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iFixit Tears Down The Kindle Fire HD, Finds It Easy To Repair

iFixit is one of the greatest sites on the Internet today. There’s something euphoric about watching electronic devices being reduced to their core components. Of course, it was only a matter of...
iFixit Tears Down The Kindle Fire HD, Finds It Easy To Repair
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  • iFixit is one of the greatest sites on the Internet today. There’s something euphoric about watching electronic devices being reduced to their core components. Of course, it was only a matter of time before they got their hands on the new Kindle Fire HD. How easy is it repair Amazon’s new wonder device? Let’s find out.

    The guys at iFixit found that the Kindle Fire HD has a repairability of seven out of 10. This puts it in the upper echelon of easily repaired devices. It’s good news for those who don’t want to spend money on an entirely new device if the current one were to break.

    Of course, you cam here to look at the innards of the device and iFixit provides the goods. Here’s the side-by-side comparison of the Kindle Fire HD (right) and the new SD Kindle Fire (left). They point out that the new non-HD Kindle Fire is almost identical to last year’s Fire albeit some slight changes to the motherboards design.

    iFixIt Kindle Fire HD

    As for the Kindle Fire HD, they praise the ease at which they can remove the battery. More and more electronics are beginning to glue the battery to their devices which makes removal almost impossible. Looking at you, Apple.

    The motherboard is also easily removed. They did have some trouble with the copper tape that covers the processor, but that’s to be expected with modern tablet computers. You’re going to need a razor blade to remove the copper tape, but be careful not to tear it.

    iFixIt Kindle Fire HD

    Just for fun, here’s the Kindle Fire HD’s motherboard all by itself. The model that iFixit has features 16GB of Flash Memory, 1GB of RAM, a TI OMAP 4460 processor, and the GPS receiver.

    iFixIt Kindle Fire HD

    So far, the Kindle Fire HD sounds like a pretty good tablet as far as repairability goes. Why did the device get a seven out of 10? The answer lies in the LCD and front glass panel. The Kindle Fire HD fuses them together which means you have to replace both if either breaks. It’s unfortunate, but not a deal breaker.

    iFixIt Kindle Fire HD

    Check out the rest of iFixit’s report to see all the nitty gritty details on repairing both the Kindle Fire HD and the redesigned Kindle Fire. Like always, it’s the most comprehensive breakdown you’ll find on the Internet. I personally can’t wait until they get their hands on the iPhone 5 next week. It will be interesting to see if Apple continues their course of making it hard for people to repair their own phones.

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