According to a bill of materials (BOM) analysis by Brian Marshall of BroadPoint AmTech, the cost of goods inside 's 16GB WiFi-only iPad totals $270.50. That figure includes a $10 line item dedicated to manufacturing, but doesn't include another $20 set aside for under-warranty service costs. Adding the latter makes Marshall's bottom-line total $290.50.

The most expensive component on his price list was the 9.7-in. LCD touch-sensitive display, which he tagged at $100. The 16GB of memory and the aluminum case cost about $25 each, said Marshall, while the Apple A4 chip was listed at $15.

Because that model will sell for $499, Apple's profit margin is 42.9% after the $20 warranty set-aside is factored in.

As a hardware expert pointed out Wednesday, the iPad that can connect to the Internet via a 3G data network is , since Apple adds a $130 surcharge for those tablets but incurs a very small hardware cost to add 3G.

By Marshall's estimate, the $629 16GB iPad with WiFi and 3G costs Apple $306.50, just $16 more than the WiFi-only model, giving the company a profit margin of 52%, a jump of nine percentage points.