Hasta La Gadget!

It didn’t seem like quite an official release day for the new iPod Touch, but yesterday was the day users started to receive their units in the mail. We even got our hands on one as well, but iFixit ended up gutting the device to see what was on the inside. They didn’t find too many surprises, but they noted that the device’s repairability was unsurprisingly lacking.

iFixit noted that a lot of the components are soldered together, which would obviously require a very difficult or very expensive repair if anything breaks. They also discovered that the new iPod Touch has no external screws, which may not be too surprising, but the combination of clips and adhesive makes it a little more difficult to open the device up. And while the iPhone 5 included a stronger home button, Apple sadly left that out in the newest iPod Touch, using the weaker rubber membrane of yore.

One unfortunate surprise that they found, though, was that most of the cables that are connected to the logic board run over the top and connect on the bottom, which may not sound like a huge deal, but it makes it really difficult to disconnect any of the cables or remove the logic board itself.

However, taking out the battery actually proved to be the easiest tasks of the teardown. It’s glued to the rear shell, but the notches all around the battery make it easy to pry out. This is certainly a good sign, since battery repairs are fairly common. Overall, iFixit it gave the iPod Touch a low repairability score of 3/10.

iPod Touch 5th generation gets full teardown is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Now that you’ve been fully acquainted with Amazon’s new Kindle Paperwhite, perhaps it’s time to get to know it on a deeper level — and what better than a tear-down to do just that? The folks over at Powerbook Medic took their own unit apart piece by piece on video, highlighting what appears to be a simple process, mostly done by dealing with screws. The trickiest part seems to be pulling off the bezel, as it’s held in place with glue. Unfortunately, the repair shop doesn’t analyze the e-reader’s internal components in the iFixit fashion, but it has gone full-circle and provided a second video on how to put it all back together. Curious to see this Kindle’s e-ink-filled guts? You’ll find both videos after the break.

Continue reading Amazon’s Kindle Paperwhite gets torn-down, promptly put back together (video)

Filed under: Amazon

Amazon’s Kindle Paperwhite gets torn-down, promptly put back together (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 07 Oct 2012 19:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve looked intensely at the outside of the redesigned PlayStation 3 ever since it was unveiled in Tokyo last month. Getting a look inside has proven unusually tougher, but French YouTube member K0st3yr has volunteered to do what few gamers dare and tear down Sony’s updated console. As we’ve quickly learned, Sony hasn’t chosen to radically rework the insides like Microsoft did with the slim Xbox 360. The Cell processor and its RSX graphics companion are still separate parts, and a similar power supply capacity suggests that neither of the main chips has been built on a more efficient manufacturing process. Instead, it’s everything else that has been given the shuffle: a smaller Blu-ray drive and more clever overall construction appear to be the tickets to the 20 percent volume reduction compared to the last model. While the revealed internals might be disappointments to those who were hoping the PS3’s possible sendoff would involve more of a bang than a whimper, they do hint that Sony might have breathing room if it wants to advance the design any further. Just have some popcorn and a grasp of French on hand if you’d like to have a peek at the three-part video dissection found after the break.

Update: Not to be outdone, iFixit has conducted its own teardown. There aren’t any shockers in the mix beyond improved repairability, but you’ll find many of the components given their exact names as well as more explanations of what’s been changed to shrink the PS3 a second time.

Continue reading Sony’s 2012 PlayStation torn down, shows its evolved roots (update: another teardown)

Filed under: Gaming, Sony

Sony’s 2012 PlayStation torn down, shows its evolved roots (update: another teardown) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 02 Oct 2012 18:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The newest iPhone model on the market, that being the iPhone 5, has been revealed this week as working with essentially the same rotational vibrator that the original iPhone did – this a break back from the iPhone 4S which used a different unit. What’s been shown here is the fact that though the Verizon iPhone 4, then the iPhone 4S in all iterations, had a new vibration motor that was slightly less intense than the original rotator. Now with the iPhone 5, according to iFixit, it’s back in with the old.

The simple reason for this – basically without a doubt, that is – is the fact that the iPhone 4S’s vibrator was slightly larger than the rotational motor used in the original iPhone. This linear oscillating vibrator didn’t need to be tiny at the time because the iPhone 4S had room for it. Now with the iPhone 5 needing to be significantly smaller overall, it was time to kick the big lump out.

The folks at iFixit show both models above, with the iPhone 5′s vibrator (here from the original iPhone 4 – pre-Verizon) in blue and the original iPhone’s vibrator hovering above it like the one deadly eye of Sauron. Of course this little difference means next to nothing for most smartphones, tablets, and everything larger, but with the iPhone 5 packed so tight as it was, this little difference makes an impact. There’s also the power factor.

The larger vibrator simply does not vibrate with the same power that the smaller one does. With the smaller vibrator working with a motor that flings a piece of metal around for hardcore sound and movement, this older design just buzzes better. Let us know if you notice the difference once you’ve got the iPhone 5 in your hand – after having used an iPhone 4S for an extended period, of course.

[via The Next Web]

iPhone 5 vibrator gets rough once again is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

There’s been a significant mystery lingering around the A6 processor found in the iPhone 5, even as it became clearer that Apple was veering further than usual from the basic ARM formula. A microscope-level inspection by Chipworks and iFixit is at last identifying the key elements of the 32nm, Samsung-assembled chip and revealing just how far it strays from the beaten path. The examination confirms earlier suspicions of a dual-core design with triple-core graphics — it’s how that design is shaped that makes the difference. Apple chose to lay out the two processor cores by hand rather than let a computer do the work, as most ARM partners do. The procedure is expensive and slow, but also gives the A6 a better-optimized design; it explains why the chip is noticeably faster than much of its competition without needing the brute force approaches of higher clock speeds or extra cores. Some mysteries remain, such as the exact PowerVR graphics that are at work, but it’s evident Apple now has the design talent and resources to speed up mobile devices on its own terms rather than wait for off-the-shelf layouts like the Cortex-A15.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

Apple A6 investigation shows highly customized dual-core, triple-GPU layout originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 25 Sep 2012 11:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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