iPhone Disassembled!

June 29, 2007 10:28 PM

Destroying a perfectly good cellphone. The inner workings and guts of the biggest new toy this year. Is it more reliable then an iPod? How many screws does it have? Is it powered by nerds wishes and dreams? The answers to these questions are maybe, 16, and you bet your sweet ass.
posted by Derek (53 comments total)

They didn't destroy it, they just took it apart.
posted by interrobang at 10:31 PM on June 29, 2007

Interesting that there is a SIM bracket in there after all. Now the real question is, what voodoo is required to remove the simlock on the blasted thing?
posted by 1adam12 at 10:32 PM on June 29, 2007

Damnit, I have had it up to HERE with the iphone posts.
posted by CitrusFreak12 at 10:36 PM on June 29, 2007 [3 favorites]

Oh shit, sorry, I meant to send that in a message to Mathowie about his Twitter. Ignore me.
posted by CitrusFreak12 at 10:37 PM on June 29, 2007 [1 favorite]

It's only the 14th as far as I can tell...
posted by Derek at 10:41 PM on June 29, 2007

Does the iPhone have that talking Moose thing?

'Cuz otherwise I don't give a flying whore crap.
posted by dirigibleman at 10:47 PM on June 29, 2007 [1 favorite]

What I'm wondering about is Paris Hilton's take on the iPhone. The internet must know!
posted by Benjy at 10:49 PM on June 29, 2007

Mr. Jobs, Open This iPhone!
posted by homunculus at 10:50 PM on June 29, 2007

It's only the 14th as far as I can tell...

Heh, I'm not sure if you're just joking around or not, but you're not counting all the posts that got deleted.
posted by CitrusFreak12 at 10:58 PM on June 29, 2007

Damnit, I have had it up to HERE with the "Damnit, I have had it up to HERE with the iphone posts" posts.

Actually... whatevah.
posted by The Deej at 10:58 PM on June 29, 2007

This iPhone, it vibrates?
posted by strangeleftydoublethink at 11:11 PM on June 29, 2007

Aces, an iPhone thread!
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 11:14 PM on June 29, 2007

Wow, this came about twelve hours earlier than I expected it to.
posted by lekvar at 11:39 PM on June 29, 2007

The dissection that is.
posted by lekvar at 11:39 PM on June 29, 2007

Nokia 3310.
posted by saysthis at 11:40 PM on June 29, 2007

Hey, thanks for that helpful second link. Woah, who knew, huh? It's a hell of a thing, that is. A hell of a thing. Are they for sale anywhere?
posted by George_Spiggott at 11:48 PM on June 29, 2007

"This device, portrayed as a harmless product of science, is obviously designed to introduce our children to witchcraft and sorcery."
posted by IronLizard at 12:28 AM on June 30, 2007

"For reference, 18 iPhones weigh the same as 1 MacBook Pro."

In case you're thinking of carrying an iPhone cluster.
posted by pracowity at 12:30 AM on June 30, 2007

I CAN HAS CHZPHON?
posted by Clave at 12:50 AM on June 30, 2007

A soldered on battery? When every other phone manuf (and iPod user) knows that LiIon batteries die after a while...
posted by nielm at 1:05 AM on June 30, 2007

Jobs and minions may have succeeded in precipitating the Rapture: a craven image, running on "spirits in the air," evokes frenzied and idolatrous passions. Clearly only those who have the faith and goodness to withstand the shiny, evil allure of this forbidden fruit will be saved.

Witnesseth: Jobs + ATT + iPhone are an anagram of phoniest jabot.
posted by rob511 at 1:20 AM on June 30, 2007 [1 favorite]

I'm surprised that the Grammar Police haven't snarked about the errors in this post.
posted by chuckdarwin at 1:32 AM on June 30, 2007

I am going to call iPhone owners on my basic mobile phone and trick them into googling things for me. I'll just say "I bet your iPhone can't be used to find out x" and count on their need to justify the iPhone purchase.
posted by srboisvert at 2:23 AM on June 30, 2007 [3 favorites]

I have "iPhone publicity" fatigue, but I also have "whining about iPhone publicity fatigue" fatigue.

Just let the rabid fanboys and fangirls have a post once in a while... they're like toddlers running around, they'll tire themselves out eventually and then we can finally get some work done.
posted by Riki tiki at 2:31 AM on June 30, 2007

I thought this was going to be the newest edition from that website that gets donations online to buy and record the destruction of hard-to-find electronics.

