Hasta La Gadget!

It’s time for the iFixit teardown of the Wii U, bringing on more details about this device than you could ever possibly want to know about. Starting with the basics, it’s found that along with NFC and either 8GB or 32GB iterations for internal storage, this unit has USB hard drive support, AMD Radeon-based High Definition GPU action, and a fabulous IBM Power-based multi-core processor. All that we know about – that and the 6.2-inch 854 x 480 pixels LCD panel on the touchscreen controller as well as a disk slot, sync button, SD card slot, USB 2.0 x 4, HDMI, AV multi-out, and sensor bar connector on the main unit.

The back of the device has a tiny CMOS battery you’ll likely never need to remove, while the main casing for the unit is shown to be extremely easy to access and open. It’s found that about 1/3 of the weight of the whole console is accounted for in the optical drive alone – iFixit suggests that this giant unit could be in place because it’s likely less expensive than its slimmer companions. This savings would therefor be passed on to you, the consumer, allowing the Wii U to be as inexpensive as it is on the market today – another possibility is that it allows for more breathability and quieter operation than a slimmer drive.

On the motherboard its found that this unit uses several pieces of Broadcom hardware, including the same Wireless Module used in the Roku 2 XS. This unit also uses a Broadcom Bluetooth 3.0 module. The AMD Radeon-based GPU and the IBM Power-based processor are placed rather close to one another physically so that – as iFixit suggests – they might reduce latency and power consumption as much as possible. Also inside is a Panasonic HDMI controller, Samsung eMMC 8 GB NAND Flash/Memory Controller, and Samsung 4 Gb (512 MB) NAND Flash.

The wireless touchpad controller is also torn down and found to contain a lovely 3.7 V, 1500 mAh rechargeable battery. The battery compartment is also shown to have extra room for an extended battery that will likely be appearing in the accessories aisle before the holiday season rolls around. The inside of the wireless controller is filled with mostly empty space, believe it or not, with the motherboard having lots of room to breath. This board works with a Broadcom NFC controller, is powered by a Broadcom BCM4319XKUBG, and uses a fabulous Texas Instruments Low Voltage I/O Touch Screen Controller.

This entire unit was rated a rather pleasing 8 out of 10 for repairability by iFixit, this meaning you’ll be able to fix everything yourself with only a few exceptions. Have a peek at the timeline below to see other rather recent stories surrounding the Wii U and see how big this machine gets in the weeks to come. It’s already sold out across the USA unless you’re really lucky and happen across a retailer with a few sets left!

[via iFixit]

Wii U iFixit teardown shows super easy fix-up is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

The guys at iFixit are at it again. Within minutes of the release of any new gadget, it seems as if they’ve already got theirs in hand, and ripped open for the world to see. With the Wii U out for just one day, they’ve already broken out the surgical tools and splayed out its guts so you don’t have to.

On the Outside of the console, there’s an SD card slot, HDMI port, four USB 2.0 ports, an AV multi out connector, and a sensor bar connector. Inside the console itself, they found that the largest single component was the optical drive, which takes up a significant amount of space, as well as 1/3rd of the weight of the system.

In terms of the motherboard itself, they found a variety of brand name components, including an IBM Power-based multicore CPU, AMD Radeon GPU – both placed under a single heat shield, A Samsung memory controller, a Panasonic HDMI controller as well as wireless and Bluetooth modules from Broadcom. They then moved on to cracking open the Wii U’s big differentiator – it’s game controller.

Under the hood of the Wii U GamePad is a 6.2″, 854×480 LCD screen, with a Texas Instruments touchscreen controller, InvenSense gyroscope, 256MB of flash memory of its own, a Broadcom NFC chip and various other support chips from TI and STMicrolectronics. There’s also some sort of custom wireless board from Broadcom, presumably used to stream data between the console and the controller. One surprise was how much spare room there is inside the controller case – despite the extra real estate, Nintendo chose to go with tiny little speakers – you’d think they could have splurged for something bigger with all that room.

Overall, iFixit says the Wii U is relatively easy to take apart and service, giving it a solid repairability score of 8 out of 10 – not bad given how so many of today’s smaller gadgets are glued together and nearly impossible to service. You can check out the full teardown and many more pics over at iFixit now.

It looks like Nintendo is making some sort of effort to keep its online community safe and more civilized on the Wii U, by requiring gamers under 18 to get a parent to assist in registering for an account on Nintendo Network. Minors must pay a one-time $0.50 fee payable with a credit card before they can start using the service.

