Wishing Apple’s upcoming iPhone was going to be a bit less expensive?

Well, there’s definitely plenty of room for some downward movement, according to an analyst firm.

Each Apple iPhone sold will generate nearly a 50% gross margin for Apple and its carrier partner Cingular Wireless, giving the companies a hefty profit, as well as plenty of room for future price cuts, according to a preliminary functional bill of materials (BoM) estimate created by iSuppli.

“iSuppli estimates the 4Gbyte version of the Apple iPhone will carry a $229.85 hardware BoM and manufacturing cost and a $245.83 total expense, yielding a 50.7% margin on each unit sold at the $499 retail price,” said Andrew Rassweiler, a senior analyst for iSuppli, in a written statement. “Meanwhile, the 8GByte Apple iPhone will sport a $264.85 hardware cost and a $280.83 total expense, amounting to a 53.1% margin at the $599 retail price.”

This kind of margin isn’t anything unusual for Apple, contends iSuppli.

Source: InformationWeek

Less than a month after the recording industry dropped a music piracy case against its best-known opponent, it has won a default judgment against her 20-year-old daughter.

Federal Judge Stephen Robinson ordered Michelle Santangelo to pay $750 for each of the 41 songs she is accused of downloading illegally — a total of $30,750 — because she failed to respond to the record companies’ claims.

It was not clear whether the default judgment would end the case. Under federal procedure rules, such judgments are often later set aside so lawsuits can be decided on their merits.

Source: MercuryNews

Tech outsourcer Computer Sciences Corporation said Thursday that it has initiated phase 1 clinical testing of a vaccine that could be used to prevent and treat the effects of exposure to a range of deadly chemical weapons that attack the nervous system.

The company, which specializes primarily in providing computer services to business and governments, said its Dynport Vaccine unit worked with Baxter Healthcare Corporation to launch the trial.

The clinical trial will test the effectiveness of butyrlcholinesterase as a vaccine against organophosphorous nerve agents such as Sarin, Soman and VX, which is deadly in amounts as little as 200 micrograms.

Source: InformationWeek

A bill re-introduced last week to the US Senate compels digital radio broadcasters to use DRM.

The PERFORM Act was first introduced on the floor last year, and seeks to harmonize royalties between different digital media, such as satellite and webcasters. It’s intended to prevent the US’s two digital satellite radio broadcasters from turning the platform into a music distribution platform.

Source: The Register

Microsoft is promoting Windows Vista as the most secure version of its operating system yet–but it’s still recommending outside help to shield against common cyberthreats.

All major security software makers, as well as many smaller ones, will have products available for Vista when the operating system is launched to consumers on January 30, Microsoft said Wednesday. That’s a different story from last November, when Vista was released for businesses. At that time, only one major security company, McAfee, was ready.

Source: News.com

Color us skeptics on this one, but we’ve got a tipster claiming to have the scoop on Google Switch. This version of the mythical Googlephone is said to be the result of a collaboration between Samsung — not Alpha Networks or HTC. Of course, it’s a button-less touchscreen device as is the rage these days only this time with GPS built-in for pinpoint navigation around Google Maps.

Source: Engadget

The Internet phone service Skype is introducing new domestic calling plans for 24 countries, plus Hong Kong, where users will pay a monthly subscription and a connection fee but no per-minute charges.

The monthly fees for the new Skype Pro plans have not yet been finalized, but they were expected to be set at less than 5 euros, or about $6.50, an executive told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

The per-call connection fee for Skype Pro calls within a given country to a regular phone or mobile device within that same country will be 3.9 euro cents, or roughly 5 U.S. cents, said Stefan Oberg, general manager for Skype Telecoms.

Source: AP

Microsoft Corp. will make its new Windows Vista operating system available for sale and download online, marking a new step for the software company, which has previously sold Windows only on packaged discs or pre-loaded on computers.

A relatively low number of computer users are likely to get Vista by downloading it from the Internet. But the mere availability indicates that Microsoft is fiddling with distribution methods for the extremely profitable franchise at the core of its business.

The download program, being announced late Wednesday by the Redmond, Wash.-based software maker, will also include the Office 2007 line of software when both are released for consumers Jan. 30. At least initially, the huge downloads will be available in North America only.

Source: AP