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Mac mini gets ripped to shreds, isn't so dull
There's something slightly disconcerting about seeing a fine, new piece of hardware torn apart before your very eyes, but we'll freely admit that we get some satisfaction out of it. The new Mac mini (above) looks about like what you'd expect it to on the inside, and very similar to the previous model, albeit slightly rearranged. It's a fairly sparse affair, nothing wildly unexpected going on in there -- well, with the exception of the tiny magical troll running at a steady pace to keep the gears grinding -- ever-so-silently, of course. There are a few more shots after the break, but hit the read link for the entire, supremely interesting set.[Via Engadget Spanish]
Kindle 2 dissected, found to contain space for a SIM card
The Kindle 2's only been in our hot little hands for a few hours, but the screwdriver-happy scamps at iFixit couldn't resist -- they've already ripped theirs into its many component pieces. Interestingly, the teardown revealed an empty space for a SIM card slot, which might indicate Amazon's got firmer plans for the Kindle's international debut than they were willing to talk about at the launch. Don't get too excited for any VAIO P-style SIM-slot hacks, though, since the US edition of the reader only has a CDMA radio for Whispernet in it. Oh well, it's gotta happen sometime -- for now we're off to find a screen protector, since the teardown also revealed that the E-Ink screen doesn't have anything over it at all.
Dell's Mini 12 dissected for your viewing pleasure
It's taken quite awhile for someone to gather up the courage to do it, but at long last, Dell's cutesy Mini 12 has been stripped of its dignity and dissected for the world to see. Honestly, there isn't much in this netbook that you haven't already seen in similar alternatives, but those unable to resist the allure of undressed gadgets will still want to give the read link a visit. Or two, depending on your level of self-restraint.
Sony VAIO P ripped apart
Well, that didn't take long. Mere hours after we saw the ultra-lovely Sony VAIO P make its official debut here at CES, some industrious, sadistic folks have seen fit to tear it to shreds, exposing its guts for all to marvel (or tear up) over. We have to say, it's just as good looking on the inside as it is on the outside, but see for yourselves after the break, where there's a beautiful / horrifying gallery to stare at, and hit the read link for the full project.%Gallery-40986%[Via jkkmobile]
Compaq Mini 700 innards exposed by Italian fetishists
Ever wonder how netbooks pack all that laptopy goodness into such small packages? Laptop Italia has your answer, tearing a Compaq Mini 700 (aka HP Mini 1000) into its individual components, supposedly for the sake of enabling you to repair the thing at home, but we think the real motivation is rather less instructional and more exhibitionistic. Regardless of your intentions, the site provides an extensive guide on how to take apart HP's tiny laptop, starting by pulling the battery and ending with a picture of where the 3G modem would go if this particular model had one. Unlike some teardowns we've seen in the past, this clinical looking disassembly, if reversed, looks like it might actually put the thing back together again -- if you're into that sort of thing. [Thanks, faber]
3M MPro110 / Optoma PK101 pico projectors get dissected
Sure, we frequently come across gizmos so small that tweezers and eyeglass repair kits are needed to dissect 'em, but rarely are those gadgets projectors. With the new wave of minuscule beamers comes a new kind of tear down, and Tech-On has taken the time to split apart and photograph both the 3M MPro110 and Optoma PK101. The splaying gets pretty detailed, too, with us being informed of two large LSIs on the former (one from Weltrend; one from TI) and a hard look at the LEDs of the latter. Have a peek at the writeups and accompanying images below, and see just how long you can go without uttering an "aww" -- we'll bet it's not long at all.Read - 3M tear downRead - Optoma tear down
PS3 teardown: 30% fewer parts, $300 cheaper
When the gang at iSuppli first tore open a PlayStation 3 back in November 2006, they pegged the cost to build the $500 model was $805 in materials. Now they're back and looking inside the $400 version, which they estimate is $448.73 in parts -- still a loss leader for the company, but only by about one Ulysses S. Grant this time. The number of components has also dropped from 4,048 to just 2,820, and both the Cell processor and NVIDIA GPU have slimmed down from 90nm to 65nm. They suspect Sony might be able to lower costs and turn a profit sometime in 2009, but while you may be rooting for this generation's underdog, don't get your hopes up for a price drop any time soon.
