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Apple iPhone Dissected
Conch writes "Only hours after the launch, the Apple iPhone has been dissected. The good folks at AnandTech violated one of the first iPhones to still our curiosity about whats inside the aluminum shell.
'Please note that we're doing this so you are not tempted to on your recent $500/$600 expenditure, while it is quite possible to take apart using easy to find tools we'd recommend against it as it will undoubtedly void your warranty and will most likely mar up the beautiful gadget's exterior.'"
at ThinkSecret. Plus they didn't destroy the case :-)
Obviously you can't change the battery yourself, but from those pictures it looks like even Apple couldn't change it. That can't be so, can it?
r y/
Apple will replace it under their service program, when the phone is out-of-warranty. $85.95 including postage.
http://www.apple.com/support/iphone/service/batte
You can change the SIM in the iPhone too (there are pictures of the software demanding that the SIM be inserted). However, like many US phones, it is vendor locked and can only be used with SIMs from a particular provider. If Apple drops the exclusive deal with AT&T (which they can do in two years), they'll probably send out unlock codes via Software Update. Maybe.
Uh, it's quite easy to change the SIM card in the iPhone. There's a tray at the top that works like the battery tray in the Apple Remote.
I'm not an EE guru, and I know next to nothing about the iPhone, but very standard chips exist for lots of things like 802.11abg, GSM, CDMA, 3G, USB, Bluetooth, LCD/TFT displays, audio, battery charging and monitoring etc. Also, some of these components might be region specific. It makes some sense to keep them separate rather than try and stick everything on the same die, unless you are really pushed for space. Once the thing leaves the factory it may not be repaired, but at the assembly level they may well swap out a bad Bluetooth chip and replace it if required...
It also allows for (eg) 802.11n ability to be added at a later date if a pin compatible 802.11abgn chip comes on the market, or for them to change display vendors (maybe requiring a different driver chip) if they need to.
Or you can go with an unlocked phone with all that and more. No touchscreen, no lock-in, no lack of 3G, no closed door to third party apps. Gambling for version 2 might not be a good idea.
Twitter supports and protects racists - by smearing their critics with the "Hate Speech" label.
http://www.apple.com/support/iphone/service/batte
Another point, is that I've sent 2 iPods back to Apple for battery replacement, and both times they came back as (presumably) the same guts but a new battery, and case. So the cost (60 bucks as I recall) was in effect a refurb. Looked like a brand new unit coming back.
More advanced functions such as web browsing and browsing email are far easier with two hands (but if you can be bothered stretching your thumb around, then again you can do it one handed.)
It's silly to suggest that the iPhone is the only phone that benefits from two hands. (E.g. any phone that uses a stylus requires two hands on the go.) Since many phones do already require two hands to operate them, having a multi-touch display represents better efficiency of the hands (that is, it should speed you along a little bit, touch typing and gesture short cuts are good examples of this.)
Sounds like you want a FIC NEO1973. According to Sean Moss-Pultz in his most recent announcement, the consumer model due in Q4 this year will include wifi.
It's almost fully open. As in, everything is open except the AGPS daemon, which you don't need for GPS, just AGPS.
And it'll only be $450, for the phone itself. No contracts required.
Microsoft is to software what Budweiser is to beer.
http://stream.ifixit.com/
they did it some time yesterday, about an hour after it came out i think.
and by the looks of it, they didn't destroy it.
dreemkill.
Ignore all other replies, they are only half truth.
The truth is: Different manufacturing processes are required depending on the function of the chips. There are many different types of integrated circuits in a cellphone: Logic (processor), analog parts (Silicon and exotic III-V semiconductors), Memory (NAND flash, NOR flash, DRAM), Sensors (think MEMS). Each of these require a different process flow. Combining those is often extremely expensive to impossible.
The way it is usually done is to use different circuit techniques to achieve the same functionality in a silicon logic process. However in many situations this is not possible or economical, yet.
No, you don't have to take it apart! There's a slot on the outside of the device, that you can open with a paperclip, that opens the tray with the SIM card.