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One of the few highlights of the refreshed 27-inch iMac is the new SSD option for its second drive bay. This sure is good news for performance addicts carrying some spare cash, but with the 256GB SSD addition costing from $750, some may prefer the DIY route to save a few pennies for that gold iPad. Sadly, it won’t be as straight forward as sliding in a new drive — e-tailer OWC noticed in its teardown that you’ll be needing a mounting bracket and a couple of cables that are only supplied with Apple’s own SSD. That said, if you can find a way to secure the drive in the bay, all you’ll need are a SATA male-to-two-female splitter plus a left-angled SATA connector cable, and then a way to partially remove the logic board to access the free port. Yup, it’s as easy as really complicated pie.

iMac’s latest 27-inch iteration requires special parts for your own SSD in second drive bay originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Jul 2010 11:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Well, we knew it wouldn’t take very long, and it didn’t: iFixit’s gotten its hands on Apple’s Magic Trackpad and ripped it to shreds. This is one operation they’re not shy about calling delicate, folks — this thing is seriously thin and its components packed in quite lovingly. So what’s going on in there? Well, besides the magical dust, they found a Broadcom BCM2042 chip, which is the same one the Magic Mouse uses for Bluetooth connectivity, and a Broadcom BCM5974 touchscreen controller chip, which also powers the iPhone and iPod touch. There is plenty to be seen in the photos at the source, and there’s one more below.

Continue reading Apple’s Magic Trackpad gets the iFixit teardown treatment, nothing terribly magical found

Apple’s Magic Trackpad gets the iFixit teardown treatment, nothing terribly magical found originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Jul 2010 09:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You didn’t think the folks at iFixit would simply teardown the iPhone 4 and call it a day, did you? They’ve now gone the extra mile and done a detailed teardown of the iPhone 4’s gyroscope with a little help from Chipworks. That’s of course a MEMS (or microelectromechanical system) gyroscope and, according to Chipworks, nearly identical to an off-the-shelf STMicroelectronics L3G4200D gyroscope, which is actually what they used for the teardown. What’s more, they also went even further and put another gyroscope (not used in the iPhone 4) under an electron microscope just to illustrate how incredibly complex and minute the structure of MEMS gyroscopes are. Head on past the break for a glimpse of that, and hit up the link below for the complete teardown.

Continue reading iFixit and Chipworks teardown the iPhone 4’s gyroscope

iFixit and Chipworks teardown the iPhone 4’s gyroscope originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 30 Jun 2010 11:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You didn’t think the folks at iFixit would simply teardown the iPhone 4 and call it a day, did you? They’ve now gone the extra mile and done a detailed teardown of the iPhone 4’s gyroscope with a little help from Chipworks. That’s of course a MEMS (or microelectromechanical system) gyroscope and, according to Chipworks, nearly identical to an off-the-shelf STMicroelectronics L3G4200D gyroscope, which is actually what they used for the teardown. What’s more, they also went even further and put another gyroscope (not used in the iPhone 4) under an electron microscope just to illustrate how incredibly complex and minute the structure of MEMS gyroscopes are. Head on past the break for a glimpse of that, and hit up the link below for the complete teardown.

Continue reading iFixit and Chipworks teardown the iPhone 4’s gyroscope

iFixit and Chipworks teardown the iPhone 4’s gyroscope originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 30 Jun 2010 11:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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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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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 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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var digg_url = ‘http://digg.com/apple/iPhone_4G_teardown_reveals_A4_chip’; 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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Now here’s an innovative concept — instead of doing separate videos for an unboxing and a disassembly of the Droid Incredible, why not combine them into one? And while you’re at it, turn that into a stop-motion animation and include well timed sound effects for comedic relief. Make sure to include intimate closeups of the Incredible’s spectacularly red innards, then finish off with a sped-up reconstruction and reboot of the handsome Nexus One killer. Got all that? Good, now drop the video after the break and let the people enjoy it.

Continue reading Droid Incredible torn down to its constituent elements, reassembled in a flash (video)

Droid Incredible torn down to its constituent elements, reassembled in a flash (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 05 May 2010 05:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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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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