It seems sacrilegious, but someone was bound to break open the new iPod Touch sooner or later. So it's sooner rather than later as the guys from iFixit breaks open their brand spanking new - though not for very long - iPod Touch. At first glance it's like an iPhone, only not as fat. But what's the difference on the inside?

From their expert handling of the device they discovered some differences between it and the iPhone's hardware. One thing iPod Touch owners should be very happy about is the increased size of the battery. Because of the lack of a mic or a speaker that the iPhone required, the iPod Touch's battery is by far the larger.

Apple also seems to have gone for a more elegant, hassle free design for the iPod Touch's internal structure. Although this might be more efficient for manufacturing and processing, it might present some problems with repairing as many of the parts are connected in such a way as to fiddling or replacing an individual part might be difficult.

The guys also discovered that the front of the iPod Touch is made of glass, or at the least, a material that doesn't scratch easily. They used a key to scratch it and, lo and behold, it's still as smooth as a... well, an unscratched iPod Touch screen. The screen of their iPod Video wasn't as lucky.

They also found that the processors of the iPod Touch and the iPhone are very similar so the reports that they are able to run the same programs may indeed be true. There's a large chance we'll be seeing programs to transfer apps between the two devices pretty soon.

For more pictures of the naked iPod Touch, head on over to the full article!

Want to see something painful? Something painful yet wickedly cool? How about watching someone disassemble the iPhone to get into its innards and see just what the darned thing is made of?

As you can see from the screenshot to the right, the fine folk over at iFixit have released step-by-step pictures of an iPhone disassembly process they recently did. From the unwrapping of the iPhone into its eventual decomposition into component parts, it actually does a good job of showing off just what makes the iPhone special.

Just remember folks, it isn't something you want to try out at home. At least, not if you want to keep your warranty.

So you've gotten your brand new 2nd-gen iPod Shuffle out of the box, like *nathan did. What else can you do besides loading it up with, uh, I dunno, the High School Musical soundtrack, clip it on your bag strap, and catching the bus to school? Well, take a cue from iFixit, those handy-dandies who just love to take anything that starts with an "i-" apart, and take your Shuffle apart!

It's not exactly Swiss-watch precision - the Shuffle's still larger than the Swiss watches I've seen disassembled (usually by giant sledgehammer), but you get to see how much Apple has packed into something that's no longer than one and a half inches, about as wide as an inch, and less than a quarter of an inch thick. And iFixit notes with admiration:

Apple has done an impressive job of packing functionality into the headphone jack. The dock plug has three conductive strips, plus the ground post. It's safe to assume that the plug is multi-modal and switches between USB, analog audio, and possibly power modes. The separate power mode may not be necessary if they can get enough juice off a 4 conductor USB connection.

Check out the disassembly process at the Read link, or enjoy seeing the guts of a Shuffle splayed out before you below.

   
  

If you still haven't gotten your hands on those sleek new aluminum-sheathed nanos to try them, out, well, at least you can try it with your eyes. The iFixit DIY Mac/iPod repairs site features a new 2nd-gen iPod nano inside and out, from packaging box to logic-board innards, as they take apart the music player.

Even the packaging art is new: transparent, flexible hard plastic encases your new nano. Perhaps Apple went with the transparencies to show off the new aluminum casing, huh? iFixit, being a DIY fix-it site, doesn't stop there, as they work on carefully prying the electronics out of its new, scratch-resistant shell. As advertised, the new Nano can trace its design lineage to the old Mini, although its center button is concave as opposed to convex (and the flat button on the old Nano). Aside from that, the aluminum casing, and the new 8GB model, it's still the same Nano we've come to love.

  
 

Ever wanted to take a screwdriver to your iPod and just tear it apart? Or maybe you're getting frustrated with your friendly neighborhood repairman's obscenely high prices? You can stop tearing those clumps of hair out of your head now, because iFixit has just announced its entry to the iPod industry with a complete line of free iPod Fixit Guides and over 100 iPod parts.

iFixit now sells parts for every iPod that came from Apple's production line - from the 1st Gen iPod to the iPod Video, and even the iPod Shuffle. They sell logic boards, case replacements, batteries, and more. They also have a bunch of free Fixit Guides at www.iFixit.com. Each of their Guides walk you through the process of tearing apart and replacing any part in your iPod.

Fixit Guides are available for the following iPods:

• iPod 1st Generation (Click Wheel)
• iPod 2nd Generation (Touch Wheel)
• iPod 3rd Generation
• iPod 4th Generation / iPod Photo
• iPod Video (5th Generation)
• iPod Mini
• iPod Shuffle
• iPod Nano

For those who are new to the whole Apple scene, iFixit is THE Mac do-it-yourself company. They're dedicated to helping people everywhere to keep their Macs - and now their iPods, too - running smoothly and running longer.

Thanks to Kyle Wiens for the heads up on this news piece.