The sleek Mac Mini from Apple Computer costs $499 at retail, but the total sum of the parts is less, says research firm iSuppli.
Analysts at the research firm dissected one of the Mac Mini computers and estimated that the total component bill likely comes to $274.69. "With manufacturing costs added, the total rises to $283.37," iSuppli stated in a recent research note.
The total does not include costs for intellectual property, software, licensing fees, shipping, marketing or other expenses, so Apple's total bill for putting a Mac Mini together is actually higher. The dissected Mac Mini included a 1.25GHz PowerPC chip, 256MB of memory and a 40GB drive. The Mac Mini does not come with a keyboard, screen or mouse and is generally more expensive than similarly configured computers housed in bulkier, larger chassis.
News source: C|Net News.com
