5g iPod touch Disassembled: Just Enough Missing to Let the Zune HD Compete?

Photo courtesy of iFixit.com

I didn’t plan to buy the 5th generation iPod nano that I’ve been playing with since Friday as recently as two weeks ago. My plan back then was to replace my aging but still functional 1st generation iPod touch with the then rumored camera-enhanced 3rd generation iPod touch. Moving from my 16GB 1st generation iPod touch to a 32GB or even a 64GB 3rd generation iPod touch just didn’t seem that interesting.

The good folks at iFixit.com, of course, have to buy one of everything mobile that Apple pushes out just to tear apart. And, they tore apart the new 32GB model iPod touch…

iPod touch 3rd Generation Teardown

You may have read earlier reports about how the new iPod touch…

- is up to 50% faster than the previous models (games need speed)
- has a WiFi chipset that supports 802.11n although the touch itself does not
- has a Bluetooth chipset
- has an unused FM receiver and transmitter
- has a 6x6x3mm space big enough for a non-auto-focus camera subsystem like the one in the new iPod nano

So, the real story about the iPod touch is about what it doesn’t do (802.11n WiFi, FM radio transmit and receive, and take photos or video). So, it isn’t the Zune HD killer I anticipated. But, it shows the potential to be one.

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