Were I to disassemble one of these things, it would be destroyed. I didn't earn the nickname of Mr. Destructo growing up for nothing.

as for the rabid slathering, sobeit. I want people to mercilessly kick the tires on this product, so I can decide whether I want one or not 6 months hence.

and at least one kid seems to have different priorities when tempted with an iPhone or a FoxNews mike.
posted by Busithoth at 5:35 AM on June 30, 2007 [1 favorite]

Not an iPhone to be had here in Montana. No AT&T service. But if it worked with Verizon, I'd be raiding my daughter's college fund. No wait. I'd start a college fund for my daughter, then, when there was enough money in it, I'd raid it.

I even wondered if it was worthwhile without the phone and internet service. Coolest iPod / movie player around!

Nah.

Although I don't understand the logic of making the battery non-user-changable, I don't think it's a big issue. I'm sure you will be able to take it in to your local Apple or AT&T store and have them swap it. And there will be do-it-yourself solutions. I swapped my iPod mini battery with minimal fuss.
posted by The Deej at 7:35 AM on June 30, 2007

The memory is also non-changeable. The Irony is the Apple II was created to sort of an ideology of technological liberation, the same kind of thing you see with Open Source and everything, and now apple is putting out locked-down bullshit where they won't even let people change their own batteries, much less run their own programs. How hard would it have been to use one of those little connectors (like for the screen and antenna) to connect the battery?
posted by delmoi at 7:44 AM on June 30, 2007

Plenty of these will be destroyed this weekend as soon as they get dropped on that glass screen. Don't worry tho, Apple will replace it with a refurbished unit as soon as enough people are mad enough to start talking class-action.
posted by acetonic at 8:05 AM on June 30, 2007

How many attention-seekers across America are out today, sitting in Starbucks^®, fiddling with their iPhone^®?

iPhone^® Geek (thinking):

"Hey, see, I'm cool and hip. Hey suckers, I got me a new iPhone and you don't."

Barista and half-the crowd, waiting for their venti Guatemala Casi Cielo^® coffees with soymilk (all thinking in unison):

"Hey, there's one of those assholes I saw on the evening news last night who spent two nights and days camped out to buy that gadget just so he could prance around hoping people would think he's cool and hip. Actually, your're a tool and a dipshit."

posted by ericb at 8:05 AM on June 30, 2007

The User's Guide has instructions for removing the SIM card.
posted by kirkaracha at 8:36 AM on June 30, 2007 [1 favorite]

"Barista and half-the crowd, waiting for their venti Guatemala Casi Cielo^® coffees with soymilk (all thinking in unison):

Baristas only silently judge people for what they drink, not for what tools they carry.
posted by thecaddy at 9:41 AM on June 30, 2007 [3 favorites]

thecaddy, the baristas I know tend to judge people for a lot of different aspects, especially for tipping and politeness, and they tend to talk about people to each other at length. Your barista experience may vary, of course.
posted by cgc373 at 10:11 AM on June 30, 2007

Baristas only silently judge people for what they drink, not for what tools they carry. are.

Fixed yr typo, tc. Carry on.
posted by mwhybark at 10:36 AM on June 30, 2007

I want to synch my iPhone with your double processors.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 11:12 AM on June 30, 2007

A BBC article I read interviewed a line-waiter who was all excited about the iPhone, because then he could finally "browse the web with a real web browser".

So, uh... that copy of Opera I downloaded onto my Nokia E62 doesn't count? The built-in, full-HTML browser it came with (based, if I remember correctly, on WebKit) doesn't count? 'Cause it worked fine on Metafilter when I was moving.

The iPhone is currently an empty promise. It promises to be OSX in the palm of your hand. In reality, it's crippled by Apple's unwillingness to allow anyone to use the full potential of the OS. Hopefully for those who want this, that will change. Personally, I'd rather stick with my Nokia (at least until the fuss dies down and they release a second or third generation iPhone). It may not have a touchscreen, but it does have voice-activated dialing, expandable memory thanks to a hot-swappable flash card slot and the ability to install pretty much anything I want. Plus I can change the battery.
posted by caution live frogs at 11:16 AM on June 30, 2007

Why didn't they just make it voip or skype or something?

(and i can't believe how expensive it is--500 or 600, then 60/month minimum for the 2-yr contract)
posted by amberglow at 11:23 AM on June 30, 2007

They say that under the iphone's screen there isn't electronics and other guts, there's another fist.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 11:49 AM on June 30, 2007

fanboi xposed:

Booting: A cold boot takes about 20 seconds. (Sleep/wake is effectively instantaneous – far faster than any Mac.)

