iPod Touch, Nano disassemblies reveal surprises
Bluetooth, anyone?
Repair specialist iFixit's urge to buy new kit and take it to bits continues - it's just disassembled the 2G iPod Touch and the 4G Nano. Revealed: the Touch has a Bluetooth chip, the Nano a scratch-proof screen.
The Touch proved easy to take apart, which bodes well for folk looking to get their new player fixed in the future. iFixit was surprised by the presence of Bluetooth, since it's not something Apple's mentioned so far. The tech's enabled in a Broadcom BCM4325 Bluetooth 2.1+EDR chip.
Inside Apple's iPod Touch
Images courtesy iFixit
Steve Jobs announced on Tuesday that the new Touch has integrated support for Nike+, the trainer maker's in-shoe wireless pedometer system. That uses a proprietary wireless technology, but it operates in the Bluetooth 2.4GHz band - also home to Wi-Fi - so the new Touch had to have something like this on board.
See the metal plate up at the top? The Broadcom Bluetooth chip's under that
That said, whether Apple will allow Touch owners to use it for other, Bluetooth-based applications, most notably A2DP wireless stereo, remains to be seen. We can only hope.
Apple's new Nano: remove the LCD from under its glass cover
Like the Touch, the new Nano is driven by an Apple-branded Samsung ARM chip. Barely thinner than its predecessors, the new Nano is just as tricky to disassemble and features a battery hardfixed onto the circuit board. Apple presumably reckons these boys are cheaper to replace than repair.
The Nano in bits
The good news is that the Nano has a glass screen cover in place of the plastic ones of old. That plus the metal shell should make the Nano far more resistant to scratching, giving the device a longer lifespan.
You can view many more pics of the two iPods' innards and read the take-apart notes at iFixit.
COMMENTS
Pedometer?
The reason I don't use something bulky and fragile like the Touch for music is because I run and bike; surely it's not the most obvious device for this kind thing. Why would it have a pedometer?
Are posers strapping these to their arms/legs/face outside the North East? Is there another kind of running I haven't tried, one that doesn't involve much bouncing or tripping over dogs?
I can just imagine £hundreds of sparkling glass and metal scraping along the road behind me, people gasping.
@Richard
"So Apple use technology to make more consumer focused products. I can live with that."
Heh.
@pity...
Radio is an optional extra which you can buy as a shuffle sized remote control + FM receiver. Plus what type of radio would you want? FM, XM or DAB?
Personally prefer my own playlists to some jocko's version.
@you don't see their users shouting about it.
Now, that is rather telling then isn't it. A bit like not wanting to shout about a cheap haircut or fake tan 8-)
Apple has a tendency to produce beautiful designs using off the shelf hardware components all mixed together with excellent software to give a more pleasing and smooth experience. Whilst I like to hack at FreeBSD or (not like to) fix Windows PCs, sometimes (most of the time) I like things to just work ... maybe its my age, after nearly 30 years of computing its nice to not have to fight technology.
As for people moaning about additional software being loaded .. well it is to give you a more Mac-like experience! The Bonjour service and "iTunes helper" runs in the background at start-up to make using the kit easier ... great for the 99% of the population who want things to "just work" and aren't interested in the technical gubbins underneath.
So Apple use technology to make more consumer focused products. I can live with that.
@giles
I'm not familiar with BBC radio (to know exactly what it broadcasts), but "NPR" (National Public Radio) is commonly available on FM over here - and it's at least similar in that it is commercial free.
But yes, most other stations are crap to listen to because of the ads...
