HTC Desire HD Mobile Handset Teardown

Overview / Main Features

The HTC Desire HD is a media centric Android Smartphone boosting a large 4.3 inch display and powered by a second generation Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset (MSM8255). In many respects, the Desire HD most closely resembles the HTC EVO 4G flagship it designed for Sprint in the US. However, HTC did iterate the core design of the Desire HD with a newer Snapdragon chipset and configured it with a dual-band UMTS / quad-band GSM radio [instead of the EV-DO and WiMax solution in the EVO].

Like other large screen (i.e. 4.3 inch) handsets HTC has introduced in the past, the Desire HD is targeted at an immersive user experience that highlights mobile media content such as video, web surfing and music. The Desire HD also features a late version of Android 2.2 (Froyo) to take advantage of the OS kernel optimization and baseband processor speed to give users a more zippy responds and feel. The Desire HD also features an 8MP camera with dual LED flash as well as the normal assortment of connectivity and extras such as GPS, Accelerometer, e-Compass, Bluetooth, WiFI and 4GB of eMMC storage on board.

HTC Desire HD Mobile Handset Main Image

High-End Smartphone segment

Released

Sept 2010

HTC Desire HD Mobile Handset - Main PCB Top

Pricing - An unsubsidized version of the HTC Desire HD sells for approximately $600. Carriers likely do offer the handset subsidized for a significant discount.

Availability - Europe & Asia

Volume Estimations

For the purposes of this teardown analysis, we have applied a lifetime production volume of approximately 1M 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.

HTC Desire HD Mobile Handset - Main PCB Bottom

Main Cost Drivers ~82% of Total Materials Cost

Qualcomm - MSM8255 - Baseband Processor - Quad-Band GSM/EDGE, UMTS, HSPA+, 1GHz CPU, WiFi, Bluetooth, gpsOne, 3D Graphics, Mobile Broadcast TV, 45nm, PoP

Samsung Semiconductor - K4X6G303PC-7GD8 - SDRAM - Mobile DDR, 6Gb, 1.8V, PoP

Camera Module Value Line Item - 8.0MP, CMOS, 1/3.2' Format, Auto Focus Lens, BSI Technology

Sharp Microelectronics - LQ043Y1DX02D - Display Module Value Line Item - 4.3' Diagonal, 16.7M Color TFT, 480x800 Pixels

Display Window / Touchscreen Assembly - 4.3' Diagonal, Capacitive, ITO Glass Over Glass, Painted, Printed, Contains Synaptics T1320A Touchscreen Controller, w/ Integral Flex PCB

Samsung Semiconductor - MMB3R08GUACA-GE - MicroSD Memory Card - 8GB

SanDisk - SDIN5C2-4G - Flash - eMMC NAND, 4GB, MLC

Qualcomm - QTR8200 - RF Transceiver - Quad-Band GSM/GPRS/EDGE, WCDMA/HSDPA, Integrated Bluetooth & FM , 65nm RF CMOS

Bluetooth/FM/WLAN Module Value Line Item - WLAN IEEE802.11a/b/g/n, Bluetooth V2.1+EDR, w/ FM Radio Receiver & Transmitter

Panasonic - 10-Layer - FR4/RCF, Stacked Via (ALIVH), Lead-Free

Qualcomm - PM8058 - Power Management IC

BD26100 - Battery - Li-Ion, 3.7V, 1230mAh

Emerson Network Power - TC E250 - Charger - AC to USB, 5V, 1A

UniMicron Technology - 6-Layer - Rigid/Flex Hybrid, FR4/Kapton, 2+2+2, Lead-Free, Halogen-Free

Enclosure, Main, Housing - Die-Cast Aluminum, Anodized, Machined, Printed

Direct Materials + Manufacturing $193.03

HTC Desire HD Mobile Handset 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

Country of Origin / Volume Assumptions

Based on the level of sophistication and function of the device, we made the assumption that the unit was assembled in Taiwan. Furthermore, we have assumed that custom mechanicals (plastics, metals, etc.) were also sourced in Taiwan.

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 display), 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.

HTC Desire HD Mobile Handset - Disassembly View 1

Design for Manufacturing / Device Complexity

The HTC Desire HD under analysis here has an overall component count of 1044 (excluding box contents), of which, 717 reside on the main PCB. HTC typically occupy the extreme ends of our complexity chart and the Desire HD is no exception.

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 Taiwan.

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 Desire HD features a second generation Qualcomm Snapdragon baseband processor with gives the smartphone an added speed boost. The MSM8255 is now fabricated on a 45nm process and uses a single die package (as opposed to previous 3 die multi-chip package of the first generation MSM8x50 baseband processors. Memory is split between the Package on Package (PoP) mobile DDR and the 4GB of eMMC storage. As we would expect, HTC implemented the rest of the handset design with Qualcomm solutions with the QTR8200 RF transceiver (which now have integrated FM and Bluetooth functionalities).

Here is a summary of the major components used in the HTC Desire HD design:

Display

• Display Module Value Line Item - Sharp Microelectronics - LQ043Y1DX02D, 4.3' Diagonal, 16.7M Color TFT, 480x800 Pixels

Camera

• Camera Module Value Line Item - 8.0MP, CMOS, 1/3.2' Format, Auto Focus Lens, BSI Technology

Main PCB

Apps Processing / Baseband

• Baseband Processor - Qualcomm - MSM8255, Quad-Band GSM/EDGE, UMTS, HSPA+, 1GHz CPU, WiFi, Bluetooth, gpsOne, 3D Graphics, Mobile Broadcast TV, 45nm, PoP

Memory

• SDRAM - Samsung Semiconductor - K4X6G303PC-7GD8, Mobile DDR, 6Gb, 1.8V, PoP
• Flash - SanDisk - SDIN5C2-4G, eMMC NAND, 4GB, MLC

RF / PA

• RF Transceiver - Qualcomm - QTR8200, Quad-Band GSM/GPRS/EDGE, WCDMA/HSDPA, Integrated Bluetooth & FM , 65nm RF CMOS
• PAM - TriQuint Semiconductor - TQM7M5013, Quad-Band GSM / GPRS / EDGE
• PAM - Avago Technologies- ACPM-5408, WCDMA/HSDPA 900, 897.5MHz
• PAM - Skyworks - SKY77701-2, WCDMA/HSUPA 2100

User Interface

• Audio Codec - Texas Instruments - TLV320AIC3254RHB, Stereo, Ultra Low Power, w/ Embedded 2 miniDSP Cores
• Microcontroller - Atmel - ATmega88PA-MMH, 8-bit AVR, 20MHz, w/ 8K Bytes In-System Programmable Flash & 1K
• Electronic Compass - AKM Semiconductor - AK8975B, 3-Axis, w/ ADC, & 13-Bit Digital Output
• Accelerometer - Bosch Sensortec - BMA020, MEMS 3-Axis, +-2g/4g/8g, Switchable via SPI & I2C Interfaces

Miscellaneous PCB Assemblies

BT / FM / GPS / WLAN

• Bluetooth/FM/WLAN - Broadcom - BCM4329EKUBG, Single Chip, WLAN IEEE802.11a/b/g/n, Bluetooth V2.1+EDR, FM Radio Receiver & Transmitter, 65nm

HTC Desire HD Mobile Handset - Box Contents