iFixIt Amazon Kindle Fire Teardown Reveals Tablet's Components

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Barely a day into the public release of the Amazon Kindle Fire, the retain giant’s flagship ebook reader/tablet has been dissected by the iFixIt team. The teardown reveals what actually powers the seven-inch touchscreen Android device.

iFixIt has got their hands on an Amazon Kindle, and proceeded to do a teardown. On paper, the Kindle Fire features usual the usual specs as announced by Amazon: dual screen TI OMAP series 4 processor, Gorilla Glass IPS touchscreen, 512 MB RAM, 8 GB internal storage and WiFi b/g/n connectivity. Prying into the Kindle Fire’s intenals, the iFixIt team has found the following conclusions.

• The Kindle Fire uses a TI OMAP 4430 chip, which is similar to the processor used by the BlackBerry Playbook and Motorola Droid RAZR.
• The Kindle Fire uses non-proprietary screw types, which means you can use any #0 Phillips screwdriver to open up your unit (not that you’ll need to, of course).
• The tablet uses a simple design. The limited functionality (no hardware keys) also means there is less headache in dis-assembly, and less problems with moving parts down the road. However, the tablet does use a lot of adhesive, so opening the device will require a heat gun and a lot of patience.
• LCD replacement is easy, which is a boon for those who often drop their tablets or e-readers. Cracked glass might be difficult to replace, though, as the panel is fused to the plastic casing.

In the end, the Kindle Fire’s repairability score is an 8 out of 10, which means it’s relatively easy to repair. This is good for folks who have a high likelihood to drop their tablets, spill liquids, sit on the device, and the like. But with the Gorilla Glass panel, Kindle Fire users are not likely to break the device unless with excessive force. And if you do, the $199 price tag is probably low enough to just buy another unit than purchase new parts, if the damage is a major one.

Another thing to note is that the Kindle Fire will take a long time to charge via USB, given the suggested input amperage of 1.8 A, while USB ports typically output no more than 0.9 A. The recommendation here: plug in via the DC adaptor accessory.