Meizu M8 gets stripped of its shell, dignity
See that Meizu M8 there? See that multitool-equipped hand? Yeah, you know damn well what's going to happen next, and we think the translated text expresses it best: "Well, the last one of the screws removed, MEIZU M8 has been completely broken up in a heap before us." The M8's guts make for some predictably boring pictures (unless you're really into circuitry), but the interesting bit might come in the accompanying narrative where we learn that the phone seems pretty dang solid -- good build quality, good materials, and name-brand components. That being said, they found it wasn't quite up to the iPhone 3G's standards for sheer manufacturing prowess -- but hey, they wouldn't want to take any cues from Apple, would they?[Thanks, Jeff]
iSuppli says T-Mobile G1 costs $144 to make, nothing to love
Teardown specialist iSuppli is at it again, digging through the G1's guts this time around in an effort to wrap its inquisitive brain around the inaugural Android handset's bill of materials. The result? $144, which naturally doesn't reflect HTC's R&D -- an additional expense that might have been unusually low for the G1 considering HTC's overwhelming expertise in manufacturing all things mobile. For the record, this is about $30 less than iSuppli's July estimate for the 8GB iPhone 3G, though the comparison isn't terribly fair considering that the G1 has a mere pittance of internal storage by comparison. There's no telling what T-Mobile pays HTC for each and every G1 it sells, but we pay $179 (or less) on contract -- so it seems HTC is making itself a nice little profit right out of the gate and customers aren't footing much of the bill. At least, not until they've gone a few months into their two-year agreements.
Nintendo's DSi gets cracked wide open
It's only fair, really. We've seen both the DS and the DS Lite exposed under the camera, and now it's time for the DSi to suffer the same humiliation. As expected, things are pretty packed on the motherboard, and there's oodles of green underneath the white lettering. For more images of the DSi's internals (and rainbows, and maybe a few unicorns), give the read link a click.[Via MAKE]
T-Mobile G1 ripped to shreds, uses same trackball as RIM's -- maybe they can be friends
In the grand tradition of TMI, the G1's gone through a teardown for your voyeuristic pleasure. Underneath that chubby matte shell there are all sorts of build-related details that you probably didn't need to know, like the fact that Panasonic built the main board, the compass was built by Asahi Kasei (exciting, we know) and the keyboard element is thin. Some might say too thin. Perhaps of most note is the trackball, which is basically identical to what RIM uses -- minus the fancy glowing effect. All riveting factoids, we assure you. One item of worry is that the engineers doing the teardown noted the particular thinness of the plastic bar connecting the sliding display to the phone, and raised the troubling possibility of breaking the display off from he handset. We certainly won't be stress testing that element, we can assure you.
Video: Sony Ericsson's XPERIA X1 gets white-glove dissection
White glove delivery? Puhlease. Try white glove dissection, as in, the four part saga shown to us via the miracles of YouTube by gadget lover CyK1. Using a cautious approach, a pair of tweezers, what appears to be a guitar pick and a pair of delicate white gloves, he details the disassembly of SE's highly-anticipated XPERIA X1 in four captivating clips. Granted, two of the four actually show reassembly efforts, but you know you're not about to leave after just watching half of the show. Hop on past the break once your popcorn is ready.
RIM's BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220 endures old fashioned tear down
Just because you're the elephant in the group, that doesn't mean you'll get away without suffering through the same humiliation that comes with being a hot new BlackBerry: dissection on camera. RIM's first flip phone has recently been disassembled by the curious minds over at SycotecSolutions, giving us all an up close and personal look at what makes the Pearl Flip 8220 tick. Eager for more? Give the read link some of your undivided attention.
