Not a bad amount for the $56

You might be surprised

Considering the first Kinect prototype cost $30,000, you might be surprised to learn how cheaply Kinect can now be manufactured.

According to a teardown by UBM TechInsights, the cost of Kinect's components is just $56, impressively affordable when you consider the amount of technology inside the sensor (see our list at the bottom of this post).

Microsoft has stated that Kinect is priced for profit at $149.99 with Kinect Adventures, so the company looks set to make a healthy margin on each unit sold to recoup some of the $500m spent on marketing the sensor, not to mention its considerable R&D costs.

All this below can be yours for just $56.

PrimeSense PS1080-A2 - PS1080 SoC image sensor processor (works with CMOS image sensor and an IR light source)
Marvell 88AP1-BJD2 – Possible Marvell camera interface controller
Elpida E5116AJBG-6E-E - 70nm DDR2 SDRAM (SI#18324)
(2) Marvell G39 00A1P
H1025519 XBOX1001 X851716-006 GEPP – Serial EEPROM for Marvell Controller
Fairchild Semiconductor FDS8984 - N-Channel PowerTrench MOSFET
NEC uPD720114 - USB 2.0 hub controller
(2) Wolfson Microelectronics WM8737G - Stereo ADC with microphone preamp (one for every two microphones)
STMicroelectronics 25P16V6G - M25P16 - 16 Mbit, low voltage, Serial Flash memory with 50 MHz SPI bus interface
STMicroelectronics H28A 9017
WT245 – Texas Instruments SN74AVC4T245RGYR - 4-bit noninverting dual-supply bus transceiver
Texas Instruments 70530-08T-AVF4 – TPS3705-30 - Processor Supervisory Circuits with Power-Fail
Texas Instruments TAS1020B - universal serial bus (USB) peripheral interface device
Kionix KXSD9 – 3-axis accelerometer
(2) Analog Devices AD8694 - Quad, Low Cost, Low Noise, CMOS Rail-to-Rail Output Operational Amplifier
TI ADS7830I - 8-Bit, 8-Channel Sampling A/D Converter with I2C Interface
Allegro Microsystems A3906 - Low Voltage Stepper and Single/Dual DC Motor Driver
STMicroelectronics M29W800DB - 8 Mbit (1Mb x8 or 512Kb x16) NV Flash Memory