New Xbox 360 shows up in the wild, gets unboxed, torn asunder and modded

Hey, look at what we have here — it’s the new Xbox 360 that was just debuted a few days back — and there’s a lot going down with this one which has somehow made its way into the wild. We get the full unboxing treatment, a detailed teardown, and finish up with some delicious, light-paneled modding. While we can’t really gather much beyond what we already know, the drive appears to be a Philips Lite-On DG-16D4S — just in case you were wondering about that one. There’s a video below showing off this one’s new, modded exterior.

[Thanks, Thomas C]

Continue reading New Xbox 360 shows up in the wild, gets unboxed, torn asunder and modded

New Xbox 360 shows up in the wild, gets unboxed, torn asunder and modded originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 17 Jun 2010 17:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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IFixit Breaks Into New Mac Mini, Takes Photos

IFixit is first on the scene yet again with a teardown of the new unibody Mac Mini. Kyle Wiens and crew popped into the Apple store and bought the non-server version of Apple’s tiny desktop Mac and opened it up. The results come up short of surprising, but do show the clever thinking that went into cramming everything inside the solid aluminum shell.

The journey begins with popping off the plastic baseplate, an easy task involving a quick twist. RAM comes out easily (you can fit in up to 8GB) and then you get to the juicy bits. The fan has rubber damping on the screws and is set at an angle to fit it in. Kyle says that it won’t have much work to do as the Mac Mini fairly sips power, taking just 7 amps at 12 volts compared to the 27-inch iMac’s 25.8 amps at 12 volts (although it also has to power that giant screen). This is why the power brick has shrunk and disappeared inside the machine.

The other neat touch is in the placement of the antennae, which are at either end of the rear plastic plate that holds the I/O ports. This is similar to the plastic window on the iPad 3G.

Fully disassembled, the new Mac Mini looks almost as minimal (and pretty) as it does when whole. Thanks again iFixit, for saving all of us curious souls from having to void our warranty. More pictures below.

Mac Mini Mid 2010 Teardown [iFixit. Thanks, Kyle!]

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Unibody Mac mini meets iFixit, gets a delicate teardown exposé

Been wondering how Apple’s managed to cram all that goodness into the new (and flatter) unibody Mac mini? Well, look no further, as our friends over at iFixit took no time to acquire said machine for another scrupulous teardown treatment. Just as we saw ourselves, it all begins with a simple twist on the bottom round plate, and with a bit of fiddling the guts can then easily slide out — you’ll see a wondrously dense logic board along with its now-internal power supply and the usual components. We’ve thrown in iFixit’s list of highlights after the break, but as always, hit the source link for the finely detailed disassembly guide.

Continue reading Unibody Mac mini meets iFixit, gets a delicate teardown exposé

Unibody Mac mini meets iFixit, gets a delicate teardown exposé originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 Jun 2010 20:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung Galaxy S gets torn down, looks equally beautiful on the inside (video)

You’ll be hard pressed to find a sane individual who’d argue that Samsung’s Galaxy S isn’t a lust-worthy piece of kit on the outside, and after watching the video past the break, we doubt you’ll get too many takers on proving things unsightly within. Equipped with a Super AMOLED display and a bit of that Hummingbird goodness within, there weren’t too many bits and pieces to tear apart. What was found, however, leaves a new appreciation for steady hands. Go on, give it a look-see — the real deal will be out and about before you know it.

Continue reading Samsung Galaxy S gets torn down, looks equally beautiful on the inside (video)

Samsung Galaxy S gets torn down, looks equally beautiful on the inside (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 Jun 2010 02:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HTC EVO 4G splayed, found to contain wires, chips

Often, iFixit needs to wait for a product to be released before it can spend a few hundred bucks buying one and tearing it asunder — but in the case of the EVO 4G, Google’s pre-release of units to attendees at IO appears to have been just the kind of event these guys needed to get in the door early. Taking the phone apart is described as a “wonderfully easy” process, and changing the screen’s glass is said to be pretty easy as well — good news considering how easy it’ll probably be to crack those 4.3 inches of pure WVGA glory. There aren’t any surprises in terms of silicon, but we’ve got one tip for you, HTC: if you’re going to take this color-the-inside-of-the-phone business seriously, would you do us a favor and match the color of the circuit board, too? Seriously guys, go big or go home. Follow the break for iFixit’s full rundown of the process.

