iFixit's teardown didn't reveal anything totally unexpected, with the exception of an inscription on the logic board from the designer that reads: "with love,—bunnie." However, modders might be interested in the following highlights:

* Notable components found inside the chumby one:
* Freescale i.MX233 CPU, running at 454 MHz
* MMA7455 3-axis accelerometer
* Hynix 923E 64MB DDR DRAM
* QN8005B FM Radio chip
* An inscription that reads "with love, bunnie"

* The MicroSD socket contains a 2GB Kingston MicroSD firmware card,
which can easily be pulled out once the device is opened. Users can
load custom firmware and upgrade chumby one's storage in a snap.

* There are plenty of ventilation holes in the top and rear outer
cases. Such a Swiss cheese case design allows the chumby to stay
cool without the need for a fan.

* Volume control commands are sent via a rotary encoder that
translates angular degrees of rotation into binary code recognized by
the board.

* The wireless card is attached to a small interconnect board,
converting the four-pin connector found on the logic board into the
USB connector used by the wireless card. This could potentially mean
hacking/upgrading the chumby to 802.11n in the future, were you able
to find a USB Wi-Fi card of similar size.

* You can also unplug the USB Wi-Fi card and plug in regular ethernet
using a USB-to-ethernet dongle.

* The 2W mono speaker is mounted onto a resonance box which occupies
precious interior space, which could be used to stuff more awesome
hacking stuff into the chumby. Alternatively, it could be used as a
secret stash for narcotics.

Hit the following link for full details on the teardown. [iFixit]

If you want the above picture as a wallpaper, you can get it right here and but if you want just the up close and personal insides, go right here. [iFixIt]

According to their findings, the Broadcom BCM4329 chip does have support for 802.11n—a feature absent even in the iPhone 3GS. Needless to say, if you have an N router and are tired of slumming with a/b/g, this would be a big deal. The chip also supports FM transmission, meaning that software support down the line could allow users to stream music directly to car stereos without any extra hardware—although that possibility seems pretty remote. (The chip's Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR and an FM receiver could be a Nike+ thing).

Supporting earlier rumors about the last minute omission of a camera in the touch, the guys at iFixit noted that Apple seemed to leave enough space for a camera at the top of the device—a 6mm x 6mm x 3mm space between the Broadcom chip and the wireless antenna that just might be able to hold the small camera now found in the nano. Of course, empty space doesn't mean that the camera can actually be integrated, or help you if have your heart set on the 3rd generation touch, but you can keep your fingers crossed that Apple will switch on the other features via a software update down the line. [ifixit]

Head to iFixIt for the rest of the autopsy. [iFixIt]

The battery powered tiny motor inside Maybelline's $15 Pulse Perfection supposedly delivers 7,000 vibrations per minute which is way faster than anyone can actually apply mascara to one's eyelashes, but I'm told by my friends who have used it that you have very little control of the vibrator itself, it can be too rough on your lashes and comes out clumpy. I'd most likely poke myself in the eye and frankly if I am doing that I'd rather it be while putting on Terminator Vision contact lenses. [NotCot via Make]

Sony can shrink down the other parts, but it's hard to shrink something that needs to work with a fixed size component (the Blu-ray discs). However, the logic board and everything else does seem smaller, maybe to make room for that massive fan. [iFixit and Rapid Repair]

Update: Rapid Repair's doesn't seem to be up yet for some reason.

Just by looking at the 13 and 15-inch models together, you can tell that Apple was pretty much right when they said that they belong in the same family. The construction is almost identical. The only difference is that the 13-inch has one fewer audio jack and no side-board speakers, as been the case for the 13 for years now.

