We love consumer electronic tear-downs, we’ve seen and performed a ton of them. In the past year we’ve seen a pretty considerable level of convergence in multi-use/multi-function IC’s.
A few notable corporations have played a major role in what we’ll call “hardware convergence”. One company that really stands out for leading this front is Qualcomm. Founded in 1985, these guys have definitely withstood the test of time.
Their “do everything mobile reference designs” cover everything a mobile device needs – BaseBand, AppCore, PMIC, and even radio transceivers. This makes it super easy for ANY run-of-the-mill ODM to build state-of-the-art smartphones. All you really need these days is Google and Qualcomm – save some special extra boutique devices we come across from time-to-time.
We can trace similar HW convergence to what happened with age-old PC architecture (leading to the X86 design of modern PCs). Combining all functionality into a tiny package ARM-based processor core is very attractive from a cost and PCB design perspective. Unfortunately, these do-everything IC’s are often met with heavy power requirements. For perspective, each new BlackBerry device that gets launched is met with reduced charge longevity. Of course, LCD screens are getting brighter and larger, but these devices get really hot with use. This has to be related to packing a 1GHz Baseband/App Core/Kitchen Sink under the hood.
Is hardware convergence really even a good thing? In our opinion, yes and no. On one hand, it should open the space for smaller companies to develop market-ready and attractive smartphones. On the other hand, if every device uses the same HW and OS, the only differentiating consumer factor is overall physical design. Building that top-of-the-line do-everything-well device requires custom hardware configurations. We’re talking Capacitive touch screens, Laser-navigation devices, and even devices that boost USB transfer speeds.
We can compare this convergence to a Toyota Corolla – it’s reliable and gets the job done but doesn’t include the bells and whistles. Our dream device is more comparable to a BMW M5. It’s fast – (maybe not so reliable :S) but allows us to tweak our experience with more options than we’ll probably ever use. Sure, most of those options can be enabled at the Firmware level, but having the supporting Hardware is absolutely required for the optimal, Dr.Wreck approved experience. Let us know what you think!In the interim of Product Teardowns, Dr.Wreck has decided to call on his vast experience with taking apart and creating consumer electronics. Today we’d like to briefly discuss Foxconn’s new platform featuring Tegra 2 and Android.
Nvidia has done fantastic things with its Tegra platform – recently Engadget got a chance to play with the latest creation via Foxconn. The device looks great – it’s widescreen, it’s simple, it gets covered in smudges, its looks are not what we want to talk about. What’s inside this device? What about Tegra 2 makes this package so interesting?
Well for starters, the Tegra 2 is a 1GHz ARM Cortex 9 CPU which is capable of Symmetric Multi-Processing – kind of like your PC. Not only does this thing crunch math like nobody’s business, it includes a low power GPU (details are scarce) that we can only assume takes influence from the lightweight and popular ION/ION2 platform. What this means is that Tegra 2 is effectively an MCP capable of pantsing your netbook in fixed function applications. It’s capable of encoding and decoding 1080p h.264. It’s really hard to put this device in perspective – considering it combines the PC hardware of ~2006 into a single chip package smaller than an after-8 chocolate. Nvidia even claims it’s capable of 140 hours of audio and 16 hours of HD video playback! What size battery would that be?
If you ever find yourself at a trade show and see Nvidia’s booth, make sure and take Tegra 2 for a spin. Then ask yourself why this device isn’t integrated into every facet of your mobile computing life. Is it price? Is it IC politics? Probably a combination of the two – our guess is a similar situation as to why we don’t see ION in more netbooks – Intel supremacy.
One thing is for certain, Tegra 2 packs a lot of punch. Its combined architecture means your PCB requires less. Mobility enabling semiconductors are becoming heavily integrated platforms which can both reduce cost and design effort.
The future is exciting. We can’t wait to grab one of these devices!Here at phonewreck, we’ve found our audience is interested in both phones and other related consumer electronic devices. We’ve been humming and hawing about new devices that we’d really like to play with when the BlackBerry Presenter pretty much landed on our laps.
In the realm of Bluetooth accessories, this thing is by far one of the most complicated we’ve seen to date. With a ~$200 price-tag, we thought it would be nice to take it through its paces and rip it apart to see what makes it beat.
Review after the jump! Make sure to follow @DrWreck on twitter.
Our first impression of the BlackBerry presenter is: Glorious. VGA peripherals are often too light and the heavy gauge cable can make it difficult to place them on the desk (pico projectors etc.). RIM has done a wonderful job of co-designing a hefty device that won’t suffer from this plight. In true BlackBerry form, this device ships with a fantastic faux leather case – complete with magnetic flap. Pulling this baby out at a conference or small presentation is sure to raise some questions – it’s a fairly clever application.
Moving around the back of the device, we can see the VGA, S-video and microUSB ports as well as a NTSC/PAL switch.
Once again, things are solid, minimal and the spacing between ports won’t cause any issues.
The hardware is great – it looks sexy and makes sense. Now, how about its functionality!
Boom. Roasted.
