Evilonigiri :
A Canadian study stated that more than 80% is the company's fault for letting that happen. After all, the pay so little to the Chinese manufacturer, thus the Chinese has to use cheaper, usually toxic and weak, materials to make the products.
Dell was very interested in getting the defective 2707 back ASAP - apparently mine wasn't the only one with problems. Even got emails from their QC lab asking me specifics about the problems. They were in a hurry to nail down the problem and thus spot defect trends.
I would guess Dell and other companies bid out their manufacturing/assembling contracts, so it would likely be the Chinese manufacturer trying to lowball the competition that is the reason they make so little.
In southeast Asia (e.g., Vietnam) Chinese goods are known for their cheap price and poor reliability. For example, a decent Honda motorscooter might sell new for $2K, whereas a cheap Chinese knockoff will sell new for $500. Of course, Honda has a reputation for quality to keep up, so their scooters last years and years whereas the Chinese scooters usually fail in a couple of years. Of course, if you don't have $2K to buy a new Honda, then you're pretty much stuck with buying another Chinese scooter. Sometimes I think this is the Chinese business model