Mobility

Dell Streak Teardown

By // August 23, 2010, 11:28 AM PST // billdetwiler

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  • Cracking Open the Dell Streak

    Dell officially announced the Streak in May 2010. And after months of waiting, we finally got our hands on one.

    Come along as we crack open the Dell Streak for a look at the hardware inside this 5-inch, Android tablet.

    For a more in-depth comparison of the Streak to other tablets and smartphones, check out Jason Hiner's Product Spotlight review.

    Photo credit: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

  • Still in the box

    The Dell streak comes with Android 1.6, a 1 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, 512 MB of RAM, 2 GB built-in storage plus 16 GB via and included micro-SD card (expandable to 32 GB), a 5 megapixel main camera, and a VGA front camera. It supports Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and UMTS 850/1900/2100 MHz and GSM/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 MHz. The Streak costs $300 with a 2-year AT&T contract and $550 without a contract.

    Photo credit: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

  • Front

    The Dell Streak has a 5-inch WVGA LCD display, which offer a resolution of 800×480 pixels. Like the Apple iPhone 4, the Streak's front panel is made from Corning Gorilla Glass. The Streak is 6.0 inches tall, 3.1 inches wide, 0.4 inches deep, and weighs 7.7 ounces.

    Photo credit: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

  • Back

    On the back of the Dell Streak, we find the back cover, external speaker, camera lens, and camera flash.

    Photo credit: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

  • Designed for landscape position

    On the front of the Dell Streak are the LCD screen, ambient light sensor, front-facing camera lens, earpiece, proximity sensors, microphone, and main control buttons (Back, Menu, and Home).

    From the orientation of the Back, Menu and Home buttons, it's clear that the Dell designed the Streak to be help in landscape mode when not being used as a phone and help to one's ear.

    Photo credit: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

  • Right side

    Along the Dell Streak's right side are the power and sleep/wake button, camera button, volume up/down button, and headphone jack.

    Photo credit: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

  • Left side

    On the Dell Streak's left side, we find the proprietary, 30-pin data/charging port.

    Photo credit: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

  • Top

    Along the top are the ambient light sensor, front-facing camera lens, earpiece, and proximity sensors.

    Photo credit: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

  • Bottom

    Along the bottom are the Back button, Menu button, Home button, and microphone.

    Photo credit: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

  • Removing the back cover

    To remove the back cover, slide it down over the speaker.

    Photo credit: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

  • Battery, SIM card, and micro-SD card

    With the Dell Streak's back cover removed, we can see the battery, SIM card, and micro-SD card.

    Photo credit: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

  • Back cover - External

    The Dell Streak's back cover is made of metal.

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  • Back cover - Internal

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  • Back cover removed

    Photo credit: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

  • Battery - Front

    The Dell streak has a 3.7V 1530 mAh (5.66 Whr) rechargeable Li-ion battery with part number 20QF0.

    Photo credit: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

  • Battery - Back

    There's nothing to see on the back of the Dell Streak's battery.

    Photo credit: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

  • Battery, SIM card, and micro-SD card removed

    With the battery, SIM card, and micro-SD card removed, we can begin removing the plastic case.

    Photo credit: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

  • Remove the top and bottom bezel

    The Dell Streak's plastic case is held to the front panel assembly with five T5 Torx screws. Unfortunately, the screws are hidden under the rounded, plastic bezels located on the top and bottom of the Streak. We will need to remove these bezels before removing the screws.

    Photo credit: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

  • Removing the top plastic bezel

    Using a thin metal blade or plastic case-opening tool, gently pry the first bezel loose. The thin plastic piece is held on with double-sided tape. You should be able to remove the bezel and leave the tape stuck to the plastic case. This will allow you to reattach the bezel when you reassemble the device.

    Photo credit: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

  • The top bezel removed

    Two T5 Torx screws are located under the top bezel.

