Repairability Smackdown
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By Kyle Wiens and Peter Corcoran How do the latest tablet models stack up? ABLETS ARE THE LATEST craze in the consumer electronics (CE) world. New models are hitting the shelves every few months, many featuring new Tscreen and speaker technologies and the latest in low-power, high-per- formance mobile CPU with the latest models beginning to feature GPU and specialized multimedia IP cores. It is easy to get caught up and lost in this technology jun- gle and focus on the advanced features of the latest and greatest tablets. But these devices and the advanced technologies they embody require significant quantities of relatively scarce mineral resources, in particular what are known as rare earths. Given the current scarcity of these materials, we should expect that today’s tablets will have reasonably long life spans and, in particular, that they can be easily repaired, and failed components can be easily accessed and replaced. Highly repairable devices make the best use of today’s scarce resources while providing © CAN STOCK PHOTOS Repairability Smackdown Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MCE.2012.2223155 Date of publication: 10 January 2013 42 IEEE CONSUMER ELECTRONICS MAGAZINE ^ JANUARY 2013 2162-2248/13/$31.00©2013IEEE better value for the consumer and putting less stress on the environment. The layout and design of some of Because the repairability of today’s devices is seldom dis- cussed, we thought it was time to help put a bit more empha- the connectors have been altered sis on it. A great way of achieving that is to take a look at from earlier Kindle Fire designs, some of the latest tablet devices available today and compare them from the perspective of repairability. but none of these compromise the For this article, we have selected two larger tablets, the repairability of the device. Galaxy Note 10.1 [3] from Samsung and the iPad3 from Apple [4], and two smaller tablets, the Kindle Fire HD from Amazon [2] and the Nexus 7 [1] from Google. The Kindle Fire HD is First steps—gaining entrY the big kid in town at the Before we can repair any device, the first steps must be to gain moment. Like the Nexus 7, access to the internal circuitry. Many CE devices are intention- it opens easily, and there is ally designed to prevent consumers from opening the device, good access to all the inter- and specialized tools are often required to simply get the cover nal components. The bat- off the device. Let us take a look at our four tablets and see tery is secured by screws how difficult it is to gain access to each. and is contained in a metal casing. The layout and NEXUS 7 design of some of the con- Plastic opening tools make nectors have been altered cracking the Nexus 7 shell from earlier Kindle Fire like cutting through butter, designs, but none of these thanks to the retaining clips compromise the repairabili- around the perimeter of the ty of the device. device. One single millime- ter—that is the difference in GALAXY NOTE 10.1 thickness between the The Note 10.1, with a thickness of 8.9 mm, is actually thin- 9.4-mm glued iPad3 and the 10.4-mm retaining-clipped ner than the third-generation iPad3 and almost the same Nexus 7. That is the difference between being able to open a thickness as the iPad2. (As a reminder, a standard pencil device and service all of its internals easily or with great dif- ficulty. This is a small tradeoff to allow you to extend the life of your device through repair, as opposed to tossing it in a landfill. Nobody will complain about that 1-mm difference in day-to-day use, but the user serviceability it brings will make all the difference when the device breaks. And so the Nexus 7 opens its internals to us. The back cover’s dark and light layers remind us of something a measures in at 6.4 mm. So, Stormtrooper would have in if you are looking for the his arsenal, but the key point ultimate slimness in note here is that we have gained taking, paper and pencil is access to this “BattleStar” still the way to go.) without an epic struggle. The 10.1-in screen on the Note 10.1 is also larger than the 9.7-in screen on the iPad3. (But paper and pencil KINDLE FIRE HD win again. The Note 10.1 and the iPad3 fall a few inches Again, a simple plastic opening tool quickly removes the short of the 13.9-in diagonal length of a standard piece of back case to reveal our first glimpse at the internals. We paper.) But enough philosophizing, let us get back to the praised the Nexus 7 for being so easy to get into compared teardown. Remove a few Phillips screws, a few clips, and with the iPad3, sacrificing only a single millimeter to do so. we are in. Amazon has created an easy-to-open tablet that is 0.1 mm We liked the combination of screws and clips on the Note. thinner than the Nexus 7. We have said it before, but we will The screws are enough of a hassle to keep out meddling kids say it again: you do not need to sacrifice thinness to make a but will by no means deter anyone who needs to fix something repairable device. inside. Thumbs up to the Note for ease of access. JANUARY 2013 ^ IEEE CONSUMER ELECTRONICS MAGAZINE 43 On a more serious note, Apple sold 3 million units So, we have finally gained over the weekend that the access, but it is pretty clear that iPad3 was launched. It is Apple did not intend to make clear that the long-term environmental impact of things easy for third-party this unfortunate design repairers. choice will be significant. Once the display unit is cleanly separated, it needs to be lifted. A heavy-duty iPAD3 display like this should The latest and greatest iPad only be removed with features a 5-MP iSight rear- heavy-duty suction cups, facing camera, boasting auto- applying an even pressure focus, face detection, 1080p to avoid cracking the HD video recording, and expensive display. And so, the first legitimately purchased, video stabilization. This is legitimately owned iPad3 also became the first legitimately definitely a great improve- opened iPad in the world. Apparently, the new iPad has a ment over last year’s weak face, and it is not happy. Looks a bit like a bad robot! 0.7-MP rear-facing camera. As much as we hated trying to remove the clips in the The 2048 × 1536 pixel Reti- original iPad, this quantity of adhesive is even more of a pain. na display is another state-of- Be ready to crack your front panel if you dare open it. And it the-art feature, but after we is not the only place that Apple has used copious quantities of turned it off and began the glue, but more on that later. teardown process, it becomes We are not quite done yet, because you next have to loos- a major headache rather than en a few screws around the frame of the LCD screen. Yes, a thing of wonder. rather than enjoy the 264 pixels/in on this brand new device, Yes, just like its predeces- we opt to remove the acclaimed display. Why? Because we sor, this new iPad is very are iFixit, and that is how we roll. difficult to disassemble. As we lift the LCD, we hear the cries of 3,145,728 pixels Adhesive secures the glass to being dislodged from their homes inside the iPad3. Lifting the case, making common off the LCD finally exposes the iPad3’s battery; while the repairs and battery replace- iPad2 housed a formidable 25-Wh Li-ion battery, the iPad3 ment extremely difficult. No has upped the ante to the tune of 42.5 Wh. nice clips or simple screws So, we have finally gained access, but it is pretty clear that here—unfortunately, we need Apple did not intend to make things easy for third-party to break out the heavy-duty repairers. And while you now have access to the main moth- heat gun to gain entry. This erboard of the iPad3, it will be necessary to remove the bat- looks like an epic battle! tery to get at some of the other subcomponents. Unlike the original iPad, iPad3 needs a handy-dandy, THE BATTERY SUBSYSTEM high-power, heat gun to The battery is at the heart of a modern tablet device. Without remove the front panel. In a day-long battery life, a tablet loses its mobility and utility. fact, it requires quite a And it is this mobility and utility that has made this product healthy dose of heat to category so successful. As suggested in a recent article [5], loosen all that glue. Then, it tablets allow us to bring the Internet into our living rooms, is necessary to go to work without carrying the office with us. This is how tablets distin- on prying up the front panel guish themselves from laptops and other more conventional with a plastic opening tool computing devices. and carefully inserting a Now as we all know, batteries do not last forever, and in trusty guitar pick, followed by another, and another. normal usage, the battery is likely the first subsystem whose You will need to visit your local guitar store and check if performance will deteriorate and require replacement.