HTC HD7 Mobile Handset Teardown

Overview / Main Features

The HTC HD7 one of 5 HTC handsets that debut with Microsoft Windows Phone 7 (WP7). As a long-time partner with Microsoft on Windows Mobile (and now Windows Phone 7 platform), HTC gains from its experience on the Windows platform and that's evident in the scale and breath of their handset offerings on the WP7 launch this past October. Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 represents a completely new OS design and a fresh take on user interface designed to compete more effectively with offerings from rival Apple and Google.

As with all other WP7 handsets, device makers has to met a specific minimum hardware such as a 480 x 800 pixel display, capacitive touchscreen and 5MP resolution camera. However, even more fundamental to those requirements, there appears to be a common thread of component commonality that is universal to all of the 10 first generation WP7 handsets: Qualcomm's Snapdragon QSD8x50 series chipset.

Overall, the HTC HD7 is a dual-band UMTS / quad-band GSM smartphone that is designed with 4.3-inch TFT touchscreen display reminiscent of the HTC HD2 handset that came on the market just one year earlier [with Windows Mobile 6.5] and comes with extra HTC branded software as well as 3rd party solutions from Slacker Radio and Netflix that places the phone into the rarified strata of multi-media capable handset segment. This specific model of the HTC HD7 comes configured with additional 16GB of storage via microSD.

HTC HD7 Mobile Handset Main Image

High end smartphones

Released

November 2010

HTC HD7 Mobile Handset - Main PCB Top

Pricing - The HTC HD7 sells for an unsubsidized price of approximately $499. However, when combined with a service contract, the handset is offered for $199 to subscribers. However, at the time of writing (Feb 2011), the HD7 is being offered for free with 2-year contract on T-Mobile (USA) website.

Availability - T-Mobile (North America)

Volume Estimations

For the purposes of this teardown analysis, we have applied a lifetime production volume of approximately 500,000 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 HD7 Mobile Handset - Main PCB Bottom

Cost Notes

Main Cost Drivers ~85% of Total Materials Cost

Qualcomm - QSD8250 - Baseband Processor - Quad-Band GSM/GPRS/EDGE, UMTS HSPA, 1GHz CPU, 600MHz DSP, WiFi, Bluetooth, gpsOne, 3D Graphics, Mobile Broadcast TV, 65nm

SanDisk - MicroSD Memory Card - 16GB

Sharp Microelectronics - LQ043Y1DX02D - Display Module Value Line Item - 4.3' Diagonal, 16.7M Color LCD, 800 x 480 Pixels

Touchscreen Assembly - Capacitive, 4.3' Diagonal, Glass Overlay, Painted, Printed, w/ Integral Flex PCB, Contains Synaptics T1320A Touch Controller

Samsung Semiconductor - KA100O015E-BJTT - MCP - 4Gb NAND Flash + 4Gb Mobile DDR

Camera Assembly Value Line Item - 5.0MP, CMOS, 1/4' Format, Auto Focus Lens, Socketed Module

Broadcom - BCM4329EKUBG - Bluetooth / FM / WLAN - Single Chip, IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n, Bluetooth V2.1+EDR, FM Receiver and Transmitter, 65nm

UniMicron Technology - 12-Layer - FR4/RCF HDI, 4+4+4, Lead-Free, Halogen-Free

BD29100 - Battery - Li-Ion, 3.7V, 1230mAh

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

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

Qualcomm - RTR6285 - RF Transceiver - ZIF, Quad-Band GSM/EDGE, Tri-Band UMTS/HSPA Transceiver w/ Rx Diversity, Integrated GPS Receiver, 0.18um RF CMOS

Emerson Network Power - TC U250 - Wall to USB Charger - 5V, 1A

Enclosure, Main, Center - Insert-Molded, Stamped / Formed Metal, 3-Pieces, Spot-Welded, Injection Molded Plastic, Painted, Printed, w/ 11 Metal Threaded Inserts

Handsfree Accessory - Stereo, Earphone / Microphone, 3.5mm Plug, w/ 3 Handsfree Control Buttons, Spring Loaded Plastic Clip

Texas Instruments - TLV320AIC3254IRHB - Audio Codec - Stereo, w/ Embedded miniDSP, Low Power

Texas Instruments - TPS65023BRSB - Power Management IC - 3 Step-Down DC-DC Converters, 2 x 200mA LDOs, I2C Interface

Skyworks - SKY77336-21 - PAM - Quad-Band GSM/GPRS/EDGE

Direct Materials + Manufacturing $165.43

HTC HD7 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

OEM/ODM/EMS Relationships / Manufacturing

HTC is a vertical integrated handset manufacturer. They primarily have their manufacturing in Taiwan.

