Made In The USA: Can you build a smartphone with US components?

[Ry]

Inspired by the Nexus Q, I pose this hardware question. Can a company in the United States of America design and manufacture a smartphone complete with U.S.-sourced parts?

Unless it's a new company, the smartphone would have be from Apple or Motorola - and they'd probably have to build an assembly plant for final production.

Does anyone make screens (LCD, AMOLED) in the US?

CPUs would probably have to come from American companies like Intel or Qualcomm - but do any of them make them here?

What about GPUs? Cameras? Main boards? Radios?

 

[Phil Nickinson]

Re: Made In The USA: Can you build a smartphone with US component

Sure. But how much do you want it to cost?

 

[Ry]

Sure. But how much do you want it to cost?

$500, on-contract.

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Android Central Forums

 

[Saneless]

Re: Made In The USA: Can you build a smartphone with US component

Sure. But how much do you want it to cost?

Well that depends on how much that "$600 phone" actually costs to make.

 

[droidmyme]

Does anyone make screens (LCD, AMOLED) in the US?

Actually, no. I don't think anyone makes digitizer, or even LCD screens, in the USA anymore. The last BIG manufacturer of TV screens in the US was Magnavox, and they were bought by Phillips. All the screens are made in Japan, Korea, and China.

http://finance.yahoo.com/tech-ticker/19-iconic-products-that-america-doesn't-make-anymore-535569.html?tickers=f,ge,mat,DELL,MOT,aapl,bni

 

[spectremANDROID.]

Re: Made In The USA: Can you build a smartphone with US component

It would have to be made from cardboard and lexan....


All joking aside, that's a challenge which, if met, could CHANGE EVERYTHING...

I m SO obnoxious...

Seriously though. I'd LOVE to see it happen. There might be some seriously fresh ideas and a really excellent approach. I wish I had the know how...

 

[Xaanos]

Re: Made In The USA: Can you build a smartphone with US component

In the future I would not be surprised if we saw some SOCs coming out of Globalfoundires in NewYork. Qualcomms 28nm krait might already be made their as they have made deals with GF.
For the screen I don't know of anyone who produces screens in the US as other people have said.
The body could be produced pretty much in any country.
Battery because of the need for specific elements that are produced more in Asia they tend to be made there but the US and Canada have stores but are not using them.
Over all it would not be that hard from what I understand OLED tech is not that hard to produce compared to LCD panels so a plant could be built for much cheaper.

I never understood the demand for pure US products wanting to avoid products from unstable regions I could understand but whats wrong with EU products or UK.

 

[jean15paul]

Re: Made In The USA: Can you build a smartphone with US component

We're all one big happy planet ... and increasingly we're all one big happy economy.

 

[shady28]

Re: Made In The USA: Can you build a smartphone with US component

I'm pretty sure Apple's A5 is already produced in Texas (by Samsung). All the chips could be produced in the USA. We could make the batteries too.

The main thing you wouldn't find here would be the LCDs as someone already noted.

As a side note, Syntax (Syntax-Brillian) aka Olevia and many others assemble LCDs and TVs in the USA now, but the LCDs themselves come from overseas.

I suspect the LCD industry is dead here due to export tarriffs on rare earth minerals from China, which are required for LCDs.

 

[DroidDavi]

It would cost way to much. I understand how nice made in america looks but our economy world wide at this point.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

[hawonjung]

If you can find a place without a union...

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus

 

[Farfrumandroid]

You're probably

 

[shady28]

Re: Made In The USA: Can you build a smartphone with US component

If you can find a place without a union...

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus

Exactly. You need look no further than the guys a the port of LA making 80k a year sweeping out container cars and 120k driving a yard truck, and 180k running a crane, and port pilots making 320k+. Any business would be insane to start up a significant manpower intense manufacturing operation in the USA.

 

[MarcusAurelius]

Re: Made In The USA: Can you build a smartphone with US component

Exactly. You need look no further than the guys a the port of LA making 80k a year sweeping out container cars and 120k driving a yard truck, and 180k running a crane, and port pilots making 320k+. Any business would be insane to start up a significant manpower intense manufacturing operation in the USA.

But everyone knows companies are inherently evil and only move overseas to screw over the workforce. How dare you insinuate outsourcing happens because government regulation and unions have created a hostile environment for manufacturing in the US!

Sorry, that's the American sheep in me talking.

 

[keithz]

Re: Made In The USA: Can you build a smartphone with US component

The Nexus Q doesn't have a high price tag because of US manufacturing. It's got a high price tag because of the components used (like the amp) and Google's desired margins.

It's absolutely possible for a company to at least assemble a phone or tablet in the USA. But their shareholders would have to be willing to accept lower margins.