What makes some cell phones worth ten times others?

I work as an engineer for a company that supplies "chips" for some phones. Trust me, there is a huge difference in engineering rigor and quality that some OEM's insist upon.

Now if you're throwing away your phone every several months or never drop it maybe that's not important.

Granted, I'm not saying it's worth 100x but those super cheap phones have to cost more than you're paying.

I'm typing this on an iPad2 that's still going strong with long battery life.