This particular device barely worked. In fact, the team only saw it display a presentation once (in about 15 tries) and we were too disappointed in the quality to take photos. The highest native resolution is 1024×768 – missing out on wide-screen supported resolutions seems like an oversight. That said, most .ppt’s are developed in a 4:3 aspect ratio so it does make sense.
The process of getting this thing working should be simple: Plug it into a VGA or S-video display, plug it into the wall, download the BlackBerry app via some obscure URL you must manually input into your device, load said .ppt onto your BlackBerry, connect to the BlackBerry Presenter via Bluetooth (passkey is on the bottom of the device and displayed on-screen), launch BB app, select Presentation, click your ball/pad and select “present”, receive a connection Error, reconnect Via bluetooth, receive Error, unplug everything, receive Error, reinstall Everything, it works, yay!, receive Error, wonder why you didn’t buy a netbook to “display” your .ppt’s natively using PowerPoint.
Unfortunately, you can’t navigate the presentations without a BlackBerry. There are no nav buttons on the device itself. Can’t get your BB to connect? You’re out of luck.
Now, don’t get us wrong. We’ve seen this device work and we really do like the application. Our impression of the functionality is that the BlackBerry App converts the .ppt to a low quality jpeg, and sends it OTA via Bluetooth to the presenter which caches the content and then displays it. In a way, it seems like an unnecessary step – why can’t we just connect our BlackBerry straight to a presentation device (monitor or projector)? BlackBerry Devices are first and foremost professional grade smartphones designed for business-related applications. Forking out an additional ~$200 bucks for “video-out capabilities” seems overly redundant. Is there an IC that would allow this transaction? Let us know!
In summary, the device looks great but doesn’t work very well. Thankfully (as mentioned before) it’s hefty. It makes a really cool-looking and solid paperweight.
Dr.Wreck’s score: 3 perfectly sized skipping stones out of 10
Now to take it apart!
The underside of the device has a rubber pad. The 4, T7 hex screws holding it together can be found there. Peel it away.
Once these screws are out, the upper portion of the chassis will pull away from the base-plate and logic board.
Don’t pry on the PCB – it’s secured in place via the VGA port. Use pliers or a very small (5mm) wrench to loosen the “screws”.
That’s it! The PCB should fall into your lap! Let’s take a look at what’s on it.
Texas Instruments literally has a monopoly on this PCB. The Digital Media System on a Chip (DMSoC) is a derivative of the historical and popular TMS320 device (DSP). This particular device also known as the DaVinci Video Processor, has a single ARM9 core, 32KB of RAM a hardware accelerator and co-processor. We estimate it’s running at ~220MHz.
The external video ports runs through a TV Encoder manufactured by FOCUS enhancements. This particular device, part of the FS45x family takes digital video or computer graphics and converts to high quality analog video. These devices exist in products that deliver really high quality content – it makes us wonder what the problem was here with the BlackBerry Presenter. Our thoughts are that the images were scaled and compressed to make Bluetooth transmission faster and more seamless. Output resolutions of 480P to 1080i can be achieved with these devices.
The PMIC is also designed by Texas Instruments – the device is actually designed for Lithium Ion Powered Systems but RIM (or its 3rd party designer) found an application in this device.
The flash win went to STMicroelectronics and Numonyx/Micron with an MCP (Multi-Chip package) that includes both memory and RAM. By the looks of it, this is a 1GBit NAND with 512Mbit of DRAM – only 8MB of storage is made available to the user.
Lastly we move onto the most interesting part of the board, the Bluetooth IC. Look like a product from the well-known Bluetooth IC provider CSR. The BC6450A, a member of the BlueCore family has a -90dBm receiver sensitivity and comes in a very small 3.49×3.21 WLCSP (wafer level chip scale package).
That’s it, that’s all! If you have any questions, make sure to contact us!
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Here at phoneWreck, we tear open, break apart, and analyze the latest and greatest handsets on the market. Most importantly, we do this for free. Why?
To empower you, the reader, the engineer, the network analyst, the ASIC designer, and even the general curious folks out there, with the access, knowledge, understanding of all that is: the mobile phone.
Well for starters, the Tegra 2 is a 1GHz ARM Cortex 9 CPU which is capable of Symmetric Multi-Processing – kind of like your PC. Not only does this thing crunch math like nobody’s business, it includes a low power GPU (details are scarce) that we can only assume takes influence from the lightweight and popular ION/ION2 platform. What this means is that Tegra 2 is effectively an MCP capable of pantsing your netbook in fixed function applications. It’s capable of encoding and decoding 1080p h.264. It’s really hard to put this device in perspective – considering it combines the PC hardware of ~2006 into a single chip package smaller than an after-8 chocolate. Nvidia even claims it’s capable of 140 hours of audio and 16 hours of HD video playback! What size battery would that be?
If you ever find yourself at a trade show and see Nvidia’s booth, make sure and take Tegra 2 for a spin. Then ask yourself why this device isn’t integrated into every facet of your mobile computing life. Is it price? Is it IC politics? Probably a combination of the two – our guess is a similar situation as to why we don’t see ION in more netbooks – Intel supremacy.
One thing is for certain, Tegra 2 packs a lot of punch. Its combined architecture means your PCB requires less. Mobility enabling semiconductors are becoming heavily integrated platforms which can both reduce cost and design effort.
