After Hours

Cracking open the 4GB iPod Nano (3rd generation)

By // October 18, 2007, 4:48 AM PST // markwkaelin

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  • By Mark Kaelin

    The iPod Nano is a great little music player from Apple Computer. Besides playing music, it can also display movies, television, and other video content on its two inch screen. TechRepublic cracked open the iPod Nano to see what makes this device so special.

  • The usual suspects

    The iPod Nano ships with a set of ear bud headphones and a USB cable for transferring files and recharging the battery.

  • Thin to win

    The iPod Nano is very thin and getting inside is going to require some physical encouragement.

  • Palm size

    The iPod Nano is just thick enough to handle a 1/8 inch audio jack for headphones. The insides are going to be tightly packed you can bet.

  • Back off

    The first thing you see when you remove the back cover is the battery. Notice that you should not poke at it.

    The second thing you notice is the flash memory chip -- 4GB from Hynix in this case.

  • Silver platter

    The back plate is just a piece of molded metal, but it was a bear to remove. Apple definitely does not want you to open your iPod.

  • Power

    The battery is the dominant piece of equipment -- of course that makes sense -- who wants an iPod Nano that only plays music for an hour.

  • Hynix

    This 4GB Flash memory in the iPod was made by Hynix. I have seen pictures of the 8GB version of the iPod Nano and it has memory made by Samsung. Go with the best bid I suppose.

    The next step is to remove the six screws marked by the arrows and see what lies beneath.

  • Ribbons galore

    One way Apple is able to keep the iPod Nano so thin is by using ribbon connections for the video, audio, and button connections.

  • Complications

    While it is nice that the ribbons allow for thinness, it certainly makes cracking open a much more delicate operation.

  • Button ribbon

    The connecting ribbon to the button interface is attached with one of these very tiny clamping gates -- when we crack a device open we hate to see one of these.

  • A closer look

    Deep breath - steady hand - so delicate.

  • Audio

    The audio connecting ribbon does not have an clamping gate - fortunately for me, the housing for the plug comes out with the ribbon connected.

  • Video

    The clamping gate for the video connection ribbon is on the underside of the battery -- it will have to wait.

  • Chips

    Once the button interface ribbon is detached we can lift up the battery to reveal the underside of the circuit board.

  • Apple alright

    Taking our first look at the logic chips we can see two large chips with the Apple Computer logo. There is also one large chip with an unfamiliar logo.

  • Disconnected

    Here you can see that the ribbon to click interface is now disconnected.

  • Another gate

    Now we can the video connection -- another clamping gate.

  • A two inch LCD

    It is hard to believe that there is an LCD in there that can show videos.

  • Click interface

    The backside of the famous Apple button and wheel interface is much less exciting from the underside.

  • Synapitcs

    Now, there is a famous name when it comes to touch interfaces -- Synaptics.

  • USB connection

    The USB connection transfers data and power. Oddly enough, there are no capacitors that I can see.

  • What is that?

    This piece of metal was attached near the audio plug. Out best guess is that it acts a ground for the device.

  • Logic board

    The chips don't reveal their functions, but one chip must hold the software for the visual interface, one must control sound, and another must handle video production. Which is which is a little more difficult to figure out.

  • A closer look at chips 1

    Getting a closer look.

  • A closer look at chips 2

    Still closer.

  • A closer look at chips 3

    Figure out which chips does what?

  • Serial number

    Several identification numbers are etched on the back of the LCD housing.

  • Parts

    Our intention was to put our iPod Nano back together in working condition. Unfortunately, we ran into a problem. The closest we have come to bringing it back to life so far is the white screen of death.

    We are going to keep trying to get the iPod working again, but I am discouraged. Damn my unsteady fingers.

By Mark Kaelin

The iPod Nano is a great little music player from Apple Computer. Besides playing music, it can also display movies, television, and other video content on its two inch screen. TechRepublic cracked open the iPod Nano to see what makes this device so special.

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About Mark Kaelin

Mark W. Kaelin has been writing and editing stories about the IT industry, gadgets, finance, accounting, and tech-life for more than 25 years. Most recently, he has been a regular contributor to BreakingModern.com, aNewDomain.net, and TechRepublic.