iFixit

While it may appear as though the battery in the Note 10.1 is strapped down à la Gulliver, the ribbon cables are very easy to detach.

In fact, the battery is very easy to remove, even when compared to the Nexus 7.

Just like in the new iPad, the battery in the Note accounts for a large portion of the device's weight. It weighs in at 136 grams. That's 23 percent of the 594 gram device.

• Still, in order to keep this device so slim, we have a feeling the battery capacity had to take a hit.

The battery is rated at 3.7 volts, 7000 mAh, and 25.90 watt-hours.

The battery was downsized to 25.90 watt-hours for an estimated battery life of 8 hours. As expected, the battery falls short of the new iPad's 42.5 watt-hour battery and 10 hour battery life.

We happily detach the last of the ribbon cables connected to the motherboard and pull it free from the Note. Well, that was easy!

Sometimes EMI shields can be scary/tricky to remove, depending on which procedure a manufacturer uses to attach them to the motherboard. In some cases, the shields are soldered directly to the motherboard (the worst scenario), while in others the frames of the shields are soldered, but the top covers are removable.

…Unless EMI shields happen to be screwed in, as is the case here. We love screws, especially when they hold in components that typically require desoldering.

• This is the first device we've seen with screwable EMI shields. Props to you, Samsung.

In addition to protecting important components of the motherboard from electromagnetic interference, it appears that these EMI shields also serve as the Note's heat sinks.

The green film on the insides of the EMI shields holds thermal paste and thermal pads in place, which help move heat away from the motherboard through small holes in the tops of the shields.

There are some major players on this motherboard:

• Samsung Exynos 4 Quad 1.4 GHz processor with integrated 3D graphics
• Wacom W8008 (possibly used for S Pen input)
• Atmel mXT1664S touchscreen controller
• Samsung KLMAG2GE4A NAND flash memory
• Wolfson Audio WM1811AE audio codec
• F0514A 430 1201KP411

Board too small to see? No worries, we got you covered.

Just like all of the components that we disconnected in the first few steps, the dock connector can be removed by simply detaching a connector and unscrewing a pair of screws. More points for repairability!

Samsung's dock connector cable shares a bit of copper with the lower microphone.

As a reminder, the Samsung dock connector is not the same as Apple's dock connector, as shown by this image.

At this point, it appears that there are no more screws left to remove from the device.

• If you've been keeping score, you'll note that there are only five different size screws. This is a nice change from some devices that use nearly as many just to hold the lower case in place.

The speakers were held in place with some light adhesive, which we spudged right up!

The speakers in the Note 10.1 probably won't shatter any glasses, but they certainly do a good job of playing pleasant bubble noises as you navigate the Note's interface.