Hardware

Cracking open the original Apple iBook G3 clamshell

By · January 16, 2008, 12:28 AM PST · markwkaelin

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  • A blueberry iBook

    With an innovative design that was meant to grab your attention, the original clamshell iBook from Apple generated almost as much buzz in the IT world as the more recent iPhone. In 1999, personal computer users were generally stuck with the familiar black rectangle laptop, but the iBook only came in blueberry and orange and was shaped like a clamshell (toilet seat?). But what was the iBook like on the inside -- we find out in this TechRepublic Cracking Open.

  • Backside

  • Ports

    No serial or parallel ports -- just modem, audio jack, and USB.

  • CD-ROM drive

    A CD-ROM and an AC power connector are the only other ports.

  • Battery compartment

    I was surprised at the easy access to the battery compartment via two plastics screws you can turn with a quarter.

  • Battery

    The battery looks to be pretty standard stuff.

  • A closer look at the battery

  • International

    The iBook was an international endeavor. Mentioned on the battery compartment door are California and Taiwan, but inside we will see some parts from Canada too.

  • Without battery

  • A closer look - screws

    As we look closer at the empty battery compartment we can see some of the screws we will have to remove to get inside our iBook. Note that they require an Allen wrench.

  • A last look before cracking it open

  • The keyboard seems small to me

  • The LCD

    Our IBook, donated by TechRepublic staffer Cara Reynolds, has been stuffed in a closet for a few years. The LCD screen is non-functioning but it doesn't appear to be cracked.

  • LCD exposed

    While it may not be cracked it is very dirty. A close examination does not reveal any clues about why the LCD quit working.

  • Seems okay

  • Frazzled wires

    The connections at the base where the two clam shell halves join seem a little frazzled -- perhaps that is where the problems lay.

  • Lots of plastic

    While just getting started with the cracking open, several themes become obvious. The iBook contains lots of plastic parts and lots of screws. By the time I am done there will be over 50 loose screws and several more will still be left that I didn't see the need to remove.

  • The easy way in

    Apple hid the upgradeable parts, what few there are, under the keyboard which just pops out of its housing.

  • Time to get cracking

    The first thing to come out is the PCMCIA AirPort WiFi card. Under it is a metal plate held in place by two screws.

  • RAM

    Under that plate is the RAM. As you can see here, Cara upgraded the amount of RAM in her blueberry iBook. The long yellow connection below the extra RAM stick is for the keyboard.

  • Power circuitry

    The power circuitry is situated along the front edge of the iBook.

  • What lies beneath

    The aluminum foil like blanket must be covering something important.

  • Instructions

    Oh, look, instructions. Who needs them.

  • Hard drive

    The hard drive is buried underneath a metal plate with about 20 screws in it. I guess Apple figured 3GB was plenty of capacity.

  • Ribbon cables

    Ah, the ribbon cable - popular even in 1999. Unlike some of the smaller devices I have cracked open, this ribbon cable was of a reasonable working size.

  • No stereo

    Not going to get much more than beeps out of this speaker.

  • Keyboard ribbon

  • Wi-Fi

    While AirPort may sound fancy, this is your basic 802.11b WiFi card.

  • Life after iBook

    I'm going to see if this card will work in my old IBM z50 Workpad.

  • Pretty lights

    The sides of the iBook lit up when it was on -- how unnecessarily cool is that. Perhaps this is why my new PC has neon lights inside of it.

  • Light source

  • The back of the LCD panel

  • Samsung

    The LCD is made by Samsung, you can see the logo under the mesh. Even in 1999, Apple was using fairly standard peripherals. It was only a matter of time before they dropped all of their proprietary hardware.

  • Hong Kong

    Another country adds some parts to our blueberry iBook.

  • Modem

    This is the modem for the iBook. It is surprisingly large. I quess it was encased in foil to keep the electronic noise down.

  • Oh Canada

    On the flip side, the modem card wrapping indicates a Canadian influence.

  • Chips

    We can get a good look at some of the chips in this photo.

    • The 39sf020 is a flash memory chip from Silicon Storage Technology
    • Winbond Electronics Corporation makes integrated circuits and Dynamic RAM
    • Conexant Systems makes modem chip sets

  • Mainboard

    The main logic board under the modem contains two large chips.

  • Electronics

    The main logic board has many additional electronics. The Maxim chip in the right corner for example is an SSOP.

    This part shows quite a lot of dirt -- must have been some air flow here. Perhaps heat played a factor in our blueberry iBook's demise.

  • Graphics?

    The most likely explanation for this chip is video, but I could find no reference that would tell me straight out. I do know that you can still purchase it.

  • Power PC

    With IBM all over it, this must be the Power PC CPU.

  • A whopping 3GB

    Capacity sure has grown since 1999. The Zune and iPod we cracked open earlier had 4GB.

  • From afar - stage right

  • From afar - stage left

  • Metal plates

    This monstrosity covered most of the chips in the iBook. It had about 10 screws holding it in place.

  • Animals

    I am guessing there were some animals near this iBook at one time.

  • Hinges

    The combination of plastic and metal in the hinge between the two clamshell pieces strikes me as flimsy. Yet, this is where the handle to the iBook was attached.

  • Overview angle one

  • Overview angle two

    The Apple iBook G3 was considered innovative for its time in 1999, but I found the components to be fairly standard. The only real innovation was in the way the iBook looked.

    Personally, I didn't like the look back then and it has not grown on me up to now. But the insides of our iBook make for a good TechRepublic Cracking Open Photo Gallery.

A blueberry iBook

With an innovative design that was meant to grab your attention, the original clamshell iBook from Apple generated almost as much buzz in the IT world as the more recent iPhone. In 1999, personal computer users were generally stuck with the familiar black rectangle laptop, but the iBook only came in blueberry and orange and was shaped like a clamshell (toilet seat?). But what was the iBook like on the inside -- we find out in this TechRepublic Cracking Open.

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By 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.

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