Sacrifices made for size

Repair firm iFixit has conducted a teardown of the new iPod nano, which jettisons a clickwheel in favor a 1.54-inch touchscreen. The company describes the player as "more like a Shuffle with a screen than a Nano with multi-touch," in part because the Nano's case design is similar to that of the Shuffle. The touchscreen is in fact said to be inferior to the ones on iOS-based devices, as it supports only two fingers, and barely has space for one.

Much of the Nano's design is oriented towards minimizing size. The glass, touch sensors and LCD in the display are for example inseparable, as on the iPhone 4 and iPod touch. The glass moreover juts out about .3mm from its surroundings, which iFixit suggests may have been a compromise eliminating the need for a slightly thicker case.

Other efficiencies include putting the volume buttons, headphone jack and sleep/wake button on the same ribbon, and using two battery wires instead of three, as on the previous Nano. The third wire would normally connect to a thermistor, but heat may not be as much of an issue. The Nano uses a 105mAH battery, which is likely only larger than that of the 51mAh Shuffle to accommodate the presence of a screen.

Three chips in the new Nano are notably designed by Apple. The only identifiable exception is Toshiba, which is supplying memory.

iFixit comments that while disassembling the player is "relatively straightforward" once the display is removed, actually removing the display may require a heat gun. The battery is also soldered to the logic board, meaning that it cannot be easily replaced by third parties.

by MacNN Staff