Mobile & Wireless - eWeek

Mobile & Wireless: The Palm Pre from the Inside Out, Courtesy of iSuppli


The Palm Pre smartphone is the latest device to undergo the teardown service of research and advisory firm iSuppli, which disassembles devices in order to offer a closer look at the choices the manufacturer has made and what this could mean for customers. In the Palm Pre, iSuppli found components from Texas Instruments, Qualcomm, Sony and Samsung Electronics primarily.

"With the Pre, Palm has made some surprising choices not only in the phone's features, but also in its design and component selection," wrote iSuppli's Andrew Rassweiler, a director and principal analyst, in a statement on the teardown. (Photos courtesy of iSuppli.)
 
  • The Palm Pre from the Inside Out, Courtesy of iSuppli
    by Michelle Maisto
  • The Palm Pre
    The Palm Pre is retailing for $199, after a mail-in rebate and with a two-year service contract. It features a touch-screen interface, like the iPhone, but with a slideout QWERTY keyboard. iSuppli first estimated its production cost to be $170.
  • The Palm Pre 'Exploded' View
    An exploded view of what $199 buys you.
  • The Pre's PCB Bottom
    A view of the Palm Pre's application printed circuit board from below.
  • The Pre's Application PCB
    A view of the top of Pre's application printed circuit board. As with the iPhone, the Pre's design is split into two core spheres for stronger performance.
  • The Pre and Qualcomm
    The Pre's essential communications functionality comes from Qualcomm technology. An MSM6801A baseband processor supports CDMA2000 1X and CDMA2000 1X Rev A EV-DO. At left is the bottom of the Pre's communication printed circuit board.
  • The Pre and Power Management
    For power management, Palm chose Maxim's MAX8695 power management integrated circuit over the Qualcomm PM6650 chip, commonly used in Qualcomm-based designs. At left is the top of the Pre's communication printed circuit board.
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