Country of Origin / Volume Assumptions

Based on device markings, 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 the 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.

HTC HD7 Mobile Handset - Disassembly View 1

Design for Manufacturing / Device Complexity

The HTC HD7 under analysis here has an overall component count of 1044 (excluding box contents), of which, 805 reside on the main PCB. This complexity level represents the upper range of our smartphone population, however, HTC typically occupies that extreme end of our data set and therefore is consistent with smartphones we've seen from this manufacturer.

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 core of the HTC HD7 design revolves around the Qualcomm QSD8250 chipset as well as the accompanying PM7450 power management chip and RTR6285 RF transceiver. We have seen this common reference design many times prior starting with the Toshiba TG01 (Windows Mobile 6 smartphone) in late 2009 and continuing throughout the many integrations of Android handsets thereafter so, we understand this Qualcomm platform to be quite mature.

However, as with most modern smartphones in the post-iPhone era; the major areas of product differentiation on the HTC HD7 is in the components that contribute to the overall look, feel and function of the device; namely components that make up the holistic user experience. Here, HTC HD7 uses a generously large 4.3-inch diagonal TFT display we have seen them use on their previous design such as the HD2. In fact, there are so much hardware commonality between the HD2 and the HD7 (aside from the capacitive touchscreen and other minor cosmetic differences), HTC likely used the HD2 as the starting point of their WP7 hardware design. Also, as with most premium smartphones, the HD7 comes replete with sensors such as 3-axis accelerometer, ambient sensors and GPS. Of course, both WiFi and Bluetooth wireless connectivity comes standard.

In the memory function, the HTC HD7 primarily uses the integrated memory multi-package chip (MCP) with 4Gb (512MB) of NAND flash and 4Gb of mobile DDR (512MB) that runs alongside the Qualcomm QSD8250. Due to the architecture of WP7 memory extension [of the integrated 512MB memory] is provided through external 16GB microSD module - however, this memory is not user accessible and not considered removable or hot-swappable [as with other OSes like Android or Symbian].

Here is a summary of the major components used in the HTC HD7 design:

Display / Touchscreen

• Display Module - Sharp Microelectronics - LQ043Y1DX02D, 4.3' Diagonal, 16.7M Color LCD, 800 x 480 Pixels
• Touchscreen Assembly - Capacitive, 4.3' Diagonal, Glass Overlay, Painted, Printed, w/ Integral Flex PCB, Contains Synaptics T1320A Touch Controller

Main PCB

Apps / Baseband Processing

• Baseband Processor - Qualcomm- QSD8250, Quad-Band GSM/GPRS/EDGE, UMTS HSPA, 1GHz CPU, 600MHz DSP, WiFi, Bluetooth, gpsOne, 3D Graphics, Mobile Broadcast TV, 65nm

Memory

• MCP - Samsung Semiconductor - KA100O015E-BJTT, 4Gb NAND Flash + 4Gb Mobile DDR
• Memory Card - SanDisk - MicroSD (16GB)

BT / FM / GPS / WLAN

• Bluetooth / FM / WLAN IC - Broadcom - BCM4329EKUBG

Power Management

• Power Management IC - Qualcomm - PM7540
• Battery Charger - Maxim - MAX8903BETI+T, Li-Ion, 2A, Dual-Input
• Power Management IC - Texas Instruments - TPS65023BRSB, 3 Step-Down DC-DC Converters, 2 x 200mA LDOs, I2C Interface

RF / PA

• RF Transceiver - Qualcomm - RTR6285, Quad-Band GSM/EDGE, Tri-Band UMTS/HSPA Transceiver w/ Rx Diversity, Integrated GPS Receiver, 0.18um RF CMOS
• PAM - Skyworks - SKY77336-21, Quad-Band GSM/GPRS/EDGE

User Interface

• Audio Codec - Texas Instruments - TLV320AIC3254IRHB, Stereo, w/ Embedded miniDSP, Low Power
• Electronic Compass - AKM Semiconductor - AK8975B, 3-Axis, 13-Bit Digital Output, I2C/SPI Interface, w/ Built-In ADC

HTC HD7 Mobile Handset - Box Contents