Although not released in the United States until the 27th of March,
technology firm ifixit teadown has dismantled the 3DS, the first
handheld game player to provide glasses-free 3D.
At a glance, compared to previous DSi XL device, the new 3DS has a
3D top screen, dual cameras for 3D pictures/gaming, a "Circle Pad"
joystick, an IR port, a metal stylus as well as a revised
Start/Select buttons and a new Home button.
Most importantly, the 3DS contains chips manufactured by Toshiba
Fujitsu Ltd and Invensense Inc.
The WiFi board is powered by an Atheros AR6014 IC for 802.11 b/g
connectivity. Chips found inside the 3DS motherboard include
a Nintendo 1048 0H ARM CPU, a Fujitsu MB82M8080-07L chip,
and a Toshiba THGBM2G3P1FBAI8 NAND Flash. The gyroscope was supplied
by U.S.-based Invensense (ITG-3270 MEMS Gyroscope), iFixit said on
its website. However, iFixit, had had unusual trouble identifying the
purpose of chips provided by Fujitsu and Texas Instruments.
ifixit also did not unveil the manufacturer of the 3.7V 1300mAh 5Wh
Li-Ion battery and the 3D liquid crystal display screen. We could
speculate that the latter was made by Sharp, as the company has
already displayed 3D screens for glasses-free use.
Nintendo' s 3DS device is facing growing competition from smartphones
like Apple's iPhone but also from Sony's next-generation handheld
gaming device code-named NGP, which is expcted to launch in the end
of the year. The Japanese company is positioning the 3DS as more of a
full-purpose entertainment product, offering 3D gaming as well as
streaming of movies.