Elmo Live! gets stripped of his dignity, red fur
Heads-up: this post contains graphics unsuitable for viewing by not-yet-hardened 6 year olds. Now that you've read that (and hopefully shielded your youngin's innocent eyes from the image above), we're here to tell you that the unspeakable (though inevitable) has occurred. Yes, friends, dear Elmo Live!, which probably won't be seen selling for MSRP until January of 2009, has been splayed. Torn down. Stripped of every ounce of animality he had. All so that you could see what really makes this bizarre critter tick. You can tap the read link for more, but trust us, the worst is already staring you in the face.
Apple's new MacBook / MacBook Pro get torn down in style
Ah, the natural progression of hot new releases. First comes the wow, then comes the hands-on, and now comes the tear down. The masterful gadget surgeons over at ifixit have taken the time to carefully (and let us reiterate, carefully) undo all the hard work done on the assembly line to put these together, and we just know you're anxious to see what's really inside the new machines. Have a look below, and don't forget to pause and appreciate the scenery.Read - MacBook tear downRead - MacBook Pro tear down
Dell's Studio Hybrid torn down for kicks and giggles
We've only one thing to say here: it's about time! Dell's Studio Hybrid has been shuffling around for well over a month, and we're just now seeing someone with the nerve to take a putty knife to this cute 'lil desktop and photograph its innards for all to see. As expected, there ain't much breathing room in the 7.7- x 2.8- x 8.3-inch box, but there's a smattering of pictures and a full disassembly video waiting in the read link below. Go on and look, sicko.
Debunk: the iPod touch Bluetooth chip is really the Nike+ receiver
Usually product teardowns are only interesting for the raw, visceral thrill of seeing chipsets and circuit boards splayed wide open, but iFixit's disassembly of the new iPod touch revealed something rather more interesting: a Broadcom BCM4325 Bluetooth 2.1+EDR chip. (That's the silver rectangle in the middle of the top circuit board there.) That's got a lot of people all atwitter, but there's an obvious explanation for it: Nike+, built into the new touch, is based on a proprietary low-power 2.4GHz communications protocol called ANT -- not quite the standard Bluetooth frequency, but awful close. Yep, sorry, it's for technojogging, not secret A2DP -- although we'd welcome actual Bluetooth support in the touch with open arms. Hit the read link for the complete breakdown.Update: Just to be totally accurate, the BCM4325 also does WiFi -- and Nike+iPod has been called a "proprietary 802.11 protocol" in the past, so it's even less likely that it's there for actual Bluetooth usage.
Willcom D4 MID dissected for your viewing pleasure
By now, you've surely realized that the Sharp-branded Willcom D4 is far from being the perfect handheld, but that's not to say you shouldn't be lusting over a few internal shots. Thankfully, one fearless owner decided to tear the MID down for our viewing pleasure (and to install a larger 1.8-inch HDD, but that's beside the point), and everything you've hoped and dreamed of seeing is just one click away. Okay, so it's not that dramatic, but it's still worth a peek.
BlackBerry Bold gets another review, sneaks into more comparison shots
We know, we know -- you've already seen a couple of Bold reviews, but honestly, can you really get enough of this thing? While the release date draws nearer (or not), why not feast your retinas on yet another hands-on experience that involves a closer look at the user interface, an inside glance (yes, sans the back cover) of the internals and a slew of comparison shots with other handsets. Sorry to keep teasing you, but you know you love the torture.
ASUS R50A UMPC lands in FCC, is promptly torn apart
ASUS' R50A has been hanging around in "almost here" land for, like, ever. Over six months after we laid hands on it at CES, it seems the release is all but imminent as evidenced by its recent showing in the sprawling FCC database. Per usual, the agency did its best with that 1.3-megapixel point-and-shoot that it just can't secure funds to replace, and while we've certainly seen more invigorating dissections, this one isn't half bad considering the dearth of enthusiasm expressed by those doing the splaying. Wander on down to the read link for more dark, dingy shots of the internals.[Via jkkmobile]
