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Edit Step 10 ¶
Continuing our IC exploration, we decided to sneak a peak under the Jorjin cover. We uncovered a Texas Instruments WL1270B 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi solution.
According to Chipworks, the WL1270 is an older chip that was designed to work with the TI OMAP 3530. It's interesting that the Fire has it, given that it's coupled with the newer OMAP 4430.
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Separating the display from the glass was a breeze, which was a nice departure from the usual fused glass ordeals.
Don't be fooled by the display's current state of black lifelessness. When powered on, the LG-manufactured 7" (diagonal) display gives users an eye-pleasing array of 16 million colors at a resolution of 1024 x 600 pixels.
Sharing the screen with friends and family is made easy thanks to the application of In-Plane Switching (IPS) which allows for a wider viewing angle.
We may be comparing apples and oranges here, but the original Kindle contained roughly 15,999,996 fewer colors. They were as follows: gray-ish, gray, grayer, and grayest.
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Kindle Fire Repairability Score: 8 out of 10 (10 is easiest to repair).
The rear case is very easy to open, granting trouble-free access to the internals.
All the fasteners found inside are Phillips #0 screws—one non-proprietary screwdriver is all you need.
The LCD is not fused to the display, making replacement an easy task, if necessary.
Simplistic design and limited functionality means fewer components and less headache for disassembly.
A decent amount of adhesive is used on the battery and motherboard, meaning some prying and gentle working is required for disassembly.
The glass panel is fused to the front plastic frame, meaning a heat gun is required for replacing cracked glass (or you have to replace both components together).
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