iPhone 3G Teardown

We performed this disassembly immediately following the iPhone launch at 12:01 July 11, 2008, New Zealand time. That's 5:01 AM, July 10, Pacific time for those of us who aren't islanders.

Bookmark this page to catch all the action! We'll still be updating this page over the next several days as we learn more about the internals.

If you're press interested in interviewing us, we'd be happy to talk to you. You can reach our press contact at kyle at ifixit.com.

Auckland, here we come!

We've arrived!

Five people waited in line overnight. We're in the #4 spot.

It's cold!

Vodafone are being very accommodating, and iPhone Jonny even brought out an exercycle!

At about 5pm, someone brought us a TV so we can watch us on the news.

At 5pm, the line was 15 people, but it ballooned rapidly and wrapped around the corner.

We handed out t-shirts at the Vodafone store last night, and they were hugely popular. You'll have to hit eBay if you want one.

Engadget are the only other Americans who flew out, and they have mugshots up of the first ten people in line.

Our stylish shirts in action!

It's the middle of winter here, and just started raining. Fortunately, we have an awning over our heads.

Only 135 minutes to go and about 90 people in line.

You can barely see the Vodafone logo from the end of the line.

Vodafone's red beanies are a big hit.

As you can see from the box, we got the black one. Rumor has it the white iPhones are out there, but as rare as an albino whale. This iPhone cost us $979 NZ without a contract (but locked to Vodafone, of course). Not sure what we're going to do with a Vodafone-locked iPhone in California, but we'll figure something out.

The packaging looks familiar...

All right, here's the specs we know up-front:

• The iPhone 3G is 4.5x2.4x0.48" (0.02" thicker than the original iPhone), and weighs 4.7 ounces (0.1 ounce less). For reference, this is approximately the weight of two unladen swallows.

• With its new rounded back, the new iPhone feels smaller. Calculating the phone's volume won't be easy mathematically, and measuring the phone's displacement the easy way probably isn't a good idea.

• The display is 3.5" diagonal, 480x320 resolution for 163ppi. Also known as identical to the iPhone (not that we're complaining).