Apple IPad's Components Cost as Little as $219

Apple's iPad tablet computer carries component costs of as little as $219.35, less than half its retail price, according to a preliminary estimate by market research firm ISuppli Corp.

Materials for the iPad, due to go on sale in March and April, include a touch-screen display that may cost about $80 and a $17 processor designed by Apple and made by Samsung Electronics Co., according to El Segundo, California-based ISuppli. Apple introduced the device on Jan. 27. Even the lowest-priced iPad, with 16 gigabytes of memory and a retail price of $499, may be beyond the reach of budget- conscious consumers, some analysts have said. The relatively low price of the iPad's materials gives Apple flexibility to reduce the retail price over time, ISuppli analyst Francis Sideco said.