iPad 3G Teardown By iFixit

Once again iFixit did a teardown of Apple’s WiFi+3G iPad and uncovered all it’s secrets. One of the main differences is, there are five antennas. Below are a few key points:

• The 3G iPad is visually distinguished from its Wi-Fi-only sibling by a black plastic RF window.
• Some major differences include the 3G chip, SIM card board, and the plastic antenna cover at the top of the case.
• There are actually FIVE antennas in this iPad. Two antennas handle the cell reception — one is in the RF window on top, the other attaches to the LCD frame. A single GPS antenna is also housed in the RF window on top. Just like the iPad Wi-Fi, there are two antennas that handle Wi-Fi / Bluetooth connectivity, one in the Apple logo and another to the left of the dock connector.
• Apple looks to be using the entire LCD frame as an antenna!
• Apple uses the same 3G baseband processor in both the iPhone 3GS and the iPad 3G.
• The baseband processor in question is the Infineon 337S3754 PMB 8878 X-Gold IC. It was actually white-labeled on the production unit, but with enough sleuthing we were able to confirm its true identity.
• The iPad 3G has a Broadcom BCM4750UBG Single-Chip AGPS Solution, whereas the iPhone 3GS uses an Infineon Hammerhead II package. Big win for Broadcom!

Head on over to iFixit for a more in-depth teardown and images. Also, take a look at iFixit WiFi iPad teardown.