Deeper inside
That tiny nubbin above the camera lens is an LED flash
The Pre's 3-megapixel camera is augmented by an LED flash. The iPhone 3G's 2-megapixel camera is about to be upgraded to 3 megapixels in the iPhone 3G S. And although Apple's new camera hardware and software promises a host of improvements, the addition of flash is not one of them.
The brains of the outfit
It took an inordinate amount of delicate disassembly to get to the Pre's logic board, which iFixIt describes as being "substantially smaller than the iPhone logic board," adding that this Lilliputianism is "very impressive considering how renowned Apple's engineers are for shrinking hardware footprints." That shrinkage may have been necessary, seeing as how iFixIt reports that the Pre's keyboard makes up 25 per cent of the device's total weight.
iPhone guts, top; Palm Pre guts, bottom
Summing up, iFixIt says that "In general, this Palm hardware reminds us a lot more of Apple's engineering style than any of [the] hardware we've taken apart by other manufacturers (like Dell)." Hmm... Might this show the influence of ex-Apple hardware chief Jon Rubenstein, who left Apple in March of 2006 and joined Palm as executive chairman of the board in June of 2007? Bet on it.
One final difference between the Pre and the iPhone: According to iFixIt, a Pre packaging blurb says "Inspired by and designed in California." The iPhone's parallel self-description is "Designed by Apple in California."
"Inspired by" California? Here, where we're beset by budget crises, political infighting, and staggering debt?
We wish a better future for Palm. ®
All photos courtesy of iFixIt.
Palm Pre's inner iPhone revealed
COMMENTS
@AC 10:33
I absolutely hate my N95 (original, not 8GB)!!
* It's a brick
* It keeps warning me I'm running out of memory (but giving me no way to easily rectify this!)
* It's far too easy to accidentally exit any app you're in
* It's slow (possibly related to point 2)
* It's poorly integrated - it has these features you're so proud of but it's such a disjointed user experience, everything just stands alone.
Frankly I can't wait to get rid of this brick (oh I forgot to mention, the battery compartment cover is held on with blutack because the clips that hold it on are made of pathetic plastic that breaks far too easily). And who designed the two-way slider!! Bane of my life!!
Why all the comments about iPhones
... and the Pre is not very like the iPhone than any other phone, either?
@Nic 3
No not a prat just 21 and very optimistic...oh to be that young again.
Now wheres my walking stick need to chase some kids off my lawn.
Peace
The n-Series is great
the i phone is great
the pre looks great
technology is great.
i love beer.
Iphonobia
I hate Apple, and I own no other Apple products. I hate Jobs. I hate Gates, yet, due to being a gaming slacker, I have to use his bastard OS. I have never used any phone other than a Nokia or a Samsung since 1997.
Got an iPhone last year.
It's solid. It doesnt 'creak' when handled. It's UI is not just easy, it's fun, esp. when jailbroke.. which says more for the hardware than the software. I dont use the camera. I have a proper camera for pictures, because it's a phone. Oh, and on business tariffs, it's about the same price as any other top line mobile.
As much as I dislike both Jobs and Gates, the iPhone has not been surpassed as a mobile hardware platform.. yet.
Safari could use multiple tweaks, like not auto-refreshing pages, and not replacing view to top left after page load, since you're already reading and scrolling before it finishes loading.. but that's not a hardware issue.
Meh
Paris, because she knows not to refresh before you're finished.
