New iPod nano offers best profit margins yet

Thanks to the folks at iSuppli, “Little Fatty” (a.k.a. the new Apple iPod nano) has taken on a whole new meaning these days. It appears the new nano could very well boast the widest (fattest) profit margins for the lineup of Apple media players. iSuppli took apart the latest iPod nano and found the following:

• The 4GB iPod nano which normally retails for $149 probably costs Apple roughly $58.85
• The 8GB iPod nano which normally retails for $199 probably costs Apple around $82.85.

This represents a profit margin of roughly $90 dollars per 4GB iPod nano or $116 dollars for the 8GB nano. Of course this doesn’t factor in other costs associated to the iPod nano such as marketing costs, packaging, and software development costs - but honestly - a lot of these external costs are far lower than it used to be for Apple.

With healthy profit margins, the new iPod nanos can easily help offset any lower margins caused by the recent price drops for the iPhone. While consumers may not be thrilled with the iPod nano pricing, Apple investors will surely be happy about a healthy bottom line for the company.