The folks over at iFixit are up to their usual tricks, mercilessly dissecting the latest gadgets for educational purposes. This week they’ve attacked Motorola’s latest feat, the Tegra-2 powered Atrix 4G. No major surprises in terms of components, but really, what did you expect when its been talked about for two months straight? Still, guts aside, there were a couple of important details to come out of this open-phone surgery.
For one, iFixit says the Motorola Atrix is the most-repairable smartphone they’ve ever taken apart. The phone received a nine out of 10 on the site’s repairability scale thanks to a distinct lack of proprietary screws, a removable battery and an LCD that’s not glued to the front panel of glass. That means those of you who like to engage in a bit of phone-dropping of an evening can rest assured you’ll only be replacing the cracked glass and not the whole LCD.
Though it might not mean much, iFixit didn’t actually come across any VOID stickers on their travels through the depths of disassembly valley, which should lend a certain confidence to those choosing to go down the DIY repair route.
In fact, the only inconvenient bit about the Atrix is that there are “two ribbon cables to rule them all” soldered to several components. The first cable connects to the front camera, earpiece speaker, power button assembly, and top microphone, while the second attaches the rear camera, proximity sensor, ambient light sensor, pressure contacts for the headphone jack, and side volume buttons together. This means if one single component in the cable’s group fails, you'll have to replace all of the components attached to that cable. Bummer.
Jane McEntegart is a writer, editor, and marketing communications professional with 17 years of experience in the technology industry. She has written about a wide range of technology topics, including smartphones, tablets, and game consoles. Her articles have been published in Tom's Guide, Tom's Hardware, MobileSyrup, and Edge Up.
