TearDown posts

Filed under: MacBook

iFixit shamelessly molests the new White MacBook with screwdriver

by Kent Pribbernow (RSS feed) on Oct 21st, 2009

You have to admire, and fear, the eager curiosity of the folks at iFixit. When they come across a cool new product, they immediately tear it into bits and pieces -- I just pray they never launch a site devoted to domestic pet care. iKilledit.

This time they've taken their scalpels and screwdrivers to Apple's newly released white MacBook polycarbonate unibody laptop and posted photos of every gory detail.

Like all iFixit teardowns, the process is thoroughly documented and designed to provide users with a guide for upgrading, repairing, and otherwise disassembling the hardware (in hopes the process is reveresable). And judging from the looks of things, this MacBook is very easy to upgrade, once the bottom plate is removed.

If you're curious to learn what makes this MacBook tick, check out iFixit's detailed teardown.

Tags: MacBook, teardown

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Hardware, iPod touch

3rd gen iPod touch teardown: 802.11n potential and room for a camera?

by Josh Carr (RSS feed) on Sep 11th, 2009

Just this morning, we linked to the results of iFixit's iPod nano teardown. Hours later, we have the opportunity to dive into their 32GB iPod touch teardown. There are definitely a few interesting tidbits about what Apple did and did not do with the iPod touch this time around... and possibly some hints of what could happen in the future.

Here are the highlights:

The ARM processor in the iPod touch is a newer revision than the iPhone 3GS's CPU. We still don't know its exact clock speed but it's a definite upgrade from the 2nd Generation iPod touch.
It has a 1080 mAh battery; what does that mean? Well, it'll get pretty good battery life. Apple's website lists it at 30 hours of music playback.
The NAND flash memory is manufactured by Samsung and has been split into two chips to achieve the 32GB capacity.
The wireless chip is from Broadcom. According to their documentation this chip supports 802.11 n as well as 802.11 a/b/g. This is a new move from Apple. Until now, all of the mobile devices have only had g-capable wireless chips. It's possible that this would be enabled in the future, but I wouldn't put money on that.
Mark this one as rumor fodder: iFixit claims that there is room for a camera at the top of the device. The empty space measures 6mm x 6mm x 3mm. That could easily fit the same style camera as the 5th gen iPod Nano, but they don't believe an iPhone-quality camera would fit because of the limited space.

If that's not enough iPod touch news for you, read on.

Continue reading “3rd gen iPod touch teardown: 802.11n potential and room for a camera?”

Tags: ifixit, ifixit.com, ipod touch, IpodTouch, tear down, teardown

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Hardware, iPod nano

iFixit tears apart the 5th Generation iPod nano...nicely

by Josh Carr (RSS feed) on Sep 11th, 2009

The pioneers at iFixit are at it again, this time exploring the Loop's newest, coolest gadget -- the iPod nano. According to their measurements, this iPod is as thin as it could possibly be, and more densely packed than any previous Apple device. I work on iPods at my day job, but I'm afraid to start working on this one because there is very little wasted space and LOTS of glue.

Here are some facts worth highlighting:

The iPod nano uses flash memory manufactured by Toshiba.
Apple would not be able to put a larger camera into it without reducing the footprint of other components.
It uses the same style speaker as the iPod touch. The sound exits through the dock connector.
The display has 17.5% more real estate than the 4th Generation iPod nano.

Read on for the nitty gritty, "I want to tear it apart" information...

Continue reading “iFixit tears apart the 5th Generation iPod nano...nicely”

Tags: ifixit, ipod nano, IpodNano, tear down, TearDown

Filed under: Hardware, iPhone

iFixit publishes iPhone 3G S teardown

by Christina Warren (RSS feed) on Jun 19th, 2009

Our screwdriver-happy pals over at iFixit have taken on the iPhone 3G S and the results do not disappoint!

The iPhone 3G S doesn't just look like its predecessor externally, the internal physical design is also nearly identical. The location of the components on the main PCB has changed, but the actual physical design is the same,

A few highlights:

The battery is only 6% larger than that of the iPhone 3G, so increased battery performance probably comes from better hardware and software efficiency.
There is an additional antenna connection near the dock connector. iFixit isn't sure what that's for right now, but they'll continue to investigate.
According to the iFixit guys, the new screen does seem slightly easier to clean, thanks to its oleophobic technology.

Even cooler, Richard Lai (one of our Talkcast regulars, hi Richard!) recorded video of much of the process with an iPhone 3G S! You can check out all the YouTube clips here or view one of the clips by continuing on!

Continue reading “iFixit publishes iPhone 3G S teardown”

Tags: ifixit, ifixit.com, iphone, iphone 3G S, iphone3gs, teardown

Filed under: iPhone

3G iPhone under the hood

by Mat Lu (RSS feed) on Jul 15th, 2008

A while back we noted that iFixit had completely broken down a 3G iPhone to see what was inside. Now TechOnline has a report about exactly what makes it tick and they've managed to identify all the important chips on the iPhone's mainboard to get some insight into Apple's design choices.

They note that the 3G iPhone is an incremental improvement over the original iPhone rather than a ground up redesign. Of particular interest is how many of the new wireless parts are from Infineon, while the main processor remains a Samsung part. Strangely, given Apple's huge flash order with Samsung, the memory itself seems to be from Toshiba. Check out the original article for a fuller description of the new iPhone's silicon underpinnings. There are also some videos of the teardown.

[via MacNN]

Tags: 3g iphone, 3gIphone, teardown

Filed under: Wireless, Apple

Time Capsule teardown

by Cory Bohon (RSS feed) on Mar 1st, 2008

Apple's Time Capsule hasn't even been shipping for a week yet, and Flickr user "nakedmac" has already dissected his Time Capsule. What may be surprising is that the Time Capsule is no more than an Airport Extreme with a hard drive. But remember when Steve said that the Time Capsule would feature a "server-grade hard drive?" Well, it features a Hitachi Deskstar hard drive. According to the Typical Mac User Podcast blog, the Hitachi hard drive isn't necessarily rated for "server-grade."

[via Engadget]

Tags: teardown, Time Capsule, TimeCapsule

Filed under: Macbook Pro

New MacBook Pro tear-down

by Cory Bohon (RSS feed) on Feb 26th, 2008

It's only been about 12 hours since the new MacBook Pro's were released and already someone has posted a tear-down online. AnandTech has a full gallery of pictures showing the tear-down process. Interestingly enough, AnandTech's Anand Lal Shimpi reports that while the MacBook Pro's processor got an upgrade today, it offers "very little performance boost."

[via MacDailyNews]

Tags: MacBook Pro, MacbookPro, tear down, TearDown

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