High Profit Margin Tablets ?

                  

Microsoft and Apple (AAPL) are garnering the highest profit margins for their tablets, followed by Google(GOOG) and then Amazon, according to research firm IHS. Microsoft's first self-made tablet, the Surface, costs about $267 in parts and labor when excluding its optional keyboard cover. It went on sale Oct. 26 priced at $499, for a profit margin of around 46 percent. Surface comes with a 10.6-inch screen measured diagonally, and can access the Internet only through Wi-Fi. The price is for its base model with 32 gigabytes of memory.Internet only through Wi-Fi. The price is for its base model with 32 gigabytes of memory. With a similar configuration, the Surface bakes in slightly more profit for Microsoft than Apple did when it released its third-generation iPad in March.
Apple's third-generation Wi-Fi-only iPad with 32GB of memory and a 9.7-inch screen cost an estimated $333 and retailed for $599, for a 44 percent profit margin. The 16GB base model cost $316 and was priced at $499, for a profit margin of 37 percent. A preliminary analysis of the fourth-generation iPad, which comes with a faster processor and went on sale Friday, costs about $305 in parts and labor for the 32GB Wi-Fi-only model, for a 49 percent margin, estimates IHS analyst Andrew Rassweiler. The 16GB base model costs about $295 and sells for $499.                 

Apple is maintaining premium pricing as the market leader. Google is aiming to both make a profit and broaden the reach of its Android operating system, while Amazon is looking to make up the profit gap when customers buy movies, books and magazines from its store.

Amazon and Google want to put tablets in consumers' hands - even if it means doing so at a minimal hardware profit.