While Microsoft's Surface is a little easier to repair than the iPad 3, the in-demand Windows 8-powered tablet is still fairly fairly difficult to repair, according to experts iFixit.
The website rated Surface's "repairability" a 4 on a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being the easiest). Comparatively, the iPad has a rating of 2, while the Amazon Kindle Fire boasts a rating of 8.
"The Microsoft Surface is a quirky cat," said iFixit. "Microsoft engineers clearly took a different internal design direction than what we've seen in the iPad and the Nexus/Kindles. But sadly, its overall fixability is closer to the near-impossible-to-open iPad than it is to the spudger-friendly Android tablets."
iFixit noted that Surface's design allows users to open the device without having fear of shattering the display glass. In addition, several components are modular and replaceable without the need of de-soldering. The battery, meanwhile, can be removed straightforwardly.
That said, the site stressed that it's going to take some effort to remove the rear panel in order to gain access to the tablet. It's apparently impossible to remove the keyboard connector without initially removing the display from Surface's frame.
Elsewhere, in order to gain access to the device's LCD and glass, users will have to tear their way through the whole tablet. iFixit also said those on repair duty will require a heat gun and "lots of patience to gain access to the glass and LCD," with the two components said to be strongly fixed to the case.
Check out our hands-on impressions with the Surface RT here.
