Teardown reveals BlackBerry Torch cost at $183

The BlackBerry Torch has not received an overwhelming reception so far

Research in Motion's BlackBerry Torch handset carries a hardware cost of $171.05 (£110) according to a recent teardown analysis.

Research firm iSuppli said that, when combined with an estimated $12 (£7.67) manufacturing cost, each Torch handset costs roughly $183 (£117) to build.

The company listed the touch-screen display as the primary hardware cost at $34.85 (£22.27), followed by the memory hardware, casing materials, processor hardware and wireless antenna receivers.

Andrew Rassweiler, principal analyst and teardown services manager at iSuppli, told V3.co.uk that RIM is able to keep costs down by building on components from previous handsets.

"It is taking a lot of evolutionary design ideas," he said. "That allows it to use building blocks that already exist from previous phones to create a new product."

The BlackBerry Torch has not received an overwhelming warm reception so far. Early reports claim that the device sold just 150,000 units in its first days on the market, while some retailers are offering the handset for as little as $99 (£63).

However, Rassweiler said that the reports will have little bearing on the price RIM receives for the handset, once subsidised costs and other deals between handset vendors and telecoms providers are factored in.