Continue reading HTC EVO 4G splayed, found to contain wires, chips

HTC EVO 4G splayed, found to contain wires, chips originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Jun 2010 12:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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10-hour MacBook delicately disassembled, battery transplanted into earlier model

Not a single day passes since Apple refreshed the MacBook and already the fine folks at iFixit are on the job. For the most part, its full disassembly is business as usual, as only a few components — CPU, GPU and battery — have changed since the last go-round. That last is of special interest, however, because iFixit says the battery is exactly the same shape as its former — all you have to do to get an extra 350 mAh for your existing plastic MacBook is to drop in a refreshed battery. Mind you, the new cells weigh more and it’s likely the new silicon that’s actually responsible for 10 hours of battery life, but should your Li-ion pack fail under warranty, your older MacBook might be returned with more juice than you’d bargained for. See the full teardown at our source link.

10-hour MacBook delicately disassembled, battery transplanted into earlier model originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 May 2010 23:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft Kin Two gets torn apart, reveals Sony image sensor

Sure, we already know most of the Kin Two‘s main specs, but there’s nothing like a proper teardown to find out exactly what makes something tick, and the folks from Chipworks have now kindly ripped one apart so you don’t have to. Among the highlights are the expected NVIDIA Tegra APX2600 processor, a slew of chips and memory from the likes of Qualcomm, Texas Instruments, Hynix, and Samsung and, perhaps most notably, an image sensor from none other than Sony. That sensor, the IMX046, is one of the smallest in its class with a pixel size of just 1.4 microns and, according to Chipworks, something of a surprise — they were expecting a sensor from OmniVision. Hit up the links below for the Chipworks’ complete blow-by-blow account, as well as some further analysis from the folks at iFixit — and, no, there isn’t a teardown of the Kin One just yet.

Microsoft Kin Two gets torn apart, reveals Sony image sensor originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 18 May 2010 15:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fourth generation iPhone teardown reveals A4 microprocessor

See the marking on that chip with the Apple logo. No, not the “N90” codename indicating that it’s from Apple’s next generation GSM iPhone, the other text. If we’re not mistaken then we’re seeing “339S0084” on that chip from today’s fourth-generation iPhone teardown. Guess what? According to Chipworks, that’s the Apple A4 microprocessor fabricated by Samsung and the presumed work of Apple’s acquired PA Semi and Intrinsity engineers. The “APL0398” text is also the same as that found on the iPad’s speedy and power sipping A4 system-on-chip. The other markings differ however. What that means isn’t entirely clear yet but we’re digging.

Fourth generation iPhone teardown reveals A4 microprocessor originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 May 2010 06:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Photos: iFixit Rips Open iPad 3G

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You knew this had to happen: IFixit has taken the brand-new iPad 3G and torn it open, all before some of us have managed to get our hands on one. The internals of the 3G iPad don’t differ much from those of the earlier Wi-Fi-only model, but there are some design surprises apart from the big plastic strip on the back of the body.

The hardware additions come down to the cellular networking and aGPS chipsets. The iPad uses the exact same 3G chip as the iPhone 3GS, although it isn’t marked as such. iFixit’s sleuthing confirmed that it is in fact the Infineon 337S3754 PMB 8878 X-Gold IC used in the latest iPhone.

The GPS hardware, though, is different: Apple has switched to a Broadcom AGPS chip, dropping the iPhone’s Infineon Hammerhead II (which has a way better name).

The most interesting part for those of us not into chip numbers is the amount of antennae in there. You thought the iPad was stuffed full of battery, but it is also stuffed full of aerials: the 3G has five of them, for Bluetooth, GPS, 3G and Wi-Fi. One of the cell antennae is in the plastic RF window, as you’d expect. The other is hooked up to the LCD frame, running round the entire edge of the iPad. This should give great reception, and is a trick that Apple has used before in some MacBook models.

As ever, though, the best part of the iFixit post is the pile of wonderful pictures of the tear-down process. If you ever dreamed of ripping open your gadgets to see what was inside, but know that you’ll never get all the parts back together again, iFixit is the place to go. See a few more photos below.

iPad 3G Teardown [iFixit. Thanks, Kyle!]

Photo credit: iFixit


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iFixit gets iPad 3G on day one, immediately destroys it

Unsurprisingly, the chaps over at iFixit have already torn their brand new 3G iPad to shreds. There isn’t anything insanely shocking in there (no visible “magic,” though there is some fragmentary evidence of a “revolution”), but it’s still a pretty interesting sight to behold. So, what’s going on in there? Well, for starters, the 3G iPad has five antennas, including one that appears to take up the whole of the LCD frame, and one inside the Apple logo; it’s also got the same baseband processor as both the WiFi iPad and the iPhone 3GS. There are plenty more tidbits to glean from the teardown, if you’re into that sort of thing, so hit the source link if you’re so inclined.

Continue reading iFixit gets iPad 3G on day one, immediately destroys it

iFixit gets iPad 3G on day one, immediately destroys it originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 01 May 2010 15:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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