It looks like a reasonably painless disassemble job, at least at first, though they don't recommend removing the heat shield. Once all the parts were arranged on a table, the guys at Rapid Repair estimated the hardware cost of the Pre at just about $170, which makes the smartphone's $199 price tag a pretty good deal for us consumers. Go check it out if you like seeing your gadgets unadorned and forcefully stripped. [Rapid Repair]

Some of these shots could use a penny for scale, because it's unclear exactly how small we're talking. But basically the entire optical module is squeezed into that tiny matte metal box up front, which includes an amazing sugarcube-sized fly-eye lens, with tiny facets used to focus light from the RGB LED light source (one tiny LED for each color) onto the microscopic mirrors of the DLP image processor, with accuracy down to the micron. One day all of our cellphones will have these; until then, marvel at how something that used to be size of your massive audio receiver can now fit in your pants. More images and details at: [Tech ON]

To add a bit or strangeness to the whole thing, have a look at the picture taken with the lens before it gave up:
It's a ridiculously apropos snap of a dynamic art installation at the Arab-Islamic museum in Paris. The installation evidently passes outside light through a giant wall of adjustable apertures, which to a DSLR might look a little like some kind of bizarre out-of-body experience. [FredMiranda - Thanks, Sam!]

Seeking Mass Market Acceptance, Apple Stresses Cost Reduction for iPhone 3G

El Segundo, Calif., Jul. 15, 2008—The new iPhone 3G sports an evolutionary design that favors cost reduction instead of cutting-edge features, supporting Apple Inc.’s goal of expanding its market share and achieving a worldwide presence for the product, according to a physical teardown analysis conducted this weekend by iSuppli Corp.
iSuppli’s Teardown Analysis Service on July 11 obtained an iPhone 3G and commenced a dissection in order to identify component suppliers, as well as to determine preliminary part and system costs.
Per the teardown analysis and subsequent examinations by analysts, iSuppli has issued a preliminary estimate of $174.33 for initial production costs for the 8Gbyte iPhone 3G.
This figure consists only of the iPhone 3G’s combined Bill of Materials (BOM) and manufacturing expenses. The total doesn't include other costs, including software development, shipping and distribution, packaging and miscellaneous accessories included with each phone.
iSuppli’s cost estimate is nearly identical to the $173 BOM predicted in iSuppli’s virtual teardown issued to the public in late June.

Cost considerations rule in new iPhone
At $174.33, the BOM and manufacturing cost of the new iPhone is markedly less than the $227 that iSuppli estimated for the first-generation, 8Gbyte 2G iPhone in June 2007. While using a new design, the iPhone 3G really represents a refinement of the original iPhone 2G, according to iSuppli.
“The addition of 3G wireless capability represents an evolutionary design step for the iPhone, not a revolutionary one,” said Andrew Rassweiler, teardown services manager and principal analyst at iSuppli. “iSuppli believes Apple aimed for a more cost-effective design for the 3G iPhone compared to the 2G, in order to lower the retail price—which will allow the company to seed adoption and to capture maximum market share now—while the company still has buzz and a perceived differentiation relative to its competitors.”
The iPhone 3G’s use of an Infineon Technologies AG baseband chip that supports the HSDPA, WCDMA and EDGE air standards, plus the integration of three separate TriQuint Semiconductor Inc. tri-band WCDMA Power Amplifier Modules (PAMs), reflects the fact that the iPhone 3G is suited for sale worldwide.

Infineon takes key baseband slot
The attached table presents iSuppli’s preliminary analysis of components and suppliers for the iPhone 3G, determined via physical teardown. iSuppli has conducted a teardown analysis of only one 3G iPhone. While there are variations in the components and suppliers for individual products, iSuppli believes that the vendors and parts identified in its teardown likely are representative of all iPhone 3Gs now being shipped—excluding certain memory devices and other commodity parts that are available from multiple sources.
After iSuppli has completed an analysis of a larger sample of iPhones, we will issue further information to the public.
Infineon AG was the big winner in the key baseband section of the iPhone 3G torn down by iSuppli, contributing its HSDPA/WCDMA/EDGE chip that includes dual ARM926 and ARM7 microprocessor cores.
Solely-sourced items include Infineon’s baseband solution, RF transceiver and Global Positioning System (GPS) devices; Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd’s applications processor integrated with Synchronous DRAM (SDRAM); Marvell Technology Group Ltd.’s WLAN device and Cambridge Silicon Radio’s (CSR’s) Bluetooth chip.
Multi-sourced items include Toshiba Corp.’s 8Gbyte NAND flash memory chip. Apple’s other likely sources for this part include Samsung.

