With the official PS Vita launch date nearly upon us, pre-orders are slowly starting to trickle in. Still, if you didn't have the foresight to pre-order a PS Vita, then you likely haven't gotten your hands on one yet. If you're still trying to make up your mind, there's a good chance you're waiting on the post-launch flurry of reviews and unboxings to help make that decision. After all, why would you spend hundreds of dollars on something before you know everything there is to know about it?
Today purveyor of tear-downs and repair guides iFixit has released a tear down of the device, which means you can acquaint yourself with every inch of this device before making a final decision with regard to purchasing one. Described as "an absolute gem to take apart" thanks to Sony's use of standard screws, the PS Vita scored a very respectable 8 out of 10 on iFixit's repairability scale. The console lost points for the presence of glue and the fact that the LCD was fused to plastic.
So, what did they find when they took their spudgers to the PS Vita? First and foremost, a very modular design which should aid in the swapping in and out of parts during repair. As we mentioned, this is made easier by Sony's use of common Phillips #00 screws. There's also nothing securing the battery in place and preventing you from replacing it yourself if the mood strikes you (hurray!). As far as hardware is concerned, the iFixit team identified the following parts:
* Sony CXD5315GG quad-core processor
* Samsung KLM4G1FE3A-F001 512 MB Mobile DDR2 SDRAM
* Fujitsu MB44C026A
* Marvell 88W878S-BKB2 Avastar WLAN/Bluetooth/FM Single-Chip SoC
* Wolfson Micro WM1803E audio codec
* STMicroelectronics 3GA51H gyroscope
* Kionix KXTC9 three-axis MEMS accelerometer
Head on over to iFixit for more photos and full details on how to take the Vita apart (spoiler: they had to bake it in the oven to separate the front plastic (and fused LCD) from the frame).