The future is exciting. We can’t wait to grab one of these devices!Here at phonewreck, we’ve found our audience is interested in both phones and other related consumer electronic devices. We’ve been humming and hawing about new devices that we’d really like to play with when the BlackBerry Presenter pretty much landed on our laps.
In the realm of Bluetooth accessories, this thing is by far one of the most complicated we’ve seen to date. With a ~$200 price-tag, we thought it would be nice to take it through its paces and rip it apart to see what makes it beat.
Review after the jump! Make sure to follow @DrWreck on twitter.
Our first impression of the BlackBerry presenter is: Glorious. VGA peripherals are often too light and the heavy gauge cable can make it difficult to place them on the desk (pico projectors etc.). RIM has done a wonderful job of co-designing a hefty device that won’t suffer from this plight. In true BlackBerry form, this device ships with a fantastic faux leather case – complete with magnetic flap. Pulling this baby out at a conference or small presentation is sure to raise some questions – it’s a fairly clever application.
Moving around the back of the device, we can see the VGA, S-video and microUSB ports as well as a NTSC/PAL switch.
Once again, things are solid, minimal and the spacing between ports won’t cause any issues.
The hardware is great – it looks sexy and makes sense. Now, how about its functionality!
Boom. Roasted.
This particular device barely worked. In fact, the team only saw it display a presentation once (in about 15 tries) and we were too disappointed in the quality to take photos. The highest native resolution is 1024×768 – missing out on wide-screen supported resolutions seems like an oversight. That said, most .ppt’s are developed in a 4:3 aspect ratio so it does make sense.
The process of getting this thing working should be simple: Plug it into a VGA or S-video display, plug it into the wall, download the BlackBerry app via some obscure URL you must manually input into your device, load said .ppt onto your BlackBerry, connect to the BlackBerry Presenter via Bluetooth (passkey is on the bottom of the device and displayed on-screen), launch BB app, select Presentation, click your ball/pad and select “present”, receive a connection Error, reconnect Via bluetooth, receive Error, unplug everything, receive Error, reinstall Everything, it works, yay!, receive Error, wonder why you didn’t buy a netbook to “display” your .ppt’s natively using PowerPoint.
Unfortunately, you can’t navigate the presentations without a BlackBerry. There are no nav buttons on the device itself. Can’t get your BB to connect? You’re out of luck.
Now, don’t get us wrong. We’ve seen this device work and we really do like the application. Our impression of the functionality is that the BlackBerry App converts the .ppt to a low quality jpeg, and sends it OTA via Bluetooth to the presenter which caches the content and then displays it. In a way, it seems like an unnecessary step – why can’t we just connect our BlackBerry straight to a presentation device (monitor or projector)? BlackBerry Devices are first and foremost professional grade smartphones designed for business-related applications. Forking out an additional ~$200 bucks for “video-out capabilities” seems overly redundant. Is there an IC that would allow this transaction? Let us know!
In summary, the device looks great but doesn’t work very well. Thankfully (as mentioned before) it’s hefty. It makes a really cool-looking and solid paperweight.
Dr.Wreck’s score: 3 perfectly sized skipping stones out of 10
Now to take it apart!
The underside of the device has a rubber pad. The 4, T7 hex screws holding it together can be found there. Peel it away.
Once these screws are out, the upper portion of the chassis will pull away from the base-plate and logic board.
Don’t pry on the PCB – it’s secured in place via the VGA port. Use pliers or a very small (5mm) wrench to loosen the “screws”.
That’s it! The PCB should fall into your lap! Let’s take a look at what’s on it.
Texas Instruments literally has a monopoly on this PCB. The Digital Media System on a Chip (DMSoC) is a derivative of the historical and popular TMS320 device (DSP). This particular device also known as the DaVinci Video Processor, has a single ARM9 core, 32KB of RAM a hardware accelerator and co-processor. We estimate it’s running at ~220MHz.
The external video ports runs through a TV Encoder manufactured by FOCUS enhancements. This particular device, part of the FS45x family takes digital video or computer graphics and converts to high quality analog video. These devices exist in products that deliver really high quality content – it makes us wonder what the problem was here with the BlackBerry Presenter. Our thoughts are that the images were scaled and compressed to make Bluetooth transmission faster and more seamless. Output resolutions of 480P to 1080i can be achieved with these devices.
The PMIC is also designed by Texas Instruments – the device is actually designed for Lithium Ion Powered Systems but RIM (or its 3rd party designer) found an application in this device.
The flash win went to STMicroelectronics and Numonyx/Micron with an MCP (Multi-Chip package) that includes both memory and RAM. By the looks of it, this is a 1GBit NAND with 512Mbit of DRAM – only 8MB of storage is made available to the user.
Lastly we move onto the most interesting part of the board, the Bluetooth IC. Look like a product from the well-known Bluetooth IC provider CSR. The BC6450A, a member of the BlueCore family has a -90dBm receiver sensitivity and comes in a very small 3.49×3.21 WLCSP (wafer level chip scale package).
That’s it, that’s all! If you have any questions, make sure to contact us!