Early studies of the innards of Amazon.com Inc.'s (AMZN) new Kindle Fire point to what many people suspected already -- the company isn't making much, if anything at all, on the $199 device's hardware.
对亚马逊(Amazon.com Inc.)新款平板电脑Kindle Fire内部构造的初步研究证实了很多人此前的猜测:在这款售价为199美元的平板电脑的硬件上，亚马逊即使赚了钱也没有赚多少。
Research firm UBM TechInsights estimates the cost to Amazon to buy the components in the device at $143. ISuppli, in findings that include the cost of manufacturing services, estimated the company's cost to make the new tablet at $203.
据研究公司UBM TechInsights估计，亚马逊购买Kindle Fire所用零部件的成本是143美元。据研究机构ISuppli估计,如果把制造服务成本计算在内的话，亚马逊生产这款平板电脑的成本为203美元。
Amazon declined to comment Thursday. But its chief financial officer Thomas Szkutak said in a conference call on Oct. 25. that the device will serve as a platform for the sale of content, and emphasized the 'lifetime value,' of the device.
本周四,亚马逊拒绝对此发表评论。但该公司首席财务长斯库塔克(Thomas Szkutak)在10月25日的一次电话会议上说，Kindle Fire将被用作内容销售的平台,并强调了该设备的"终身价值"。
The variance between the two research firms first arose in September, in preliminary estimates right after the Kindle Fire was first announced. UBM and iSuppli differsharply on the price of the seven-inch display and touchscreen assembly used in the device.
今年9月份Kindle Fire刚刚推出后不久, 两家研究公司的初步估计就出现了不一致。UBM和iSuppli对于Kindle Fire所用七英寸显示屏与触控屏组合的成本估计出现了很大差异。
UBM estimates that Amazon was able to buy the two components for a total of about $50, while ISuppli in September put the total price at $87. David Carey, a UBM vice president, said his company's lower estimate is based on current pricing for screens for mininotebook PCs and other products.
UBM估计,亚马逊能够以总共50美元左右的价格买到这两个零部件，而iSuppli则认为总价应为87美元。UBM副总裁凯里(David Carey)说，他们公司的估价更低,因为他们依据的是微型笔记本电脑等产品所用屏幕的现行价格。
'I don't think they are losing money on the thing,' Carey said.
凯里说，我认为他们做这个东西没有亏钱。
The two firms agree that Amazon used a lot of techniques to save costs. The box the Kindle Fire ships in, for example, is also the same box it comes in when sold by other retailers like Best Buy. And the only accessory inside is a wall charger.
两家研究公司都认为，亚马逊使用了很多节约成本的技术。比如百思买(Best Buy)等零售商出售时所用的盒子就是Kindle Fire发货时使用的盒子。盒子内唯一的附件就是一个充电器。
Andrew Rassweiler, the IHS iSuppli analyst who supervised its teardown, says iSuppli initially expected the box contents to cost more than $5, but instead the cost is closer to $2 or $3.
曾指导拆解Kindle Fire的IHS iSuppli分析师瑞斯韦勒(Andrew Rassweiler)说，iSuppli先是预计盒子的成本在5美元以上，而实际上这部分的成本更接近于2美元或3美元。
'Amazon's approach was to take out everything they didn't need,' he said.
他说，亚马逊的做法是把一切不必要的东西都拿掉。
Don Clark / Arik Hesseldahl
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