RIM BlackBerry PlayBook Teardown
UBM TechInsights takes a look under the hood at yet another tablet. Inside RIM's new BlackBerry tablet is the TI OMAP 4 processor, a six-axis gyro and some other fun hardware goodies.
April 19, 2011
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UBM TechInsights has been at it again today, taking apart the newest tablet, the long-awaited BlackBerry PlayBook from Research In Motion. No big surprise, but tucked inside, powering the PlayBook's excellent performance is the Texas Instruments OMAP 4 platform, specifically the OMAP4430 processor. "Once we opened up the Blackberry Playbook (which was no easy task due to a very rigidly built tablet), we immediately recognized that Texas Instruments would be the major design winner," UBM TechInsights' Technical Marketing Manger, Allan Yogasingam told us. "To coincide with the selection of the OMAP4430, RIM selected other key platform components like the TWL6040 power management IC and the PS63020 high efficiency single inductor buck-boost converter. Another MAJOR design win for TI -- and one that had our resident RF experts excited -- was the discovery of the Texas Instruments WL1283C WiLink 7.0 single-chip WLAN, GPS, Bluetooth and FM solution. This is the first time we've seen a four-in-one radio IC in use in a consumer application product, and the decision to use this in the Playbook shows that RIM was willing to make daring decision designs." You can read more here.
PlayBook Packaging
This is everything that comes in the BlackBerry Playbook package, including instruction manuals and the tight, neoprene sleeve. The product is available as a WiFi device only today, from Best Buy and other retailers. RIM announced the PlayBook in September 2010, and it began shipping on April 19, 2011. The device weighs less than a pound (425g), is 7.6 inches thick, 5.1 inches high, and has less than half an inch depth (10mm).
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UBM TechInsights separates the PlayBook screen from the device back; this required some work on the surrounding gasket.
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Deep inside the UBM TechInsights lab, armed with a scalpel and microscope, we remove the back cover, carefully prying it open.
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This shows the back cover of the PlayBook removed, revealing two lithium polymer battery packs that, together, provide 5400 mAh of power. br />
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Here, we have separated the battery pack from the screen. The Playbook used a different type of design than the iPad. The iPad uses a back-to-front design in laying out its components; the PlayBook uses a front-to-back design.
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This is a closer look at the back side of the 7-inch, capacitive, multi-touch WSVGA LCD screen, running at 1024 x 600 pixel resolution.
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This is the metal panel that the main battery and main board are attached to.
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A closer look at the PlayBook's Cypress CY8CTMA3 Touch Screen Controller.
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The front panel assembly: this is the casing around the screen that holds the protective glass.
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These are the BlackBerry PlayBook speakers located on the device's panels.
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A closer look at the battery packs, rated for 5400 mAh, approximately 20 watt hours (Wh). RIM claims 10 hours of continuous battery life.
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This is the rear facing 5 megapixel camera. This design is different than any we've seen, and obviously a benefit for a 7-inch tablet, where space is a premium.
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These are the camera modules. This is a particularly interesting design in that both cameras reside on the same module. Here you see the front facing 3 megapixel camera.
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Major ICs identified on the BlackBerry PlayBook. Interestingly, there is no epoxy around the main components. Typically epoxy is used to secure the device to the board and prevent the solder from cracking if a user drops the device. There was epoxy around A5 in the iPad2, and around the nVidia processor in the Motorola Xoom. Did RIM rush the construction of the boards? Or does the company have that much faith in the solder? RIM did make the PlayBook very dense, so maybe it will take the shock.
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The PlayBook includes the Invensense SIX AXIS gyro, a high end gyroscope. This is the first time we've seen it being used; many devices use the ST Micro 3-axis gyro. RIM has gone the extra step here.
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OMAP 4430-alone: After the low power DDR2 DRAM memory is removed, we see the brains of the PlayBook -- the dual-core, ARM-based OMAP4430 processor. The OMAP4430 (which is featured in a package-on-package with Elpida 1 GB Low Power DDR2 DRAM) is the latest from the OMAP family of application processors by TI. Manufactured at 45-nm CMOS process, the OMAP4430 features two cores based on the dual-core Cortex-A9 MP Core general purpose processors and features a clock speed of 1 GHz.
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Die marking of the TI OMAP4430 Blackberry Playbook.
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Die photo of the TI OMAP4430 found in the Blackberry Playbook.
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Diffusion photo of the OMAP4430 – the areas in red are the embedded dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 MPCore with Symmetric Multiprocessing that TI mentions on their web page.
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Review: BlackBerry PlayBook Not Ready For The Enterprise
Diffusion photo of the OMAP4430 – the areas in red are the embedded dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 MPCore with Symmetric Multiprocessing that TI mentions on their web page.
See Also:
RIM's BlackBerry Bridge To Nowhere
Review: BlackBerry PlayBook Not Ready For The Enterprise
UBM TechInsights has been at it again today, taking apart the newest tablet, the long-awaited BlackBerry PlayBook from Research In Motion. No big surprise, but tucked inside, powering the PlayBook's excellent performance is the Texas Instruments OMAP 4 platform, specifically the OMAP4430 processor. "Once we opened up the Blackberry Playbook (which was no easy task due to a very rigidly built tablet), we immediately recognized that Texas Instruments would be the major design winner," UBM TechInsights' Technical Marketing Manger, Allan Yogasingam told us. "To coincide with the selection of the OMAP4430, RIM selected other key platform components like the TWL6040 power management IC and the PS63020 high efficiency single inductor buck-boost converter. Another MAJOR design win for TI -- and one that had our resident RF experts excited -- was the discovery of the Texas Instruments WL1283C WiLink 7.0 single-chip WLAN, GPS, Bluetooth and FM solution. This is the first time we've seen a four-in-one radio IC in use in a consumer application product, and the decision to use this in the Playbook shows that RIM was willing to make daring decision designs." You can read more here.
PlayBook Packaging
This is everything that comes in the BlackBerry Playbook package, including instruction manuals and the tight, neoprene sleeve. The product is available as a WiFi device only today, from Best Buy and other retailers. RIM announced the PlayBook in September 2010, and it began shipping on April 19, 2011. The device weighs less than a pound (425g), is 7.6 inches thick, 5.1 inches high, and has less than half an inch depth (10mm).
See Also:
RIM's BlackBerry Bridge To Nowhere
Review: BlackBerry PlayBook Not Ready For The Enterprise
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