Nokia N8 Teardown

Teardown

Teardown

Teardowns provide a look inside a device and should not be used as disassembly instructions.

The Symbian^3 powered N8 is regarded as Nokia's direct competitor to the iPhone 4, as well as all the Android smartphones on the market. Betting the farm on the success of the N8, Nokia has packed this phone full of awesome features.

Join us today as we tinker our way to the heart of Nokia's freshest smartphone.

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Add Note Edit Step 1 — Nokia N8 Teardown  ¶ 

  • Our latest victim -- Nokia's just-released N8.

  • Technical specs:

    • ARM11 680 MHz processor

    • 640 × 360 (nHD), 3.5" capacitive, multi-touch display with AMOLED technology

    • 256 MB SDRAM

    • 512 MB internal NAND memory and 16 GB on-board memory

    • 12 Megapixels (main) with Carl Zeiss optics and Xenon flash, 16:9 720p video, 25 FPS

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Add Note Edit Step 2  ¶ 

  • The 12 MP auto-focus camera is a honker. As we've seen in other smartphones, the thickness of the camera drives the thickness of the phone.

  • According to Dr. Hubert Nasse, the lens inside the camera module is composed of five individual aspherical shaped optical elements. This complex shape facilitates very high quality pictures out of a very small device.

  • Nokia chose to have the camera protrude outside of the back cover, which could either provide a good grasping point when taking the phone out of your pocket, or make it a hassle when returning the phone to your pocket.

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Add Note Edit Step 3  ¶ 

  • Aside from a standard 3.5mm stereo headphone jack, the N8 features both a mini HDMI and a micro USB port. Not sure what to do with that HDMI port? Try setting a world record.

  • Buttons include: Power, Home, Hold, Camera, and Volume Switch.

  • The SIM and MicroSD ports are mounted side by side on the exterior of the phone, allowing for hot-swapping of the MicroSD.

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Add Note Edit Step 4  ¶ 

  • Utilizing the front facing camera, apps such as Fring or Skype enable users to video chat anywhere they like with mobile-to-mobile as well as mobile-to-desktop connections.

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Add Note Edit Step 5  ¶ 

  • Hey look at that -- visible T4 Torx screws! We figured this was a good place to start to take it apart.

  • A trifle later the bottom portion of the phone was off. If we only had one of these...

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Add Note Edit Step 6  ¶ 

  • After the bottom cover of the phone is removed, a small battery retaining bracket can be popped out of its socket.

  • After that, the hologram-equipped battery can be slid out of its cozy home.

  • Although it requires the removal of two odd-sized screws, the battery really isn't that hard to replace. Thumbs up for no soldering!

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Add Note Edit Step 7  ¶ 

  • The BL-4D 3.7 V, 1200 mAh Li-Ion battery is considered non-removable. Sure Nokia, sure...

  • The hologram stuck under the battery's pull tab is most likely there to ensure you're getting an actual Nokia-approved battery and not some low quality clone.

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Add Note Edit Step 8  ¶ 

  • After popping off the protective cover, a T5 Torx screw near the mini HDMI port can be removed.

  • The top of the phone comes off next, exposing more Torx screws for us to remove.

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