    Photo credit: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

  • Top bezel



    Photo credit: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

  • Removing the bottom bezel

    Using the same technique you used earlier, pry loose the bottom bezel. But take care. The bottom bezel houses the Dell Streak's main control buttons and is attached to the device with a thin ribbon cable. At this point, you don't need to remove the cable. Just lift the bezel up enough to reach the three T5 Torx screws located underneath.

    Photo credit: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

  • T5 Torx screws

    Photo credit: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

  • Removing the T5 Torx screws



    Photo credit: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

  • Prying loose the read case

    With the five T5 Torx screws removed, gently pry the rear case free from the front panel assembly.

    Photo credit: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

  • Front panel assembly and rear case

    Photo credit: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

  • Rear case - Internal and buttons

    Be careful when separating the rear case from the front panel assembly. The power, camera, and volume up/down buttons are not fastened to the case and will likely fall out.

    Photo credit: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

  • Rear case - External

    Photo credit: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

  • Camera flash

    This small circuit board on the rear case is for the rear-facing camera flash.

    Photo credit: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

  • Speaker

    The speaker is mounted to the bottom of the Dell Streak's rear case.

    Photo credit: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

  • Rear case removed

    With the rear case completely removed, we get our first look inside the Dell Streak. While the 5 megapixel camera is clearly visible at the top of the device, most of the main PCB and chips are hidden. We'll need to remove the main PCB for a better look at the Streak's hardware.

    Photo credit: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

  • LCD display Ribbon cable

    The large ribbon cable with the bar code sticker is likely for the LCD display. It is connected to the main PCB via a gated connector and is attached to the metal shields beneath it with double-sided tape. Once you've released the cable from the connector, gently lift it away from the metal shields.

    Photo credit: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

  • Remove the internal plastic bezel

    There is a small plastic bezel attached to the bottom of the main PCB and front panel assembly. You should be able to pry this loose using a thin metal blade or plastic spludger.

    Photo credit: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

  • Lifting away the internal plastic bezel

    Photo credit: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

  • Thin metal strip

    This thin metal strip is attached to the internal plastic bezel with a bit of weak adhesive. You should be able to pry the strip loose from the bezel without harming either component.

    Photo credit: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

  • Internal plastic bezel - Front



    Photo credit: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

  • Internal plastic bezel - Back



    Photo credit: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

  • With the internal plastic bezel removed

    Photo credit: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

  • Removing the camera connector

    Before removing the main PCB from the front panel assembly, we must remove the various component connectors. We'll start with the connector for the front-facing camera.

    Photo credit: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

  • Front-facing camera removed

    When disconnected from the main PCB, the front-facing camera can be pulled away from the front panel assembly.

    Photo credit: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

  • Front-facing camera - close

    The Dell Streak has a VGA front-facing camera.

    Photo credit: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

  • Disconnecting the 5 megapixel rear-facing camera

    Next, we'll disconnect the Dell Streak's 5.0 megapixel, rear-facing camera from the main PCB.

    Photo credit: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

  • Disconnecting the touchscreen connector

    After disconnecting both camera connectors, we'll turn our attention to the touchscreen connector and control button connector.

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  • Hidden touchscreen connector

    The main PCB connector for the touchscreen is located under a square, rubber cushion located directly below the rear-facing camera's connector. There are two chips located on the touchscreen connector--the Pixcir Tango S32 Capacitive Touch Controller IC and Atmel ATmega168P 8-bit AVR microcontroller.

    Photo credit: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

  • Touchscreen connector

    Gently lift up the gate on the connector and pull the ribbon cable away from the main PCB.

    Photo credit: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

  • Separate the touchscreen cable from the metal shield

    The touchscreen's ribbon cable is attached to the metal shield beneath it with a small amount of adhesive. It may take a bit of effort, but you should be able to separate the cable from the shield without damaging the cable or the circuits connected to it.

