Better, faster, cheaper - the new Apple iPhone is expected to cost the same to make as the premiere version

iSuppli did a virtual teardown of the new iPhone components and projects that Apple can make the phones for $173 a unit, about the same costs as the first version but packed with more function and features.

Apple’s second-generation iPhone is expected to carry an initial hardware bill of materials and manufacturing cost of $173, according to preliminary analysis by iSuppli Corp. The big change however is that carriers subsidized sales of the initial phone by sharing in the carriers revenues. The new iPhone will have to generate its’ own profits with no revenue sharing coming from carriers this time around.