It is like a cycle – a new mobile device comes out and first comes the drop test and screen scratch videos. After that comes the inevitable teardown from the guys over at iFixit which, unlike the first two examples, are actually interesting and useful. Now that OUYA units are actually starting to ship out to more eager developers, we get to see how the OUYA is put together and how easy it is to fix. 

As usual, the iFixit technicians get their tools and take every part of the console apart to give us their opinion on how easy the overall process is. On a scale of 1-10, 10 being the easiest, the OUYA scored a 9 which is a pretty good score. The only problems that iFixit ran into was a soldered heat sink and joysticks, both for the sake of strength in such a small console. This is good news for gamers who have a tendency to rage. If you kick the tiny console across the room, it won’t take too long to get it fixed, depending on how many pieces it is in.

Via: iFixit

iFixit Gives OUYA the Teardown Treatment, Finds the Small Console Fixes Up Easy is a post from: Droid Life

Well, would you look at that. On Friday evening, iFixit posted their “teardown” of the LG Nexus 4 and discovered that it has a Qualcomm 7-band 4G LTE chip inside it. But, wait! I thought it didn’t have LTE and was HSPA+ only? It is. For whatever reason though, an LTE chip was left inside.

Could it have something to do with the LG Optimus G having 4G LTE, a phone that is almost an identical build to the LG Nexus 4? Maybe. Was there a chance that it would have LTE at launch, but breakdowns in carrier negotiations stopped it? Eh, you’d be going out on quite the conspiracy limb to suggest that. Who knows, maybe Google was simply future-proofing the phone to be able to connect to LTE somewhere down the road? Or what are the chances that an LTE-ready version launches in the coming months? No one but Google probably knows the answers to those questions.

The bottom line is, that there is an LTE chip inside this phone. We just aren’t sure that it’ll ever be operable. One can dream.

Via:  iFixit

Cheers Scott, BAoxymoron, Kane, Nick, Justin and the other dozen or so of you!

iFixit Teardown Reveals 7-Band LTE Chip Inside Nexus 4 is a post from: Droid Life

No new piece of tech goes mainstream until the guys over at iFixit have torn it open and showed us all of what’s inside. The new Kindle Fire HD is the most recent device to fall to the repair tools and got pulled open promptly. Amazon took a cue from Google in the ease of repairability, the Fire HD matched the Nexus 7 on repairability with a 7 out of 10.

Amazon found a way to keep their tablet easily fixable while making the overall device slimmer than the Nexus 7. The only problem is that the LCD and front glass panel are fused together and would be a little expensive to get that piece fixed. Other than that the Fire HD passed iFixit’s inspection. Hit the source link below if you want to see the inner parts laid bare.

Via: iFixit

Kindle Fire HD Gets iFixit Teardown, Scores High on Ease of Repairability is a post from: Droid Life

The iFixit team performed their standard teardown of the DROID 4 today, revealing the guts of Verizon’s latest 4G LTE phone. You will find an 8MP camera, the 4″ display, and a non-removable battery – again, the usual. But one thing that stood out was the Qualcomm MDM6600 radio which supports HSPA+. Confused? As you know, the DROID 4 is a CDMA/LTE device that runs on Verizon’s network only. Now, we were told at CES that this phone would eventually be given global capabilities, but we found it odd that Motorola removed any mention of a GSM/HSPA radio on their MotoDev site last week. That’s not say that this info won’t be added back later when Big Red gives it the thumbs up to cruise the globe. Again, just thought it was odd.

Don’t forget to check out our hands-on with the DROID 4.

Via:  iFixit

Cheers Tony!

iFixit DROID 4 Teardown Reveals HSPA+ Radio, Motorola Conveniently Removes it From MotoDev Site is a post from: Droid Life

Waiting for the Galaxy Nexus has been painful enough already, so if you can’t possibly take anymore, then you may want to pass on watching iFixit do their standard teardown. As a device that is almost impossible to come by unless you are willing to fork out $700+ for an unlocked GSM version, this just hurts.

On a positive note, they gave it decent scores for repairability. Well, except for the glass, which they recommend you take good care of as it won’t be easy to replace should you crack it.  

Via:  iFixit

Galaxy Nexus Gets the Teardown Treatment is a post from: Droid Life

These iFixit teardowns are usually worth a quick glance because the innards of new technology is simply fun to look at. Rarely though, do we get to see something we haven’t seen before or that makes us actually thumb through the entire teardown. That’s definitely the case with the DROID RAZR. This one, is worth your time.

Since there isn’t a removable battery, and the top and bottom halves of the phone have been glued tightly together, the iFixit crew had to put in some real work to make this happen. If you were wondering how Motorola managed to pack all of the high-end spec goodness into such a thin frame, this is your way to find out.

Plus, we are also always suckers for good dozuki sighting. 

And if that did not fulfill your RAZR design needs, you will want to check out the video below that is straight from Motorola.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Via: iFixit

DROID RAZR and Its Ultra-Thin Body Get Torn Apart, Motorola Also Talks Design is a post from: Droid Life

The iFixit crew took to the DROID3 as they do any new device that has built up buzz and tore the sucker down.  There weren’t any surprises tucked away, but we do get to see its set of radios for global roaming, dual-core OMAP4430 processor, on-board stoarge, 512MB of RAM, 4 inches of Gorilla Glass, and that pretty new 5-row keyboard.  Yep, standard stuff.

We do want to point out their note about this phone being pretty tough to get into all the way.  What does that mean?  That you definitely don’t want to drop it, crack the screen, and try to repair it yourself.  Good luck!  

Via:  iFixit

Cheers PyroHoltz!

DROID3 Gets Torn Down, No Surprises Included But We Still Cringe is a post from: Droid Life

The iFixit crew wasted no time tearing into the Motorola XOOM and confirming that it indeed sports a Tegra 2 along with every other listed spec, but that’s not the story here.  When we broke news that the the 4G LTE upgrade for the XOOM would take approximately 6 days, the internet caught fire and people seemed genuinely disappointed in the news.  While we’ve known since CES that the device would have to be shipped back to Motorola for the upgrade, most people wondered why it would take almost a week?  well, iFixit seems to be wondering the same thing and points out that almost any seasoned tech should be able to perform it…

A seasoned technician can perform this swap in less than 10 minutes. Heck, a donkey could probably pull it off in less than two hours. We have no idea why a customer couldn’t just go to a Verizon store and have on-site representatives enable 4G on the spot, just like they’re able to transfer mobile contacts and perform other activation procedures.

And who knows, maybe Moto and Verizon will get together and train their crews on how easy it could be to upgrade this little guy.  After all, they have about 90 days to get everything in order.  Or maybe this was part of their agreement?  It wouldn’t surprise me if Verizon said, “If you [Motorola] want us to release this device early?  Then you are responsible for updating it.”

Thoughts?

Via:  iFixit, Daily Tech

Motorola XOOM Torn Apart, 4G LTE Upgrade Should Be Super Simple? is a post from: Droid Life

These teardowns make me cringe every damn time!  The thought of someone purchasing a brand new phone, likely at full price, and then chopping it to pieces should be illegal, slap-worthy or involve something else completely painful.  OK, I’ll admit that it’s still pretty cool and I’m glad someone does it so that we have posts like this!

The Droid 2 is the latest victim and has few surprises under the hood, but really just  provides some entertaining shots of its guts including the one below of the newly enhanced keyboard.

Check out the rest of the teardown over at iFixit.

Cheers Jose!

DROID 2 Torn Apart, We Cover Our Eyes is a post from: Droid Life