Hasta La Gadget!

Microsoft‘s latest piece of hardware, the Surface tablet running Windows RT, has been placed on the surgery bed and was given a full dissection by the fellows over at iFixit. While they were able to tear it apart completely, it wasn’t an easy feat, and they came across some obstacles along the way.

The whole process begins with removing the rugged kickstand from the tablet, which is actually held in place by torx screws. Of course, there are a whopping 17 torx screws that hold the entire device together, but once those are out, you’ll be able to carefully take off the rear panel, which is only attached to the rest of device by a small ribbon cable.

The battery is glued onto the rear panel, but it’s easier to remove then the iPad. Plus, all of the small components like the speakers, connectors, and ports come out fairly easily. However, some components, like the camera, couldn’t be removed until the motherboard was taken out. The top of motherboard obviously is home to the main circuitry like the CPU, graphics, and flash memory, but the bottom consists of the smaller features, like the WiFi antenna, the ambient light sensor, and a couple of microphones. Everything that deals with the touchscreen display is on a completely separate “daughterboard.”

Removing the display takes some work. It requires a heat gun, some guitar picks, and “plenty of patience.” Just like the iPad, the LCD and the glass are fused together and strongly adhered to the casing, making it a rough repair if the display breaks down. Overall, iFixit gave it a 4 out of 10 for repairability, which isn’t great, but it’s certainly not as bad as the third-gen iPad’s 2 out of 10 score.

Microsoft Surface gets complete teardown is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Now that the Microsoft Surface is in the wild and we’ve probed it from the outside, the tool-toters at iFixit have opened one up to see what makes it tick — and whether you dare attempt a repair yourself. The first thing they noticed was how tricky it was to remove a plastic access cover, which caused unavoidable damage to the tamper-evident label when they finally got it off. That would tip repair depots that you’ve been rummaging about, likely rendering your warranty moot. Other sore spots included the LCD and glass being fused together, along with a keyboard connector that’s impossible to get out without pulling the display off first. On the plus side, the iFixit team found the battery easy to remove despite being glued to the case (unlike other recent devices), and many un-soldered components that were also swappable. All that added up to a score of four on the repairability scale — meaning that fixing one probably isn’t a great DIY project, unless you’re the patient type.

Filed under: Tablets, Microsoft

Microsoft Surface exposes its guts to iFixit, knows if you’ve been meddling with it originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Oct 2012 08:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Welcome to Friday evening, everyone. Today was a pretty big day in the world of tech, with both Windows 8 and Microsoft Surface launching and the iPad mini going up for pre-order. Microsoft was actually handing out £50 coupons to the Microsoft Store for giving those in the UK who pre-ordered a Surface conflicting messages about when it will ship, and the company even managed launch Xbox Smartglass for Android alongside Surface and Windows. Microsoft said it will be giving Windows 8 Pro users a free upgrade to Media Center, while Steven Sinofsky talked up the company’s new products, managing to get a couple of shots in at Apple at the same time.

On the Apple side of things, iPad mini pre-orders went pretty quick today, but not as fast as Apple devices normally go, leaving us to wonder if Apple finally managed to get stock issues right or if the iPad mini just isn’t all that popular. We heard that iPad mini LTE models could arrive as early as November 21, and Apple was seen knocking PC manufacturers for being afraid to drop old technology.

Of course, it would have been a very strange news day if there weren’t any new Nexus leaks, but thankfully we had a couple big ones to report. One Google employee apparently used the camera on the back of the Nexus 10 to snap pictures on his vacation, while we got to see the tablet up close and personal in a series of new leaked photos. Speaking of Google, the company released a new video showing new Windows 8 users how to quickly install Google search and Chrome onto their machines, and we received a new Google Maps update that adds colored terrain, which is a pretty cool feature if you ask us.

There’s a particularly scary Borderlands 2 exploit making the rounds, while Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition players got a skins pack featuring a whopping 55 Halloween-themed skins for just two smackers. Nintendo introduced a new Charizard 3DS XL that’s sure to be super rare, and GameStop announced that it will be opening a number of retail stores aimed at young children. Paul Ceglia was arrested for fraud after it was determined that he forged documents saying he was entitled to a huge stake in Facebook, and Volvo was touting its traffic jam self-driving technology today. Netflix detailed its Windows 8 app today too, so have a look at the company’s new video if you want to get familiar of all of the new features.

We’re almost done with the Wrap-Up, but before we go, be sure to have a look at the original articles that went up today. Chris Davies tells us why he’s cancelled his Microsoft Surface pre-order, while Chris Burns asks if Apple will adopt wireless charging technology if Google introduces it in its Nexus line. Burns also got the chance to interview famed artist Futura at a recent Samsung event, so don’t miss that one! That does it for tonight’s Evening Wrap-Up, we hope you have an excellent weekend!

SlashGear Evening Wrap-Up: October 26, 2012 is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Yesterday, Microsoft officially unveiled their new products like Windows 8 and the new Surface tablet running Windows RT. President of the Windows and Windows Live Division Steven Sinofsky spoke about the company’s new products and how they deliver modern computing at a lower cost by no doubt bringing Apple into the equation.

Sinofsky mentioned to AllThingsD that there are full-featured Windows 8 laptops that sell for as little as $279, which is less than what Sinofsky calls a “seven-inch recreational tablet” that sells for pricy $329. Sinofsky pointed out that he is very pleased with OEMs like Acer, Lenovo and Dell who have released thin and light touchscreen Ultrabooks that sell for much less than a MacBook Air.

However, he notes that these companies are “not just discounting” their products, but that it’s simply “engineering work that drives the cost down.” Sinofsky also says that the tablet-optimized Windows RT OS will hold a lot of appeal, and that the Surface tablet “really is a PC for everyone.”

Then again, Sinofsky asked, “Is it for everyone all the time?” His answer was no, but he said Microsoft’s Surface tablet will suffice during long business trips, and would outdo the iPad when it comes to long trips like that, since he mentioned that Apple’s tablet might only be good for shorter trips.

[via AllThingsD]

Microsoft exec Steven Sinofsky talks up Windows 8 hardware, downplays Apple is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

This week the folks at Microsoft have made one gigantically undeniable effort to let the world know they’re ready for Windows 8 to hit the public, but in the UK, they’ve hit a bit of a snag. It would appear that those early adopters hoping to get a Microsoft Surface this week after having pre-ordered one when they were placed on sale are now receiving a notice. This notice says that Microsoft is sorry that conflicting messages had been sent through various portals giving different odd delivery dates, be they later or earlier than originally stated – as it turns out, the original date range stands.

Because of those conflicting messages, not because of the delivery date stated originally that holds fast now, Microsoft is giving out a single-use coupon for £50 off a purchase from the Microsoft online store. The date range for delivery on the Surface tablet remains between October 26th (today) and October 30th. The coupon is good for anything online just so long as its not a Windows 8 download product.

The good thing about this coupon is that it works more like a gift certificate – you don’t have to buy something more than the given amount for it to work. If you do use it once though, any remaining amount will be forfeit if not spent. This coupon is also only good through microsoftstore.com/uk, not any other region-specific site.

This is but one stumble on the road to greatness – at least that’s what Microsoft certainly hopes here in the dawn of their new software and hardware age. Have a peek at the timeline below to see how Microsoft is bringing a big blast of publicity to the world of Windows 8 both abroad and in a giant way right in the center of the universe: New York City.

Microsoft Surface pre-orders delayed in UK, apologetic coupon sent instead is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.