IT'S A PHONE. holy shit.
posted by mr.marx at 12:42 PM on June 30, 2007

I gotta say "hee hee hee": mr.marx called John Gruber an Apple "fanboi." Hee hee hee.
posted by cgc373 at 1:35 PM on June 30, 2007

your lack of healthy distance to the subject at hand (APPLE INC.) is telling
posted by mr.marx at 1:43 PM on June 30, 2007

Baristas by far don't judge people on what gadgets they use/flaunt, what clothes they wear or how they talk.

The general characteristics are:
1. How much you choose to disguise the lovely espresso we're serving (Starbucks excluded) with milk, sugar, sugar replacements, syrups, cinnamon, cocoa, etc (the less the better)

2. How nice you are (post-ordering: showing appreciation of the taste of your drink or the latte art on it counts)

3. How much you tip. We love regulars who tip regularly and (see 2).


So you have an iPhone. Good for you.
posted by flippant at 2:25 PM on June 30, 2007

So, here is the Google search result for John Gruber:

John Gruber - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
John Gruber (born 1973) is a technical writer, technology pundit, insufferable douchebag, and author of Apple- and Web-related blog Daring Fireball, ...

I was soooo disappointed that the Wikipedia entry has excised the "insufferable douchebag" part.
posted by The Deej at 2:52 PM on June 30, 2007

mr.marx, I wasn't saying anything bad about you at all. I just think it's funny to single out Gruber for his fanboi qualities, since he's already among the best known of the Apple fanbois.
posted by cgc373 at 2:54 PM on June 30, 2007

I know he is. and therefore a good example of the absurdity at display here.
posted by mr.marx at 2:58 PM on June 30, 2007

Dammit. There was absurdity on display and I missed it!!!!
posted by The Deej at 3:08 PM on June 30, 2007

here's another one!

You can pinch and expand with two thumbs instead of your thumb and index finger.

The Meir Yedid of cell phone navigation discovers some more magic from APPLE INC.
posted by mr.marx at 4:33 PM on June 30, 2007

Yeah, I thought kottke was laying it on a bit thick, there.

Dude, it turns out you can use the iPhone with a penis (and a finger) or TWO penises! Think about how fucking handy that is!
posted by graventy at 7:30 PM on June 30, 2007 [3 favorites]

That's crying out for an animated gif.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 8:03 PM on June 30, 2007

I don't understand the logic of making the battery non-user-changable, I don't think it's a big issue. I'm sure you will be able to take it in to your local Apple or AT&T store and have them swap it

Like any of the people who just had to buy one of these on day 1 is going to keep using it long enough for the battery to quit. These people are early adopters to a fault, and they'll be given an upgrade path before they get the chance to notice about the non-replaceable cheap imported batteries.

Version 2 will hit the shelves around Christmas time -- it'll be thinner, start up faster, sync without that iTunes cable, have a quartz-protected screen, a set of buttons on the side, and cost $300 with a two-year contract (and there will be a promotion for people with iPhone 0.9. They'll be able to buy it too, by extending their contract through Christmastime 2009).
posted by toxic at 12:18 AM on July 1, 2007

Plenty of these will be destroyed this weekend as soon as they get dropped on that glass screen. Don't worry tho, Apple will replace it with a refurbished unit as soon as enough people are mad enough to start talking class-action.

Why do you think people would be able to bring a class-action lawsuit against apple for making something expensive that may break when you drop it?
posted by odinsdream at 10:47 AM on July 1, 2007

Version 2 will hit the shelves around Christmas time -- it'll be thinner, start up faster, sync without that iTunes cable, have a quartz-protected screen, a set of buttons on the side, and cost $300 with a two-year contract

I'd buy that --but only if it wasn't locked into ATT. It'd have to be usable with my home internet -- and all wireless connections on Earth -- and it'd have to have voip for free phone. It looks more like a great portable internet item more than it is a cellphone, i think.
posted by amberglow at 1:27 PM on July 1, 2007

Dude, it turns out you can use the iPhone with a penis (and a finger) or TWO penises!

Can I steal this as a pickup line? I wasn't going to get an iPhone, but it might be worthwhile after all!
posted by me & my monkey at 2:40 PM on July 1, 2007

Finally, a use for my twin penii!

Went in to the Apple store yesterday. Huge crowd of people gathered around the iPhone display. Made it much easier to get the one MacBook accessory I needed and get out - basically everyone in the store was playing with the phones, but nobody I saw was purchasing one. (Granted, I was in there for all of two minutes, but still...)
posted by caution live frogs at 5:49 AM on July 2, 2007