iFixit Tears Down the New Moto X, So You Don't Have To

iFixit's been breaking devices and voiding warranties for years now; latest on their chopping block is the new Moto X from Motorola, a phone hawked as much for its customizability and place of manufacture (the U.S.) as for anything else. You might expect a highly hyped, ultra-customizable phone to be made of high-end components and ultra-repairable as well. iFixit's teardown commentary has both some good and only-middlin' things to say about the innards, but very little bad. They call out the highly modular headphone jack, and say "a considerable amount of effort went in to the internal design of this device; the number of clips and contacts we've found so far is a great testament to that."

Comments

Well that didn't help

[SuperKendall]

Having twice the RAM and a somewhat faster processor does little for you if you need 4X the RAM and 2X the CPU to operate with the same level of performance.

Re:Battery Replaceable

[adolf]

So your definition of "easily replaced" == Get out plastic prying tools, and a tiny little Torx screwdriver, take apart a bunch of stuff that is glued together, replace battery, and then hope it gets back together properly?

In my book, that level of pain is better described as "not user-serviceable."

The best battery-operated pocket computer in terms of serviceability and durability I've ever had was a Handspring Visor.

To change the batteries, you just opened the door on the back, and replaced the two AA batteries inside. This was only required once a month or so: I was never worried that I'd run out of battery while using it, but if I were, I could get a fresh set of batteries at even the most backwoods gas station/general store in a jiffy. To keep it in a pocket or a bag with lots of stuff, the included cover (which covered the whole front of the device) worked great, and stowed neatly on the back when the device was in use. To open the it up and expose the guts in the event that it needs fixing, you just unscrew the end of the included metal stylus to reveal a Philips screwdriver of just the right size, remove a few screws, and basic disassembly was complete. (Not that mine ever needed fixing, even after years of bouncing around in my cargo pocket with a pocket knife and/or various hand tools. I did note that after a year or two of being abused in ways that would make a modern pocket computer shatter, one of the screws did fall out. It didn't seem to mind.)

Even backups on the Visor were easy: Drop it into the cradle, push sync the button, wait a short time, and done. The entire device could then be lost or destroyed, and total recovery (with a replacement in-hand) was just another sync away. Just try getting this level of functionality from an Android device. Seriously, go ahead and try. (I'll wait.)

The included OS, while not "open" per se, was easily extensible by third-parties but also worked just fine without any extra help.

Now, yes: It wasn't fast. But it handled text, calculations, passwords, and contacts very well. And it was actually useful for a quick sketch, since it was stylus-based. Which is most of what I actually need a pocket computer for, aside from Just Working.

So are we moving backwards? In many ways that I think are important: Yes.