Sony Ericsson K750i Mobile Phone Teardown

Main Features

High-end 2 Megapixel camera phone (with auto focus and flash features) candy bar format tri-band GSM with higher end display (262K color 176x220 pixel format. Display is assumed to be transflective, however this phone was DOA and could not be tested to verify) with Bluetooth capabilities.

Sony Ericsson K750i Mobile Phone Main Image

This phone is one of the higher end phones we have seen from SonyEricsson and actually is the first 2 megapixel camera phone we have seen. It appears that SonyEricsson phones, as is the case often with Nokia, for example, where higher model numbers seem to indicate a larger feature set and generally higher-end phone. This is not the only megapixel camera phone in the SonyEricsson portfolio V other models include the 1.3MP S600, V800, k608i and W600a ('Walkman phone) as well as at least one other 2MP phone the w800i/c phones.

Approved by the FCC in the US in May 2005, the k750i is a Q2 2005 release with expected regions to be basically everywhere but the US specifically Europe and Asia-Pacific regions.

The feature set here again outshines even the recent k700i analysis we performed, putting this phone in a high-end strata of phones with 262K color display, and 2MP camera.

As always, SonyEricsson uses a consistent aesthetic which is attractive and similar to the other phones recently analyzed (k300i, k500i, and k700i), and doesnt have any kind of standout aesthetic (like many Nokia phones, for example) that might marginalize it. Because the SonyEricsson portfolio is narrower than Nokia, for example, the aesthetic and marketing seem to always shoot for the mainstream which makes sense.

The sweet spot in camera phones has been the VGA resolution level for some time, and in 2005 we expect that only about 18% of cameraphone handset volume to be in the 1 to 2 MP resolution range, and that is expected to grow to about one quarter of camphone sales in 2006. Furthermore, with general handset unit manufacturing rates growing at a healthy rate during the coming years, camera module unit sales will grow substantially.

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 740 - 750 Million phones expected to ship in 2005. For that matter V if Sony Ericsson maintain their current share in 2005 they would see unit shipments on the order of as much as 46M units, of which the k750i would represent a significant portion, with an estimated 2 year lifespan volume production of 6M units.

Function / Performance

We were not able to test the k750i as it arrived in our lab dead on arrival and nothing seemed to resuscitate it. The model we received was actually a prototype, and therefore may have been non-functioning. Based on the performance we were able to test with previous SonyEricsson models, it is assumed that the performance would have been most similar to the SE k700i which we recently tested.

Generally speaking, we find the SonyEricsson software and user interface smoother, more stylish and user-friendly than, for example Motorola or Siemens phones (unattractive and unintuitive clunky graphics and such). Such things as smooth animated icons seem to emulate the Mac OSX dock icon fluid animation used in that OS.

Sony Ericsson K750i Mobile Phone - Main PCB Bottom

Phone costs are largely feature driven, but also driven by general manufacturing complexity, design for manufacturing (or DFM), component counts and of course the country where they are assembled. This phone is fairly complex and has the highest component count of the megapixel cameraphones looked at in this analysis - however, because of it's manufacturing in China, manufacturing costs are not the most significant factor. The phone features, as a standout cost item, a very high-end and sophisticated 2MP camera assembly (with auto-focus and flash, furthermore) which is one of the largest single cost items in the phone (and high end display) - but then this phone approaches the blurred line of 'is it a phone with camera, or a camera with a phone'?.

Sony Ericsson K750i Mobile Phone Cost Analysis

Main Cost Drivers Representing 68% of total materials costs:

Display Module - 262K Color, 176x220 1.9 Inch

Camera Module - (2MP with autofocus)

Memory (NOR 256Mb, NAND 256Mb, PSRAM 64Mb)

DBB/ABB Chips

Memory Stick DUO (64MB) Card

Bluetooth SiP

Manufacturing and Materials*

* - 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 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 (the phone and packaging, in this case) itself.

Manufacturing Notes

The device we received is a prototype, and often prototypes are made in higher cost regions, with mass-production transitioning to lower cost regions, but since this prototype was made in China V it is unlikely that mass-production would migrate anywhere else, so the assumption is that PCB fabrication as well as plastics will also be produced domestically in China.

Design

As is the standard for SonyEricsson and Nokia all of the major chips are SonyEricsson ASICs however these are not identical chips to those previously seen (although similar from what we can tell), but it is logical that these chips will have some additional functionality over those seen in the k300 through k700 phones, given the high megapixel camera, and other commensurate high-level driving and functionality required for this phone.

Baseband

• DBB - Texas Instruments V 751979872 V Similar to those in k300 through k700 design
• Pwr Mgmt - Texas Instruments - T93016EZQW

Memory

• NOR Flash (256Mb) / SRAM (64Mb) - ST Microelectronics - M36L0R8060T0ZAQ (Intel seen in k300 through k700)
• NAND Flash (256Mb) - Samsung Semiconductor - K9F5608Q0C

RF/PA

• PAM V Skyworks - SKY77500-12
• RF Transceiver - Philips Semiconductor - RF2001

User Interface

• Bluetooth - Philips Semiconductor - BGB203
• FM Radio - Philips - TEA5764 - Newer FM radio chip from Philips

Sony Ericsson K750i Mobile Phone - Battery