November 19th, 2012
Another day…another take apart. Today it’s the Kindle Fire HD 8.9″ on the chopping block. Externally the device is very similar to the Kindle Fire HD 7″, but internally it’s another beast entirely.
It looks like Samsung is another winner in supplying parts for the Kindle fire as they are supplying both the ram and flash memory as well as the Display ( ltl089cl02-001) (Texus Instruments is the supplier for the processor is this model. We improperly noted it was Samsung in the first revision of this post.)
One thing unique about this device is that it appears to be using a dual battery design with two battery cells connected via a battery controller board, but with two separate logic board connections. The battery seems on the small side at 6000MAH 22.2wh.
In most Kindle models, the back case has just been cosmetic and is the first thing removed, however in this model most of the internals are attached to the back case. This will make changing out the LCD / Digitizer assembly a piece of cake. ( Of course the digitizer and LCD are fused as seems to be the norm nowadays.)
To see the exploded view (Part Locator) for the Kindle Fire HD 8.9″, click here.
On to the take apart.
November 16th, 2012
Today we received and promptly disassembled the Google Nexus 10. In usual fashion we’ll release the take apart video next week, but wanted to go ahead and post the preliminary take apart steps and photos. The model we’ve taken apart is the 16GB Wi-FI model. Model # GT-P8110.
One thing that struck us about this disassembly was the complete ease of taking this tablet apart. Whereas Apple seems to be making it more and more difficult to repair devices by combining parts and using as much glue as possible, Google seems to be taking the complete opposite approach. The end result is a device that is extremely repairable. Go Google!
Another interesting note is how many of the components in the device are manufactured by Samsung. It appears that the battery, processor, and flash memory are all made by Samsung. Is this Google’s way of capitalizing on the drift between Apple and Samsung?
To view the Part Locator (Exploded View) for the Nexus 10, click here.
Click on any photo below to view a larger image.
November 2nd, 2012
We just released our iPad Mini Take apart guide. The guide shows you how to open the iPad Mini and remove the various components. The iPad Mini is fairly easy to open up, especially if you’ve opened other iPad models. The video is embedded below:
November 2nd, 2012
iPad 4 Parts are now available from our online store from the link below. From the iPad 4 Glass digitizer to the iPad 4 battery, we are carrying a complete line of parts for the 4th Generation iPad.
Below is a photo of all of the parts of the iPad 4th Generation from the take apart we performed today.
November 2nd, 2012
The Part Locator for the new iPad Mini is available from the link below:
November 2nd, 2012
iPad Mini Parts are now available from our online store from the link below. From the iPad Mini Glass digitizer to the iPad Mini battery, we are carrying a complete line of parts for this device.
Below is a photo of all of the parts of the iPad Mini from the take apart we performed today.
November 1st, 2012
A few weeks back there was a popular article on Reddit about a man who dropped his phone in a lake and found it 6 months later when the level of the lake dropped. Miraculously, after plugging in the phone, the phone still partially worked. The link to that article is below:
http://www.reddit.com/r/apple/comments/119lqf/iphone_dropped_into_a_lake_in_april_i_just_got_it/
To our pleasure, Ken from the article brought in this iPhone for us to take a look at. The phone was one of the most corroded phones we’ve ever seen. (One of the most because lake water doesn’t corrode quite as bad as urine does. ) The internals of the unit were actually in pretty good shape all things considered.
With our new iPhone Logic Board Repair program we were able to get the board and dock connector cleaned up enough to be able to connect it a computer and upgrade to i0S 6. (Had Ken wanted the data from the phone, we could have recovered it, but he opted for a restore. )
This was about the extent to which the iPhone functioned however. The digitizer worked, but the LCD had a halo effect around the edges. The rear camera worked, but the front facetime camera did not due to unrepairable corrosion on the facetime connector. Heavy corrosion also prevented the speaker assembly and wi-fi to work on the iPhone as well.
The battery on the unit would swell when plugged in, and as this was a hazard to our staff, we replaced it.
The midframe and screws were in the worst shape due to rust. The volume button screw had rusted to the point where the volume buttons pushed into the phone when pressed. The sim card eject lever had also rusted and broken which made removing the sim difficult.
While the logic board in the phone was partially functional, we replaced the board in the phone to test the rest of the internals such as the speakers and the cameras. The speakers worked albeit with a horrible muddy sound. The cameras worked as well but produced cloudy images.
The story of this phone is pretty incredible. The fact that it functioned to the extent it did after seeing the type of damage inside is miraculous.
A big thanks to Ken for letting us work on this one.