Apple didn’t immediately comment after research company IHS iSuppli said Thursday that a preliminary teardown analysis of the new iPhone 4S showed that the entry-level, 16-GB model’s bill of materials (BOM) is $188. When an additional $8 manufacturing cost is added on, the total grows to $196, IHS said. The other two 4S SKUs “are identical to the baseline version,” with the exception of added NAND flash, it said. That gives the 32-GB SKU a BOM of $207 and the 64-GB SKU a BOM of $245. The teardown also showed that the 4S features a new wireless module with “a unique custom module” from Avago Technologies and the first use of Hynix Semiconductor NAND flash memory in an iPhone product after Samsung and Toshiba were the suppliers on prior models, IHS said. “Key among” changes in the 4S is a custom part from Avago that helps give the device its “unique capability to be used in multiple wireless systems globally, while still keeping costs down,” said Andrew Rassweiler, IHS senior director, teardown services. “Another key device enabling the global wireless capability” of the 4S is its MDM6610 baseband processor from Qualcomm, IHS said, calling it a big design win for that component supplier. Although Qualcomm’s MDM6600 was in the CDMA version of the iPhone 4, Intel’s PMB9801 was used in the HSPA model, IHS analyst Wayne Lam said. The memory subsystem of the 16-GB 4S costs $19.20, making it the second most expensive component after the display, IHS said. But the cost of the NAND rises to $38.40 in the 32-GB version and to $76.80 in the 64-GB model, making it the most expensive set of components in those devices, it said. IHS estimated that the 4S display costs $23 and the touch-screen $14 regardless of 4S SKU. Sony supplied the image sensor for the 8-megapixel camera in the model that was torn down by IHS, but the research company said Apple “likely is using a secondary source for this device,” OmniVision. IHS estimated that the camera costs $17.60 in each 4S SKU. Components that were “more or less unchanged” from the iPhone 4 included the Wi-Fi/Bluetooth/Frequency Modulation module from Murata Manufacturing and Broadcom, and an audio codec from Cirrus Logic, IHS said.
Domestic manufacturer Nucor Fastener Division challenged the negative preliminary injury determination by the International Trade Commission in its January 2006 - June 2009 AD and CV duty investigations of certain standard steel fasteners (CSSF) from China and Taiwan, and the Court of International Trade remanded the determination to the agency. The court noted that the ITC had concluded that “there is no reasonable indication that an industry in the United States is materially injured or threatened…by reason of imports” of CSSF from China and Taiwan despite reports of lost revenues from five out of six U.S. producers surveyed. The court particularly faulted the ITC’s reliance on “manifestly incomplete import data” as “arbitrary, capricious, and an abuse of discretion,” noting that the agency’s statement that its limited import volume data were comprehensive was “a complete failure to consider an important aspect of the problem.” (Slip Op. 11-104, dated August 11, 2011, public version posted subsequently)
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is inviting applications from eligible individuals wishing to be included on the North American Free Trade Agreement Chapter 19 roster of individuals to serve on binational panels convened to review final determinations in antidumping or countervailing duty proceedings and amendments to the AD/CV statutes of a NAFTA party, for the period April 1, 2012 through March 31, 2013.
SAN FRANCISCO -- A federal judge pounded a city attorney Thursday with First Amendment objections to a San Francisco ordinance requiring cellphone retailers to provide government-written disclosures about handset radiation, health questions and ways to minimize exposure. “It’s possible UFOs are going to come down,” U.S. District Judge William Alsup told Deputy City Attorney Vince Chhabria, challenging him as to whether the city could require a disclosure that “if you're concerned about UFOs, here are the steps you can take.”
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., asked the FTC for a report on the effects of facial recognition technology on consumer privacy. Companies like Facebook, Apple and Google developed programs that allow people to automatically identify people in photos, he said in a letter to FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz. Public policy “has not kept pace with the development of this sort of technology.” Rockefeller would like the report to follow the FTC’s Dec. 8 workshop on the technology. The deadline for a preliminary report is Feb. 8, 2012, the letter said.
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., asked the FTC for a report on the effects of facial recognition technology on consumer privacy. Companies like Facebook, Apple and Google developed programs that allow people to automatically identify people in photos, he said in a letter to FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz. Public policy “has not kept pace with the development of this sort of technology.” Rockefeller would like the report to follow the FTC’s Dec. 8 workshop on the technology. The deadline for a preliminary report is Feb. 8, 2012, the letter said.
The International Trade Administration is publishing notices in the October 20, 2011 Federal Register on the following AD/CV proceedings (any notices that announce changes to AD/CV duty rates, the scope, affected firms, or effective dates will be detailed in another ITT article):
The International Trade Administration is publishing notices in the October 19, 2011 Federal Register on the following AD/CV proceedings (any notices that announce changes to AD/CV duty rates, the scope, affected firms, or effective dates will be detailed in another ITT article):
The International Trade Administration has issued the final results of its changed circumstances review of the antidumping duty order on certain diamond sawblades and parts thereof from China (A-570-900), in which it finds that Hebei Husqvarna-Jikai Diamond Tools Co., Ltd. is not the successor-in-interest to Hebei Jikai Industrial Group Co., Ltd. Based on ITA’s determination, Hebei Husqvarna remains subject to the China-wide AD duty cash deposit rate of 164.09% with respect to the subject merchandise.
Brazil's Foreign Trade Secretariat (SECEX) announced on October 13 that Brazil will be simplifying its process for petitioning for antidumping duty investigations starting January 1, 2012. Until then, either the old or new process may be followed. According to SECEX, the new process will reduce or even eliminate certain data submission requirements for AD petitions that were not actually used during investigations and will seek other information earlier to make it easier to meet the preliminary and final AD determination deadlines. The change is part of the government's efforts to increase the effectiveness of its measures against unfair trade practices.