When you register for an account, Nintendo will ask you if you’re over 18. If not, they tell you to go get a parent or guardian to finish the sign-up process. However, simply clicking “Yes” will take you to the next step of signing up. At this point, it will then ask you for your birthday — a move that will require minors to lie twice if they choose to not get a parent involved.

However, if a minor ends up telling the truth, but chooses not go get a parent or guardian, they’ll have to follow up with the $0.50 credit card payment to create their profile on Nintendo Network. Obviously, people under 18 don’t have credit cards, so Nintendo felt that this was merely a step that would stop liars in their tracks, since they would be forced to fetch a parent in order to pay the fee with a credit card.

However, the system isn’t completely foolproof. Anyone could just answer “Yes” to the 18 or older question, and then simply put in a bogus birthday, but I think Nintendo knows that they can’t completely stop minors from signing up without a parent’s consent. It seems that Nintendo is just adding a small barrier in front of minors, and whether or not younger gamers want to jump over it without stopping is based on how comfortable they are with lying.

[via Kotaku]

Nintendo charging $0.50 for minors to register on Wii U Nintendo Network is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Nintendo’s Wii U has been giving up some of its hardware secrets, with a post-launch teardown of the next-gen console revealing its advantages over the original Wii as well as how the GamePad controller delivers its magic. Released in the US yesterday, and promptly cracked open by AnandTech, the Wii U appears fairly repair-friendly, with an easy to open chassis only offset by some delicate connections soldered rather than plugged together, but it’s the speed improvement over the Wii that many gamers will care about.

Much of that is down to memory bandwidth, and the Wii U’s 2GB of DDR3-1600 RAM offers more than double the peak bandwidth of the Wii, at 12.8GB/s. There’s also a sizable GPU, considerably larger than the multicore PowerPC processor, which are both – along with a small slice of off-chip memory – hidden under an integrated heat spreader that took a razor blade to remove.

Other tidbits include not one but two wireless controllers, which operate independently. That leaves one for regular WiFi b/g/n duties, and a second, dedicated Miracast 802.11n controller for streaming content to the display on the GamePad tablet. Nintendo had always promised silky-smooth streaming – with around 1/60 of a second in lag – and providing a specific wireless chipset is its way of making sure it delivers.

AnandTech also took some power consumption measurements, with the Wii U sucking down 33W during Super Mario U play. However, if you were thinking of replacing your Roku box by using the Wii U as a Netflix streamer, you may want to reconsider; the console demands 28.5W during Netflix playback using the special app released yesterday, roughly ten times what a recent Roku STB requires.

As for the GamePad itself, it’s a meager 1,500 mAh battery inside, leading to disappointing runtimes experienced by early owners. 3-4 hours of use seems to be around the average; let us know if you grabbed a Wii U over the weekend and are seeing more.

Wii U teardown reveals dedicated Miracast for smooth GamePad action is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Nintendo’s next-gen console, the Wii U, has hit US stores in the first step of its global roll-out, a tablet-equipped attempt to take motion gaming to the next level. Sales of the Wii U began at midnight in certain locations, including New York City, where Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime counted down to registers opening in front of a well-packed crowd. Meanwhile, Nintendo paved the way for its new model with a last-minute firmware update enabling some of the headline features.

Out of the box, not all of the Wii U’s functionality is ready: the console demands a firmware update in order for some of the headline features to be enabled. That includes Miiverse, Nintendo’s social avatar feature, and the eShop, along with the internet browser.

The update also adds backward compatibility with the Wii, opening the door to a huge catalog of older games. The Netflix streaming app is also available today.

However, even with that update, one of the last-minute additions to the Wii U will still be missing. TVii, Nintendo’s take on the second-screen smart TV space, has been pushed back until December. Even when it launches, it won’t be available in all of the markets the Wii U will be sold in, limited to US users initially. Similarly, Hulu Plus, YouTube, and Amazon’s Instant Video player will all follow on in later updates.

Unsurprisingly, supplies of the Wii U are tight. Online sales have been frozen at retailers including GameStop and Amazon, while in-store availability is similarly constrained. Opportunistic eBay sales are seeing the Deluxe version of the console change hands for $480 to $550, versus the RRP of $349.99.

Meanwhile, the console will arrive in Japan and Europe later this month. Are you planning on scoring the stores to pick up a Wii U today, or are you eagerly awaiting delivery of a pre-ordered console? Or, is your heart set on a next-gen model from Sony or Microsoft? Let us know in the comments!

Nintendo’s Wii U arrives in the US is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.