The Nexus 7 is the latest challenger in the ever-expanding 7-inch tablet arena. Let's see what the folks at Google and Asus packed into this little package.

• 8 or 16 GB storage
• 1 GB RAM
• Quad-core Tegra 3 processor
• 7" 1280x800 (216 ppi) back-lit IPS display
• 1.2 megapixel front-facing camera
• Android 4.1 "Jelly Bean"

The only ports on the exterior of the Nexus 7 lie on its lower edge. Sorry port junkies, micro USB and 3.5 mm audio are the only gateways you'll find here.

When we first heard about the Nexus 7, we assumed it was the secret Pentagon program: "A controversial intelligence program…known as Nexus 7, previously undisclosed as a war-zone surveillance effort, it ties together everything from spy radars to fruit prices..."

Alas, this Nexus 7 is from the other intelligence agency: Google. Even though it's not a secret Pentagon initiative, it does feel pretty stealthy and versatile for $200.

The white back of our Nexus proves it was an I/O original. And what's that? It's running an iFixit app? That's right folks; as of today, you can natively view our repair manuals on your Android device. Download now!

Plastic opening tools make cracking the Nexus shell like cutting through butter, thanks to its retaining clips around the perimeter of the device.

One millimeter.

• That's the difference in thickness between the 9.4 mm glued iPad and the 10.4 mm retaining-clipped Nexus.
• That's the difference between being able to open a device and service all of its internals, and not.
• That's the negligible difference between extending the life of your device through repair, as opposed to tossing it in a landfill.

And most of all, nobody will complain about that one millimeter difference in day-to-day use, but the user-serviceability it brings will make all the difference when the device breaks.

And so it opens.

Though the back cover's dark and light layers remind us of something a Stormtrooper would have in his arsenal, we're more interested in the cryptic markings we found:

• GPS ANT V2.0 2012/04/20
• NFC ANT V2.0 2012/05/09
• WIFI ANT V3.0 2012/05/25

We're purely speculating here, but we think these are antennas that were made somewhere between late April and late May.

The front case assembly has exactly what we always expect inside a tablet: a big battery.

The Nexus 7 has a 4326 mAh, 16 Wh battery that can last 9:49 hours. The Kindle Fire, by comparison, has a 4400 mAh, 16.28 Wh battery -- but only lasts 7:42 hours. Go figure.

• For further comparison, this time falls right in between the batteries found in the 2012 iPad models, which have 9:52 hours for HSPA and 9:37 hours for LTE. Except that the iPad 3 units are slightly larger at 42.5 Wh / 11500 mAh.
• Unlike the iPad batteries, this battery was actually quite easy to remove; there was only a small amount of adhesive around the metal frame.

Our trusty spudger makes quick work of the copper film found beneath the battery.

This could be a heat sink since it seems to be made of a copper alloy, possibly copper-tungsten, or copper-molybdenum. However, it is more likely that it's just an EMI shield.

Engadget remarks that the Nexus 7 doesn't get "disconcertingly hot," rather "just a little toasty".

Next, we used our driver to remove the Phillips screws holding the speaker assembly in place.

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