Design insights
Other observations made by iSuppli’s analysis team include:

· The redesigned internals of the iPhone 3G include only one large Printed Circuit Board (PCB), instead of the two nested PCBs found in the 2G version. The iPhone 3G uses a 10-layer board, compared to the less-expensive six-layer PCBs commonly employed in mobile handsets.
· The battery is not soldered into the iPhone 3G as it is done in the 2G, making it more serviceable.
· Some chips have the Apple logo or are unmarked. Although iSuppli has been able to identify many of these parts and their true manufacturers by de-capping the chips and examining their dies, some devices remain unidentifiable at this time.

iPhone costs
Beyond the $174.33 BOM and manufacturing cost of the iPhone 3G, Apple is spending an estimated $50 on IP royalties per unit shipped. With the 8Gbyte version retail-priced at $199, and the estimated $300 subsidy paid by AT&T to Apple for each unit, Apple is selling the product at a price of $499, and spending $224.33 to produce each one. This gives Apple a BOM, manufacturing and royalty margin of 55 percent for each 8Gbyte iPhone 3G unit sold.
Please respond to this e-mail to receive photos depicting iSuppli’s iPhone teardown analysis findings.

As soon as we got our MacBook Air, we couldn't help but want to tear it down to its innards. We wanted to see what made up this beautiful machine, so we grabbed our #00 phillips screwdriver and had at it. Want to know what we found? The sexiest and simplest notebook has the sexiest and simplest construction (you'll be surprised at how easy the battery comes out). Not only was this thin thing amazingly easy to disassemble, it was even gorgeous on the inside. Here are the details and, more importantly, pictures.

Aside from the innards being well designed, the disassembly of the MacBook Air was surprisingly easy. Hands-down the easiest Apple notebook we have ever taken apart. There's basically only one step to get inside the machine, just unscrew the bottom casing.

The bottom casing has 10 screws, all #00 Phillips, but there are 3 different screw lengths, so remembering where each screw belongs is crucial. Once all the screws were out, we expected to hassle with Apple's typical tabbed locking system, like the iPod and iBook. But to our surprise there were no tricky tabs to unhook, just lift up the back of the casing and it's off. There were very small metal tabs at the front of the casing, but they were easily and unknowingly undone by just raising the back first and pulling up.

Once the casing was off, we set our sights on the battery. Since the battery takes up almost 3/4 of the inside, it was hard to miss. Nine screws hold the battery in, which are again #00 phillips. Once the battery screws were out, we disconnected the battery cable, which again was surprisingly easy, just using our fingers.

So, getting inside the MacBook Air and taking out the battery was very easy. Easy enough to allow most users to do a battery replacement on their own. We must state that replacing the Macbook Air's battery is far more complicated than say a MacBook or MacBook Pro. But considering that the MacBook Air's battery is actually enclosed in the machine and Apple charges for the replacement service, it is nice to know if needed to, it can be replaced by the user.

Other Thoughts
•The screws that hold the bottom casing, go in at a slight angle. Since the sides of the MacBook Air are curved, the screws have to go in a certain angle to sit level in the holes. This could be a pain when screwing back in, since the little screws have to be at an exact angle.
•On the inside of the bottom casing, there is a convenient two image reassembling instructions.
•Hard drive appears to be easy to replace.
•Ram appears to be soldered on, not so easy to replace.
•The inside construction seems very solid.
•As with all Apple books, taking out screws and opening up the casing voids warranty, so we would imagine the same goes for the Macbook Air.

In addition to the metal plate, the deconstruction revealed the nano has approximately the same surface area as the previous nanos, and there is an increased use of adhesive in assembling the iPods. The adhesive is only worth noting because it could make replacing your own battery a more daunting task. See the entire gallery over at iFixit. [iFixit via Apple Insider]

Wow, the Wii is not only easier to play, but hackers of all ages can tear it down, too.–Brian Lam

A look inside the Wii [Digg]