    Photo credit: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

  • Disconnecting the control button cable

    Lastly, disconnect the cable for the Dell Streak's control buttons from the main PCB.

    Photo credit: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

  • Ready to remove the main PCB

    With all the connections removed, we're ready to lift the main PCB away from the Dell Streak's front panel assembly.

    Photo credit: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

  • Removing the main PCB

    With a thin metal blade or plastic spludger, you can gently pry the main PCB away from the front panel assembly. Take care not to exert too much force on the metal panel that's under the PCB. You don't want to damage the Streak's LCD display, which is fused to the front panel assembly.

    Photo credit: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

  • Lifting the main PCB away from the front panel assembly

    Photo credit: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

  • Main PCB and front panel assembly

    The Dell Streak's c-shaped main PCB next to the front panel assembly.

    Photo credit: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

  • Front panel assembly

    The Dell Streak's LCD is permanently attached to the front panel's Gorilla glass. You could pry the display and glass away from the front panel assembly, but they are joined with extremely strong adhesive and there's really no reason to do so at this point as it would likely damage one or both of the components.

    Photo credit: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

  • 5.0 megapixel, rear-facing camera

    At the top of the front panel assembly is the rear-facing camera and most of the ribbon cables.

    Photo credit: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

  • Front panel assembly bottom

    Photo credit: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

  • Main PCB with metal shields - Top

    Nearly all of the chips on the Dell Streak's main PCB are covered by thin metal shields. We'll need to remove the shields to see the chips underneath.

    Photo credit: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

  • Main PCB - Bottom

    On the bottom of the main PCB, you'll find the Dell Streak's microphone, contacts for the capacitive controls on the front panel (Back, Home, and Menu buttons), proximity sensors, and ambient light sensor for the front-facing camera.

    Photo credit: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

  • Main PCB with shields removed

    The three shields that cover most of the Dell Streak's chips should pop off with a little effort.

    Photo credit: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

  • Main PCB - top

    On the Dell Streak's main PCB, we find chips from Qualcomm, Analog Devices, Hynix, TriQuint and Texas Instruments.

    Photo credit: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

  • Snapdragon processor, Analog Devices HDMI/DVI Transmitter, and Hynix memory

    Under the first metal shield is the 1 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon (QSD 8250) processor, Analog Devices Low Power HDMI/DVI Transmitter (ADV7520), and Hynix NAND-based MCP ( a combination of NAND Flash and mobile SDRAM - H8BES0UU0MCR).

    Photo credit: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

  • Texas Instruments TPS65023

    Under the center shield is the Texas Instruments TPS65023 Power Management IC for Li-ion-Powered Systems.

    Photo credit: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

  • TriQuint 7M5012 and Qualcomm chip

    Under the last metal shield is another Qualcomm chip. A TriQuint Semiconductor TMQ7M5012 Quad-Band GSM/GPRS/EDGE-Polar Power Amplifier Module is located above it.

    Photo credit: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

  • Completely disassembled

    Cracking open the Dell Streak wasn't too difficult. The hardest part was prying off the plastic bezels to reveal the five case screws. With the right replacement parts, the Streak is definitely a device that a tech-savvy person could repair.

    Photo credit: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

Cracking Open the Dell Streak

Dell officially announced the Streak in May 2010. And after months of waiting, we finally got our hands on one.

Come along as we crack open the Dell Streak for a look at the hardware inside this 5-inch, Android tablet.

For a more in-depth comparison of the Streak to other tablets and smartphones, check out Jason Hiner's Product Spotlight review.

Photo credit: Bill Detwiler / TechRepublic

Related Topics:

Mobility Security Hardware Software Apple Android Google

About Bill Detwiler

Bill Detwiler is Managing Editor of TechRepublic and Tech Pro Research and the host of Cracking Open, CNET and TechRepublic's popular online show. Prior to joining TechRepublic in 2000, Bill was an IT manager, database administrator, and desktop supp...