Businessweek has a recap of newly-released preliminary research from market research firm iSuppli indicating that the component costs of Apple's iPhone 3G will stand at $173 for the 8GB model, down from $226 from the original 4GB version.
Another market research firm has previously estimated the iPhone 3G's component cost at approximately $100, however that firm had estimated a $170 cost for the iPhone's previous incarnation, seemingly agreeing with the notion that Apple has been able to cut costs while adding features with the new iPhone.