Samsung GT-I5500 Mobile Handset Teardown

Overview / Main Features

The Samsung Galaxy 5 GT-I5500 (not to be confused with Samsung's flagship Galaxy S) is a 2.8 Inch low-cost Android handset by the Korea mobile handset maker. The Qualcomm MSM7227 powered smartphone features a relatively low resolution 2MP camera, Android 2.1 OS as well as the usual assortment of connectivity associated with smartphones (i.e. GPS, e-Compass, Accelerometer, Bluetooth and WLAN).

Samsung GT-I5500 Mobile Handset Main Image

Affordable Smartphone Segment

Released

June 2010

Samsung GT-I5500 Mobile Handset - Main PCB Top

Pricing - At the time of writing (Dec. 2010), the Samsung GT-I5500 sells for an unsubsidized price of approximately $300 in the UK.

Availability - Europe & Asia (assumed)

Volume Estimations

For the purposes of this teardown analysis, we have assumed a lifetime production volume of 1.5M 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.

Samsung GT-I5500 Mobile Handset - Main PCB Bottom

Main Cost Drivers Representing ~78% of total materials cost

Qualcomm - MSM7227 - Baseband Processor - Quad-Band GSM/EDGE, UMTS, HSDPA 7.2Mbps, HSUPA 5.76Mbps, Bluetooth 2.1, GPS, 600MHz ARM Core CPU w/ 320MHz Application DSP, 400MHz Modem Processor & Hardware-Accelerated 3D Graphics, 65nm

Samsung Semiconductor - K5W4G2GACB-BL50 - MCP - 4Gb OneNAND Flash + 2Gb Mobile DDR

Display Window / Touchscreen Assembly - 2.8' Diagonal, Capacitive, ITO Film Over Glass Faceplate, Painted, Printed, Contains Cypress CY8CTST200-24LQXI Touchscreen Controller, w/ Integral Flex PCB

Samsung Mobile Display - LMS280GS17 - Display Module Value Line Item - 2.8' Diagonal, 262K Color TFT, 240x320 Pixels

Camera Module Value Line Item - 2MP, 1/5' Format, Fixed Lens

AB474350BU - Battery - Li-Ion, 3.7V, 1200mAh

SanDisk - MicroSD Memory Card - 1GB

DAP Corp - 10-Layer - FR4/RCF HDI, 1+8+1, Lead-Free, Halogen-Free

Atheros - AR6003G-AC2B - WLAN - Single Chip, IEEE802.11b/g/n

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

Maxim - MAX8899EWZ - Power Management IC - for RF

ETA0U10EBE - Charger - 5V, 0.7A, w/ 1.5m Cord

RF Micro Devices - RF3230 - Transmit Module - PAM, Quad-Band GSM/EDGE, w/ Integrated Antenna Switch

Broadcom - BCM20780B0KUBG - Bluetooth / FM - Single Chip, V2.1+EDR, 65nm, w/ FM+RDS Radio Transceiver

Direct Materials + Manufacturing $90.80

Samsung GT-I5500 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 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 display module), 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.

Samsung GT-I5500 Mobile Handset - Disassembly View 1

Design for Manufacturing / Device Complexity

The Samsung GT-I5500 has an overall component count of 531 (excluding box contents), of which 462 components reside on the Main PCB assembly. Compared to other low-cost smartphones we've analyzed in the past, the GT-I5500 has a complexity level on par with other handsets in this category.

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

Here is a summary of the major components used in the Samsung GT-I5500 design:

Main PCB

Baseband

• Baseband Processor - Qualcomm - MSM7227, Quad-Band GSM/EDGE, UMTS, HSDPA 7.2Mbps, HSUPA 5.76Mbps, Bluetooth 2.1, GPS, 600MHz ARM Core CPU w/ 320MHz Application DSP, 400MHz Modem Processor & Hardware-Accelerated 3D Graphics, 65nm

Memory

• MCP - Samsung Semiconductor - K5W4G2GACB-BL50, 4Gb OneNAND Flash + 2Gb Mobile DDR

Power Management

• Power Management IC - Maxim - MAX8899EWZ

RF / PA

• RF Transceiver - Qualcomm - RTR6285 ZIF, Quad-Band GSM/EDGE, Tri-Band WCDMA/HSDPA Transceiver w/ Receive Diversity, Integrated GPS Receiver
• Transmit Module - RF Micro Devices - RF3230, PAM, Quad-Band GSM/EDGE, w/ Integrated Antenna Switch
• PAM - Skyworks - SKY77701-2, WCDMA/HSUPA 2100
• PAM - Skyworks - SKY77705-4, WCDMA/HSUPA 900

BT / FM / GPS / WLAN

• WLAN - Atheros - AR6003G-AC2B, Single Chip, IEEE802.11b/g/n
• Bluetooth / FM - Broadcom - BCM20780B0KUBG, Single Chip, V2.1+EDR, 65nm, w/ FM+RDS Radio Transceiver

User Interface

• Accelerometer - Bosch Sensortec - BMA020, MEMS 3-Axis, +-2g/4g/8g, Switchable via SPI & I2C Interfaces
• Electronic Compass (Manufacturer Unknown)

Display

• Display Module Value Line Item - Samsung Mobile Display - LMS280GS17, 2.8' Diagonal, 262K Color TFT, 240x320 Pixels

Samsung GT-I5500 Mobile Handset - Box Contents