed (mechanical components especially). Unless assumed volumes are different by an order of magnitude, minor changes in volume (say 1 million vs. 2) rarely have a large net effect on our final analysis because of this.

Huawei E5830 Wireless Modem - Main PCB Bottom

Main Cost Drivers Representing ~80% of total materials cost

Qualcomm - MSM7225 - Baseband Processor - Quad-Band GSM/GPRS/EDGE, UMTS, HSDPA 7.2Mbps, HSUPA 5.76Mbps

Battery - Li-Ion Polymer, 3.7V, 1500mAh

Hynix - H8BCS0PH0MCP - MCP - 1Gb NAND Flash + 512Mb Mobile DDR SDRAM (Estimated)

Qualcomm - PM7540 - Power Management IC - w/ Integrated USB Transceiver

Qualcomm - RTR6285 - RF Transceiver - ZIF, Quad-Band GSM/GPRS/EDGE, Tri-Band UMTS Transceiver, HSDPA, w/ Integrated GPS Receiver & Receive Diversity

Compeq - 8-Layer - FR4/RCF HDI, 2+4+2, Lead-Free

Atheros - AR6002G-AC1B - WLAN - Single-Chip, 802.11g

Tech-Power - TPCA-053065BY - Charger - 5.3V, 650mA, w/ 1.8m Cord

Total BOM Cost $58.56

Huawei E5830 Wireless Modem Cost Analysis

What Is Not Included in our Cost Analysis

The total materials and manufacturing costs reported in this analysis reflect ONLY the direct materials cost (from component vendors and assorted EMS providers), AND manufacturing with basic test. Not included in this analysis are costs above and beyond the material manufacture of the core device itself - cost of intellectual property, royalties and licensing fees (those not already included into the per component price), software, software loading and test, shipping, logistics marketing and other channel costs including not only EMS provider and the OEM'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 and exceptionally in some circumstances the packaging and literature as well.

Manufacturing Notes

OEM/ODM/EMS Relationships / Manufacturing

We do not track, as part of iSuppli research, Huawei's manufacturing and EMS relationships, however, based on their Chinese origins, we are assuming that Huawei are building in house and sourcing, where not otherwise noted domestically in China.

Country of Origin / Volume Assumptions

Based on markings, the unit was assembled in China. Furthermore, we have assumed that custom mechanicals (plastics, metals, etc.) were also sourced in China.

Country of origin assumptions relate directly to the associated cost of manufacturing, where calculated by iSuppli. In the cases of 'finished' sub-assemblies (such as the battery), we do not calculate internal manufacturing costs, but rather assess the market price of the finished product in which case country of origin assumptions may or may not have a direct effect on pricing.

Remember also that labor rates are applied directly only to hand inserted components and systems in our bill of materials, and although regional assumptions do, these new rates do not have a direct effect on our modeled calculations of placement costs for automated SMD assembly lines. "Auto inserted components (such as SMT components) placement costs are calculated by an iSuppli algorithm which allocates a cost per component based on the size and pincount of the device. This calculation is affected by country or region of origin as well.

Huawei E5830 Wireless Modem - Enclosure Disassembly

Design for Manufacturing / Device Complexity

The Huawei E5830 has an overall component count of 558 (excluding box contents), of which, only 39 are mechanical in nature. Compared to other wireless modem / mobile Wi-Fi devices we have analyzed in the past, the E5830 sits between the complexity ranges of ~350 to ~700 parts.

Component counts have a direct bearing on the overall manufacturing cycle times and costs, and also can increase or decrease overall yields and re-work. Our calculations of manufacturing costs factor counts and more qualitative complexities in the design. The cost of manufacturing is also, to some extent, decreased in this case because of assumed labor rate applied for China.

Note that manual labor has a much smaller effect on auto-insertion assembly lines (for the Main PCB, for example), where manufacturing costs are much more capital equipment intensive and driven by these investment costs.

Design Notes

The core of the Novatel MiFi 2352 design revolves around the Qualcomm MSM7225 baseband processor and supporting Power Management (PM7540) and RF Transceiver (RTR6285) solution - a common design we have seen before in a competitive device earlier. An Atheros WLAN IC and RF Micro PAM provide the main design of the 802.11g connectivity and network management. The memory portion of the device is furnished by a Hynix MCP with 1GB NAND Flash and (what we believe to be) 512Mb DDR SDRAM. The E5830 comes with external memory via a built-in microSD slot.

Here is a summary of the major components used in the Huawei E5830 Wireless Modem Design design:

Main PCB

Baseband

• Baseband Processor - Qualcomm - MSM7225

Battery / Power Management

• Power Management IC - Qualcomm - PM7540

WLAN

• WLAN IC - Atheros - AR6002G-AC1B

Memory

• MCP - Hynix - H8BCS0PH0MCP

RF Transceiver

• RF Transceiver - Qualcomm - RTR6285
• FEM - Murata

Huawei E5830 Wireless Modem - Box Contents