Wednesday, 04 July 2012 09:06
Nexus 7 gets iFixit treatment, seems easy to repair
Written by Fudzilla staff
Teardown reveals a few interesting details
Google’s new Nexus 7 tablet underwent a bit of invasive surgery on part of the iFixit team. The teardown revealed few surprises, but there is some good news to report.
Although the Nexus 7 ended up about a millimeter thinner than the new iPad, it features proper plastic hinges and it’s kept together by standard Phillips screws, whereas the iPad is glued together, with glue made from baby ponies and the tears of thousands of Foxconn workers.
However, although you can access its insides, it is still not a walk in the park. The 1280x800 screen is fused with the Gorilla Glass cover, so if you crack the glass or if your screen dies, you will have to replace both. Still, tech savvy users will be able to replace the battery without much hassle.
The teardown also reveals a very clever copper heatsink/EMI shield on the battery and judging by some reviews, the Nexus does a great job at dissipating the heat. Here’s another interesting fact, the cheap Nexus 7 features stereo speakers, something you are not likely to find in high-end tablets priced $500 or more. Most reviewers assumed it’s a mono speaker and even the official product page states there’s “a speaker” in the back.
It ranked much better than the iPad in the repairability score, but it is not quite as easy to repair as the Kindle Fire, mainly due to the fused screen. You can check out the teardown here.
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