Boeing Selling A $15,000 Android Phone

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Does anyone know what exactly Boeing puts in a phone that makes it cost $15,000?

The high-security, military-grade phone will offer access to mobile applications found on popular handheld devices. Boeing is expected to price the upcoming phone around $15,000.
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"High-security, military-grade" but it'll still have the backdoors in it like other phones. Zzzzzzzz
 
I think this phone is for the military.

Think about how a regular phone is sold by the millions for $600 per unit.

Now cut the volume way down, add in custom features and probably some ruggedization and it probably costs a lot more per unit.

Still, $15k seems like a lot
 
If the military is going to invest $15k per cell phone, why don't they just make their own completely closed system? I don't think they could have chosen an existing mobile OS with a greater hacking audience. Maybe that will increase security, but who knows how many zero-day exploits are in the hands of black hats?

To me, this sounds like a $600 toilet seat.
 
What is included in a $15,000 phone?

$1000 for the phone, $14,000 for the kickback for government fraud
 
Probably because devices with similar certifications sell for multiples more and suck horrifically.
 
DoubleTap said:
I think this phone is for the military.

Think about how a regular phone is sold by the millions for $600 per unit.

Now cut the volume way down, add in custom features and probably some ruggedization and it probably costs a lot more per unit.

Still, $15k seems like a lot
Click to expand...

If you consider it costs probably $1000 in parts and assembly due to the military grade encryption an ruggedization, and the engineering that went into it by highly paid (well worth the money) expert engineers that probably cost about $3 million, and they expect to sell only a few hundred, then the cost per unit is justified. They have to sell 220 at that price to pay for the engineering costs, let alone the rest of the costs behind it. Let's face it, they do have to make a profit. So, if they sell 500, they'll get enough profit to justify it, at around $3 million. They probably tuned the price to sell around that many and make that much.
 
Also, it's possible that it's $15,000 for the first 200-500 and then something quite a bit less if they buy more - maybe $5000 or even less if they make a larger order.

Selling to the government is not selling on the free market - you can't just assume that after the initial order they will continue to buy more so you have to make the project pay for it's self based only on the first run.
 
Competitors offering similar secure, encrypted devices are charging $15,000 to $20,000 per device and are using proprietary software and hardware, Palma said.

Doesn't say this one is going to be $15K. I haven't found any specific evidence of the Government having awarded a contract to Boeing to develop this requirement, either. It's not all that unlikely that they might develop the thing on their own dime, but then again Boeing loves CPFF contracts... I thought for sure a quick crawl of FPDS or FBO would turn something up, but I don't think I want to spend my evening downtime staring at stuff I see all day at work... o_O
 
stiltner said:
What is included in a $15,000 phone?

$1000 for the phone, $14,000 for the kickback for government fraud
Click to expand...

If you had any exprience in government contracting, you'd realize it's more like $1000 for the phone, and $14,000 for the paperwork.
 
Obviously it costs $15k because you don't have to turn it off at take-off and landing...
 
I cant believe its only 15k, as a mobile encryption device they HAD to cut corners, or theres a massive order for these (expected mass order).
 
Glad to know my tax dollars are being spent on bullshit "military" grade versions of the same fucking phone I own.

The worst part is the all giant gaping holes in he Android OS , another giant waste of money. Thanks Military Industrial Complex for finding a quicker way to burn money without actually physically "burning" it.
 
moteasah said:
Where are all the Apple haters when you need them.
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Different case. These guys aren't selling by volume.

Despite claims of large volume sales, Apple phones sticker price is $900 over here. The rival, Samsungs Nexus, is about $560.

Military grade components for a production run of only a few hundred units, versus mass production units in the tens of millions.
 
Sly said:
Different case. These guys aren't selling by volume.

Despite claims of large volume sales, Apple phones sticker price is $900 over here. The rival, Samsungs Nexus, is about $560.

Military grade components for a production run of only a few hundred units, versus mass production units in the tens of millions.
Click to expand...

What % of people buy their phones with contracts vs ones who don't?
 
Also what a lot of you are failing to realize that when the governemnt secures these kind of contracts and the media capitalizes on the shock value of the sticker price, there is more to it than just face value of how you or I would buy something.

When they place this contract, they are ultimately purchasing the entire lifecycle. From far left R&D, all the way right to the grave. This means all support that is associated, upgrades, training users, etc... along with sustaining the device throughout it's life.

But of course its much more shocking to write a simple article and state something that catches the eye.
 
I can see the Wikileaks memo now:
"Soldier accidentally loses $15,000 cell phone in Afgan Starbucks"

:p
 
maybe its the new secret service phone to keep hooker phone numbers encrypted.
OR
a way to have private $800,000 vegas meetings without the fu#$ing feds finding out about what the fu#$%ing feds are wasting money on.

Either way it will be sold to the government for a small profit.
Weeeeeee down the drain with the rest of the country.
 
I just just heard the phone is also capable of scanning for nearby lifeforms and sample the air and ground. Perfect for my next away team mission when I land on Planet X.
 
moteasah said:
What % of people buy their phones with contracts vs ones who don't?
Click to expand...

Common practice is open line. We have a lot of malls close together (as many as 5 within 10 minutes walking distance from each other), and each of them has an entire section (sometimes an entire floor!) dedicated to nothing but cellphones.

pic01v.jpg


That's just a small part of the cellphone section that you can see from the doorway. There's more at the far end and the left side of that, not including the other stalls behind me.

As you can tell, common supplier of phones is the open market, carriers do also provide phones, but usually, they just provide the sim cards and contracts. You go up to any stall, say your price range, and they'll demo all the phones (plus the slightly more expensive ones). Rather than rely on reviews and such, you actually get to hold the different phones in your hand and try them out yourself. If you don't like them, just put them down, and go to the next stall. Afterwards, you go to one of the Cell company outlets in the upper floors and buy a sim card/contract for it. They will not mess with the firmware, just give you a sim to plug in. (Note: Our phones aren't crippled, they come with tethering capability out of the box)

It's mainly why Apple has such a hard time getting their foot in. The way Phones are sold means they are directly compared to the competition at the retail level, right in front of the customer. TV ads are moot, even if the ad makes them go to the store to buy an iPhone, right next to the iPhone is a Nexus, or an S2, or whatever is in the same class, and the sales lady will demo them for you as well. Phones are sold as Phones. You go in, check out the Phones, compare them point by point, and walk out with a Phone. No marketing, branding, or slogans involved. And Samsung is getting the lions share.
 
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